Seattle University cuts pay, furloughs workers amid pandemic

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle University will begin mandatory and voluntary pay reductions of up to 20% and furlough nearly 80 staffers to handle some of the economic damage caused by closing campus during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

In a letter to faculty and staff, Seattle University President Stephen Sundborg said the private school’s Cabinet and deans will take mandatory pay cuts of 10% and will be asked to consider further reductions, The Seattle Times reported.

Upper-level administrators and full-time faculty have been asked to take voluntary pay cuts Sundborg wrote. The school intends to bring furloughed staff back in August. In the meantime they will retain medical benefits and be eligible for unemployment.

The university has lost $7 million switching to remote instruction and shutting most residence halls, he wrote, and for fiscal year 2021, the school’s governing board plans a $9.1 million budget cut.

Sundborg said the university’s “full intent is to reopen campus in the fall,” but with options including a blend of in-person and hybrid classes, along with social distancing and enhanced safety measures.

Nationally, higher education experts have speculated that the coronavirus will cause declines in enrollment this fall of up to 20%, and that some smaller private colleges may not survive.