The University of Kentucky has begun laying off administrative and staff employees. University officials said 140 employees will lose their jobs and an additional 164 positions are being eliminated, including 44 currently unfilled faculty jobs.
The university is trying to trim its budget by $45 million in response to successive cuts in funding for higher education by the Kentucky state legislature. According to university officials, Kentucky legislators have reduced state funding of UK by $50 million since 2007. Attempts to offset funding cuts have resulted in significantly higher costs of acquiring a postsecondary education at Lexington's largest employer. Tuition at UK has increased 140 percent in ten years.
In an email to university employees (in full below), UK President Eli Capilouto said, "As part of UK's budget for 2012-2013, we're providing 90 days of notice to those employees who are part of a reduction in workforce in various areas across the campus. I am urging deans, unit heads and managers who are administering this process to treat those impacted with dignity and compassion during a very difficult time for everyone involved and for our institution. Efforts also are underway to exercise options available to maximize access to benefits on behalf of those impacted."
Capilouto letter:
Dear Colleagues,