CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- DePaul University faces a $56 million budget deficit and plans cuts that have led to uncertainty and student protests.
An English professor and member of the Faculty Council, Marcy Dinius, told Crain's Business “This feels like a $33.1 million gun that's being held to the faculty's heads.”
That’s the amount expected to be cut from academics and teacher’s salaries. “We just don't have enough information to make decisions or even know what decisions are already being made," she said.
One decision was not to renew the contract of Erika Sánchez, a chair in the Department of Latin American & Latino Studies.
She wrote on Instagram, “DePaul does not care about its students and faculty of color.”
An online petition started by a student said the cuts will hit “marginalized voices the hardest.”
They’ve protested on campus and suggested cutting elsewhere, noting the men’s basketball coach makes $1.3 million.
DePaul said the deficit is the result of “slowing enrollments, increasing financial aid, rising costs and the loss of COVID-related federal funding.”
Related
Listen to our new podcast Courier Pigeon
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!