DeKALB – Northern Illinois University has laid off 38 positions since mid-March, according to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Most of the layoffs came from support services. Ten of the positions indicated restart dates in August or September.
No one from the school was made available for comment to provide context for the layoffs, and its unclear whether the layoffs were the result of financial constraints from the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a board of trustees meeting last month, administration presented a budget that showed a $32 million shortfall. In the spring the shortfall was expected to be about $39 million, but the enrollment increase at the school helped spark the difference.
“Personnel actions of any kind are very difficult as each individual NIU employee is a valued colleague,” President Lisa Freeman said in a letter to employees on May 29. “The university weighs every option carefully, and will continue to thoughtfully evaluate every available option to reduce or eliminate costs.”
In April, NIU athletic director Sean Frazier announced that he and three coaches will take pay cuts effective for the 2020-21 school year. Frazier said both he and football coach Thomas Hammock will take a 10% pay reduction and basketball coaches Lisa Carlsen and Mark Montgomery will take an unspecified pay cut.
According to the NIU website, Frazier’s base salary is just under $300,000 and Hammock is earning just over $500,0000. Carlsen’s base pay is $180,252 and Montgomery’s base salary is $326,000. Montgomery is the only one of the four in the final year of his contract.
FOIA documents did not cite any reasons for the 38 layoffs.
One of the layoffs which listed a return to work date was Bill Baker, the voice of NIU athletics who has already started hosting events for NIU.
There were also two dismissals listed, but no information was provided for those except they were effective Aug. 8. There were also four resignations and four retirements between mid-March and September, but no information was provided for those as well.
The information also contained 225 positions affected by the academic calendar break, but all are back from their summer hiatuses, documents show.
The positions affected by layoffs were spread across a multitude of departments, including campus parking, physical plant, transportation and materials management. Some of the positions discontinued included multiple chefs, a carpenter, locksmith, cashier, painter, route drivers, storekeepers and office support positions.
At a recent Board of Trustees meeting, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Chinniah said salaries rose across the school for faculty and other employees.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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