This story is continuously evolving, and the details in this article might change over time.
On Wednesday, March 18, a Faculty Assembly was held at noon, where the initiative “Doane Forward” was discussed.
“Doane has had a budget gap for several years and has been able to solve that budget gap by using ERC funds from the government, pulling from reserves and from the endowment.” Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Sue Larkin said. “But this isn’t sustainable.”
Doane Forward is meant to address this through three main points, which Human Resources Coordinator Anne Ziola shared are “growth, innovation and adjusting costs.” It may mean the elimination of positions or programs on campus.
Each division within the University has been tasked with bringing forward recommendations for reducing expenses. However, Dr. Larkin noted that while certain aspects of campus use more of the budget, such as academics taking up a third, it does not mean that those divisions will be disproportionately impacted. Likewise, Ziola emphasized the importance of “protecting the liberal arts foundation and student experience.”
“I would say that faculty at the Assembly had responses you would predict, such as dismay, sadness, anger and frustration,” Faculty Council chair and professor of biology Dr. Kate Marley said. “It was very difficult news.” Dr. Larkin, Sotelo and Ziola shared that these will be difficult decisions for the university to make. “When we see some of our colleagues that are impacted by this, it’s not going to be fun,” Vice President for Community and Government Relations Luis Sotelo said. “But I think that speaks to what a special place Doane is, that we care so much about each other.”
What else makes Doane special, Sotelo shared, is its small size. Staff and faculty are constantly interacting with students. “And so, all of this becomes, in a way, personal,” Sotelo said. “They’re colleagues, yes, but in many ways, they’re also friends.”
This would not be Doane’s first time handling a budget deficit. Former President Jacque Carter led the university through program cuts shortly before his resignation in 2020. Luis Sotelo shared that President Hughes instituted town halls following Board of Trustees meetings, and since Hughes’ arrival, the budget deficit has been discussed.
This began on Feb. 20 when the Board of Trustees directed Doane’s leadership team to create a plan to address the budget deficit by May. On March 10, the leadership team met with the staff council to discuss the initiative in more detail. Dr. Marley confirmed that the faculty council was informed ahead of the March 18 assembly as well.
“I’ve had eight, nine meetings in the last week with different groups–academics, faculty staff–with a lot of different people to try to get all of us thinking about what things we can do,” Dr. Larkin said. Shared governance protocols at Doane are also being followed, Larkin shared.
Several campus groups have been gathering feedback regarding this process. “We are currently gathering feedback from all staff in several avenues, including a survey, group or individual meetings with staff council representatives and a larger group meeting open to all staff,” Staff Council chair and experiential learning coordinator Stephanie Hemjie said.
“All that feedback then goes back to the leadership team,” Sotelo said. “And as we put the recommendation plan for the board, we’re able to be informed by those priorities.”
As no plans have been finalized at this time, the impact on campus is yet to be determined. “I don’t think we’re at a point yet where we can really talk about specific impact anywhere right now,” Dr. Larkin said. “We’re really focused on process and input, and anything beyond that would be premature.”
However, if programs are cut, students will still be able to complete their degrees. “This means that starting in 2026-2027, students will no longer be able to declare the eliminated majors, but any students already declared will be able to finish their degrees,” Dr. Marley said. “And for faculty in eliminated positions, they will receive a terminal contract for the 2026-2027 academic year, so they have time to search for new positions.”
Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Judy Kawamoto will present to and get feedback from the Student Council at their meeting this Wednesday. Additionally, questions can be sent to doaneforward@doane.edu.
As Ziola explains, the goal of Doane Forward is to create a two-year plan so “people don’t have to worry every second of the day.”
“From an HR side of things, too, [what] we just keep mentioning and thinking about is that every person here at Doane has value, every position here at Doane has value, and has made an impact of some sort, either on each other or with the students they work with,” Ziola said.
The leadership team will present to President Hughes, who will then take that to the Board of Trustees. The board will be meeting on May 7 and 8. Dr. Larkin shared that some changes will go into effect for the new fiscal year, beginning on July 1.
“This is going to impact people that we care about in a place we care about,” Dr. Larkin said. “What I can promise them is that I am going to be as thoughtful with this and there will be nothing capricious about any decision that’s made.”
