Aerial views of the St. Norbert College campus in De Pere, November 3, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — St. Norbert College is eliminating more jobs as it deals with a $9.2 million combined budget deficit for the ’24 and ’25 financial years.
12 faculty jobs are being cut after 35 mostly non-instructional positions were eliminated this past fall.
St. Norbert leaders say enrollment has declined 14% over the past 10 years. They say that was a leading factor in operational losses for two straight years that the board of trustees is hoping to avoid moving forward.
“The number of faculty positions were not adjusted accurately so it’s an attempt to get everything in balance again, that’s the goal,” said Michael Marsden, the interim VP of Academic Affairs for St. Norbert.
Marsden was asked who is to blame for not addressing the faculty ratio.
“The blame I think is not to be attributed to any particular person,” said Marsden. “I think there was not as much attention to trends that were clearly there, projections that were clearly there, and I think we’re now addressing them.”
“How am I supposed to be confident that the people that didn’t make the right decisions in steering the college are going to now finally figure it out is my main question,” said Steven Landgraf, a ’10 St. Norbert alum and current economics professor at Virginia Military Institute.
Landgraf says he might be more careful giving back to the school in the wake of what he believes has been a cut-first mentality.
“I might consider just kind of banking it and maybe donating it when I’m a bit more confident or just earmarking it to programs that I know that have an impact that I want to have,” said Landgraf.
Among the non-personnel cuts, the school is axing health insurance for retirees over 65 years old.
To help raise revenue, class offerings are being expanded in January and the summer. Athletic teams will expand rosters and club teams will be added.12 new academic programs are also being offered.
This spring, ground will be broken on a new business school building thanks to the Schneider family.
“When you look at the value of that, about a quarter of our students are business students and then other students minor in business,” said Marsden. “When you look at the implications of that for our student body, they are profound. This is a good investment for the future of the institution.”
Marsden says the new building should help attract more students.
The school reports degree-seeking student enrollment is currently just under 1,800.
A professor and student the school provided for interviews say they are not surprised the school finds itself in a similar position to other schools.
“In my judgement, St. Norbert is actually addressing this more quickly than most,” said Kevin Quinn, the dean of the business and economic school for St. Norbert. “We are not in a crisis situation as some others are. We’re not worried about whether we are going to make payroll or anything like that.”
“Talking to my friends and people from other colleges, it’s happening everywhere,” said Giovanni Basanese, a senior at St. Norbert. “I think it’s sad just in general.”
Also to balance the budget for next year, the Norbertine order is giving an additional $900,000 from its endowment fund.
The school isn’t taking more from its endowment fund, but says it plans to be more strategic.
“We considered multiple alternatives to balance the FY25 budget, including a substantial tuition increase, but our commitment to accessibility and affordability far outweighs such a consideration. Given this, we are responsibly reducing recurring expenses while ensuring educational quality and economic vitality. We continue our focus on mission integration, educational excellence, and student success while working to improve operations, contain costs, and identify ways to generate additional revenue,” Joyner wrote.
Other things the college plans to do to:
- General non-personnel expense reductions
- Strategic use of endowment drawdown funds
- Improved annual fundraising results
- Savings from health plan design adjustments
- Increase in the Norbertine endowment distribution
- Personnel savings, including position and administrative expense reductions
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