The University of Utah anticipates reducing upwards of 855 positions, or 15%, of the roughly 5,700 operational staff members at the U in a modernization effort over the next nine months, according to a statement the university released on Sept. 8. What that will look like for the staff affected remains to be seen.
Chief Human Resources Officer Jeff Herring said in an interview with The Daily Utah Chronicle that this modernization is about the “effectiveness” and “efficiency” of Coordinated Services. It comes as the university’s “expenses have been growing faster than the revenue,” Chief Financial Officer Gary McArthur told The Chronicle. The university also brought in two outside national consultancy firms for guidance.
Faculty within the Academic Senate brought up concerns during the Sept. 28 meeting over the change. “Right now staff seems to be in the undesirable position of applying for each other’s jobs,” Academic Senator Tom Richmond wrote in the public chat…