Brown plans to eliminate five administrative staff positions across 16 of the smallest academic departments through a consolidation plan aimed at reducing expenses, Dean of the Faculty Leah VanWey told chairs of affected departments at meetings early last week, according to three attendees.
The staffing cuts come as the University is taking steps to reduce a multi-million dollar budget deficit. Since President Trump took office, federal funding cuts have also threatened to compound the University’s financial challenges. In an August announcement, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 wrote that due to continued financial pressure, “we anticipate that some layoffs will be necessary.”
The consolidation plan requires department chairs to form “neighborhoods” of three departments that will share administrative support staff. All 16 departments currently employ a total of 27 administrative support staff, two attendees told The Herald…