Texas Universities are preparing for a financial shortfall due to the coronavirus pandemic by cutting jobs ahead of the fall semester, The Texas Tribune reports.
Two of the state’s largest university systems were already facing large budget deficits in June after lockdowns sent students home to finish out the spring semester.
The newspaper reports that the Texas A&M System reported $147 million in lost revenue and pandemic-related expenses, and the University of Texas System estimated its losses to total $131 million earlier this summer.
To help cut expenses, universities have furloughed employees, implemented hiring freezes and laid off staff.
An administrative assistant at the Tomás Rivera Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio said she was let go from her job in June along with a few other employees.
“We had no indication whatsoever that the wrath was coming,” Melanie Bentley told the newspaper. “We were cut off immediately.”
Beyond eliminating staff, schools also are looking to cut departments and programming.
In May, Gov. Greg Abbott asked higher education institutes to cut costs by 5%. UT System’s eight academic institutions will have to shave $77 million off its budget, college presidents reported. A spokesperson for the Texas A&M System told the newspaper its 11 campuses will have to cut $64 million.
A UT-Austin spokesperson said more than 260 employees were furloughed. Many have returned to campus, but salaries are frozen and so is university-sponsored travel.
On July 1, UT-San Antonio laid off 243 employees, cut 12 vacant faculty positions and informed 69 non-tenured faculty members they would not be returning in the fall, according to the newspaper.
Texas A&M’s College Station flagship hasn’t cut any employees yet, but President Michael Young said 5% of the school’s budget will be cut. That means 72 faculty positions will be eliminated and so will $7 million in research funding. Another 114 staff positions are at stake, which are mostly tied to student support, are also at risk of being eliminated.
St. Edward’s University in Austin reduced 10% of its staff in May. It got rid of five of its sports teams and reduced housing capacity and staff to prepare for an estimated 12% reduction in enrollment this fall. It also got rid of its physical books in the library, combined support services and got rid of some academic programs that had a decline in enrollment, the newspaper reports.
The schools did receive a boost of money from the federal government. Texas universities received around $1 billion, according to May talk given by the office of Sen. John Cornyn. A lot of the money was designated as emergency cash grants for students.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.