Kent State cutting budget by 20 percent over coronavirus troubles

KENT, Ohio - In anticipation of state budget cuts of about 20 percent, Kent State University's president announced Monday the university would be slashed by that amount to offset the anticipated losses.
In a letter to the KSU community, President Todd Diacon called state cuts "all but certain," and said the university will need to make tough moves now.
State cuts are anticipated because of large unemployment and other spending at the state level in order to combat the economic crisis caused by statewide shutdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Diacon said he is expecting a decline in revenue for 2021 in the neighborhood of $110 million and that there are no easy options for dealing with those losses.
"There is no way to sugarcoat this. We will freeze hiring, stop university travel, reduce spending on athletics and delay nearly all building projects. Further, we will reduce the wages and salaries of our non-represented employees on an income-based sliding scale. I will lead this effort by reducing my own salary by 12.5 percent and other campus leaders will see a 10 percent reduction in salaries. We will offer a voluntary separation incentive package and depending on how many employees accept it, we will have a better idea of how many layoffs and job abolishments will be needed," Diacon wrote.
Diacon said there have been bright spots to point toward, including the "Flashes Take Care of Flashes" initiative, in which donors raised over $200,000 in about a month's time to assist students in need.
"Kent State has survived the Great Depression, the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the Great Recession, bouncing back each time to rise to new heights of programmatic and individual successes and accomplishments," Diacon wrote in the letter.