Loyola University is facing a $9.5 million budget shortfall for its next fiscal year because the number of students enrolling in the college next month is about 30 percent below the expected total, officials said Tuesday. In an attempt to reduce the deficit, Loyola President Kevin Wildes, S.J., said a hiring freeze will start Aug. 1 and voluntary severance and early-retirement packages will be offered.The universities are major employers in New Orleans. This is going to affect a lot of people. And their operations are highly dependent on various forms of credit and subsidy much of which is drying up with negative effects becoming more and more evident.
Other possible budget options, he said, include hiring temporary employees to reduce the amount Loyola would have to spend on benefits, drawing down more from the endowment interest -- a move that would require approval from the board of trustees -- and reducing the time some employees work, with some going from 37½ hours a week to 30 hours a week and others going from 12 months a year to 10 months.
Maybe Scott Cowen got out while the getting was good.