FIRST ON 3: UNCW cutting almost 150 jobs

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — With a state budget finally approved, state universities will face cuts. The North Carolina system was hit hard with $414 million coming out of funding.

Over the past three years, budget reductions for UNCW have totaled more than $31 million. This year’s budget will see a nearly sixteen percent reduction.

Eli Bingham is a UNCW student double majoring in math and physics, which he says are not very large.

He says because there is a small amount of students majoring in physics, several upper level classes have two or three students enrolled.

“They will have a hard time justifying keeping these sections,” said Bingham.

Chancellor Gary Miller announced Thursday that UNCW’S budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 has been reduced by more than $16 million.

In an email sent to faculty, staff and students miller writes: “After extensive reviews of university priorities, recommendations from the senior leadership, and available funding from all sources, it is apparent that it will be necessary to eliminate the equivalent of 147 full-time
positions.”

Of those positions 78 will be faculty and the remainder will be staff and support positions.

The faculty cuts will most likely mean closing or crowding more students into already packed class sections, which Bingham says would affect his future at UNCW.

“It could take me a longer time to graduate and also I would be paying an extra year of tuition,” said Bingham.

The reductions will be achieved by not filling any currently vacant positions.

In his email, Chancellor Miller stressed that no currently employed tenure track faculty will be impacted.

“We’re not going to necessarily see a decline in the quality of teaching, but in the quality of support staff perhaps,” said Bingham.

In comparison, UNC Chapel Hill’s funding will be reduced by nearly $100 million, the hardest hit among the UNC’s 17 campuses.

In closing his email, Miller stated that the focus will be on how to move forward in the months to come.