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Wright State to offer buyouts to 700 faculty, staff

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By Dave Larsen, Staff Writer Updated 2:32 PM Wednesday, May 20, 2009

FAIRBORN — Wright State University will implement a campus-wide voluntary separation program for faculty and staff because of an anticipated reduction in state higher education spending.

“This is a way possibly to address the budget without having to resort to layoffs,” said Robert Sweeney, Wright State executive vice president and secretary to the board of trustees.

Ohio public institutions including Miami University and the University of Toledo have announced layoffs in recent months because of budget shortfalls.

More than 700 Wright State employees are eligible for the program and as many as 130 are expected to take the incentive, Sweeney said. The program is projected to save Wright State more than $3 million in the first year, Sweeney said.

Wright State has a total of 3,095 employees, including full-time and part-time faculty, staff and adjuncts.

“The savings would be either by having a senior person leave and be replaced by someone with a lower salary, or by being able to keep the position vacant,” Sweeney said.

Wright State enrollment projections continue to remain strong, according to university officials. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure that we preserve the quality of our programs,” Sweeney said.

Wright State employees who are eligible to retire must have at least five years of service to participate in the program. Employees not eligible to retire need at least 15 years of service to participate.

Under the current draft of the plan, employees will receive an amount equal to one year of their base pay up to $65,000 for faculty, $55,000 for unclassified staff and $25,000 for classified staff, according to university officials. Unclassified staff includes salaried and hourly employees, while classified employees are paid hourly.

Wright State hopes to extend tuition benefits for a period of time to employees taking the voluntary separation, Sweeney said.

The program will be presented to the board May 28 at the university’s annual budget presentation. The board will take it up for approval June 12 during a public meeting, Sweeney said.

Wright State President David R. Hopkins notified employees about the program in an e-mail update about the university budget. “This was not a surprise to the campus community,” Sweeney said.

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