University administrators cited recent student visa suspensions and reductions in research funding as the reasons for the change.
UD officials said the university expects to be within the positive financial goals set by the board of trustees for fiscal year 2025, pending the annual financial statement audit.
In April, President Donald Trump’s administration froze $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard University. Other research funding has also been cut or frozen. While the University of Dayton is a private university that does not depend on funding from the state of Ohio, the university is eligible for and receives federal and state research dollars.
According to the University of Dayton, about 11% of its students were nonresident international students in fall 2024. About 51% were from Ohio.
On June 4, Trump restricted foreign visas at Harvard University, according to the White House. On June 18, the Associated Press reported that the Trump administration would restart a suspended process for foreigners who want a student visa, but those people would have to unlock their social media accounts for government review.
This comes as the university announced in March that 65 employees were being cut for this school year.
“We are writing to share painful news regarding workforce reductions. The past two days, after extensive work and deliberation by many, university leaders notified 45 professional faculty that their contracts will not be renewed for the 2025-26 academic year and 20 staff that we are eliminating their positions,” a letter from President Spina read.
“We know these decisions affect real people — our valued colleagues who have dedicated themselves to our students and mission,“ the letter added. ”Each individual has shaped our community through their teaching, mentorship and service. We recognize that avoiding a deficit and strengthening the operating budget of the university does not offer comfort to those losing their positions."
Affected employees received severance packages and other resources, UD said.
The total cuts are worth about $25 million over three years, Spina said.
In a fact sheet accompanying the letter, the university said it has not run a deficit and maintains stable credit ratings.
The workforce reduction affects under 2% of its total workforce, UD also said.
Spina said the university is deliberately smaller now than it used to be, closer to the size it was around 2012. Several problems facing higher education in general, including fewer graduating high schoolers, fewer international students coming to campus and less trust in higher education, all contributed to the budget issue, he said.
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