Bethune-Cookman College to cut 90 jobs - noteworthy news - faculty positions remain - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, June 5, 2003

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.

Bethune-Cookman, College announced plans to eliminate 90 positions last month, reducing its work force by 14 percent.

The board of trustees ordered the move so the small, historically Black school could "bring itself in line with peer institutions," it said. The board hired a human resource consulting firm to conduct an efficiency and cost study earlier this spring, and the layoffs are a result of their findings. The school's 130 faculty spots, however, were left untouched.

The college said a number of people will be transferred to other departments, and some jobs would be consolidated, according to an article in the Orlando Sentinel. College spokeswoman Catherine A. Kershaw told the Sentinel the layoffs would be "across the board," affecting all levels of employment except for faculty.

"The reduction in staff positions and budgetary costs will assure that in the future the college will continue to balance the budget during tough economic conditions," says E. Dean Montgomery, Bethune-Cookman's vice president for fiscal affairs.

"By reorganizing for efficiency, we are directing our resources toward our priorities of providing the best educational opportunities and facilities for our students," he added.

Dr. Ann Taylor Green, the school's provost and dean of the faculty, said no faculty positions were cut because "we are already working within a reasonable student-to-teacher ratio."

Bethune-Cookman, a private college affiliated with the United Methodist Church, had a fall enrollment of 2,584.