One of Pittsburgh’s small, private universities is facing layoffs and cuts, joining a dubious trend hitting institutions of higher education across the country.

The university said it is working to reduce its budgetary deficit and reviewing academic programs as possible areas to cut costs.

Chatham projected an operating budget deficit of between $8 million and $12 million over the next two years at the start of this summer and has eliminated 20 staff positions, according to emails obtained by the Tribune-Review. Chatham interim Chief Operations Officer Eileen Petula emailed staff in June to inform them of the projected deficit.

Chatham’s 2022 revenue was about $52 million, according to financial documents.

As part of the budget realignment, the university announced salary reductions and cuts, according to an Aug. 16 email from Chatham President Rhonda Phillips.

Leadership team salaries at the Shadyside university would be cut by 10% and there would be 5% cuts of non-union staff positions making over $100,000 a year.

Chatham spokesman Bill Campbell said the university leadership team was restructured this summer and about 20 staff positions across the university were reduced as a result.

The university also is implementing a hiring freeze, reducing overtime and freezing work travel for faculty and staff. University employees also are seeing their benefits cut, such as reducing employer match percentages for retirement accounts.

Cuts have led to longer hours and more difficult work days for faculty and staff. Staff who spoke to the Tribune-Review said morale has taken a hit and work days have been increasingly hectic trying to meet demands of students with fewer staff.

Campbell said the Chatham Board of Trustees passed a resolution approving the changes in June. He said there were several factors that led to the budget crunch, including declining enrollment in its graduate school, rising costs and some lost revenue streams at Chatham-owned properties.

He said graduate enrollment has declined by one-third over the past decades. Even though undergraduate enrollment has doubled over that same time, Campbell said graduate enrollment is an “important part of the budget” and its decline has had an outsized impact.

Chatham is a 153-year-old university that was originally a women’s college. Graduate students made up two-thirds of the student body before the university became all-gender in 2014, Campbell said.

One of the university’s properties, Chatham Eastside, lost a tenant after remote work became more popular during the pandemic, resulting in less revenue for Chatham.

Chatham also saw deficits prior to the pandemic. The university has had more expenses than revenue in all but one year since 2016 (with the exception of 2021, thanks to federal pandemic aid). In 2022, the university saw $71 million in expenses on $52 million in revenue.

The school’s endowment increased up to $101 million in 2021, a 25% growth compared to 2016. But then in 2022, the endowment decreased to $89 million.

Chatham joins schools including West Virginia University that have imposed staff cuts because of rising costs. WVU also is moving to cut academic programs.

Campbell said Chatham is streamlining operations to cut costs, including consolidating the departments of International Affairs, Academic Advising and Internships and the offices of Academic & Accessibility Resources and Career Development into one Academic Success division.

No decision has been made yet, but Chatham might also look to adjust academic programs. Campbell said the university launched a review of academic programs, curriculum and experiences this fall.

“We continue to look at all operations and processes to find efficiencies and do things in new ways that can save costs, while also helping streamline operations and enhance the experience for students,” he said.

These financial headwinds all came to a head during a tumultuous summer among university leadership. Former President David Finegold left the university rather abruptly this summer. Petula was installed as interim chief operations officer until Phillips started on July 1.

Campbell said that the university’s moves, guided by Phillips and Petula, has led Chatham to decrease its projected budget deficit down to about $6 million this year and it hopes to continue to trim that to between $3 million and $4 million next year.

“Through the reorganization, Dr. Phillips is focused on aligning the budget, updating university systems and ensuring Chatham is able to adapt more quickly to the rapidly changing higher education landscape,” Campbell said.

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