The following message was delivered by President Croomes during the general assembly meeting on March 28, 2025.
I want to take a moment to acknowledge something that’s been on a lot of people’s minds. With the recent announcements about budget cuts and benefit changes, we know there’s been a lot of concern, confusion, and overall low morale among staff—and that’s completely understandable.
As your Staff Assembly, we don’t have decision-making power, but we are here to advocate for staff and to make sure our voices are heard. We’ve been in ongoing conversations with leadership, and from what we’ve been told, these cuts are part of broader, preventative steps the university is taking in response to federal pressures that could put a lot of funding at risk.
We’ve been assured this isn’t personal or malicious—it’s just a really tough financial climate right now. Still, we know that doesn’t make it any easier to navigate, especially with no merit raises and rising costs of living. We’re doing our best to share our concerns and get clarity where we can, and we’ll continue to keep you updated as we hear more.
We also want to make sure senior leadership hears directly from staff about how these decisions are impacting our day-to-day lives. So, we’ll be collecting our thoughts, feelings, and responses through our anonymous feedback form—please take a moment to share there if you can. We compile that input and pass it along to university leaders to help them understand the very real human impact of what’s happening.
Just know that you’re not alone, and we’re all in this together. And as always, we’re here if you need support, want to talk, or have ideas about how we can move forward as a community.