Name: William & Mary leaders take pay cuts, announce voluntary furloughs as colleges cope with COVID's fiscal impact
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William & Mary leaders take pay cuts, announce voluntary furloughs as colleges cope with COVID's fiscal impact

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Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisWilliam &amp; Mary leaders take pay cuts, announce voluntary furloughs as colleges cope with COVID's fiscal impactShare thisThree top leaders at the College of William &amp; Mary are taking pay cuts, and the school is instituting a voluntary furlough program in an effort to increase financial flexibility amid COVID-19.The moves underscore that as students prepare to return to campus, colleges and universities across the state are juggling financial pressures as they prioritize safety precautions.In a joint statement on Tuesday, William &amp; Mary President Katherine Rowe, Provost Peggy Agouris, and Chief Operating Officer Amy Sebring called this summer “the challenge of a career.” Rowe will ask the school’s Board of Visitors to reduce her compensation by 15% through the end of the calendar year. The provost and COO voluntarily cut their compensation by 12%.Rowe had the 73rd highest compensation package in a list that ranked the earnings of public college presidents released by The Chronicle of Higher Education last month. Rowe earned $671,621 last year, according to the report.Officials at William &amp; Mary, where classes commence remotely Aug. 19 and in person after Labor Day, said they are trying to mind costs while anticipating added expenditures related to COVID-19 for things like modifications on campus, personal protective equipment, testing and remote learning.Part of the uncertainty for colleges and universities is the prospect of regional COVID-19 spikes that could leave schools no choice but to again shutter their campuses.“Should W&amp;M be unable to open campus or unable to stay open, shortfalls would be very significant in all areas — beyond the scale of prior downturns,” the three William &amp; Mary leaders said Tuesday in their joint statement to faculty and staff.George Mason University, which starts classes Aug. 24, is paying particular attention to pandemic conditions in Northern Virginia, where it has campuses in Fairfax, Prince William and Arlington counties.University President Gregory Washington noted in a message to the campus community that the school is troubled by an uptick in Prince William’s positivity rate — the percentage of those who tested positive — which was at 9% on Monday.In statements this week, leaders of some of Virginia’s most prominent universities, such as Virginia Tech and George Mason, stressed health preparations but did not sugarcoat the financial woes that would result if the schools reverted to online-only instruction this fall.GMU’s Washington noted that remote instruction has limitations in disciplines such as laboratory science and the performing arts. He said it also could result in barring international students from campus because the federal government is balking at processing visas for international students whose studies are online-only.He added that if the school had to halt on-campus instruction and close residence halls, the financial impact would be “devastating” for GMU and its work force.“The numbers of furloughs and layoffs that would be necessary to balance our budget would be staggering, made all the more challenging in an economy of 10 percent unemployment.”The University of Virginia will start classes online Aug. 25, before moving in-person Sept. 8. UVA announced in April that President Jim Ryan and other school leaders would take a 10% salary cut and that the school had frozen pay raises and hiring. Ryan brought in $1,188,910 last year, ranking seventh on The Chronicle’s list.Virginia Commonwealth University starts classes Aug. 17. VCU spokesman Mike Porter said last month that “the university budget will be revisited” after state legislators convene beginning Aug. 18 to review Virginia’s revenue forecasts and the state budget.Porter said at the time that if VCU needs to make additional budget cuts, “employee furloughs may be necessary.” Among those furloughed would be President Michael Rao, who brought in $741,073 in total compensation in the 2019 calendar year to rank 55th, according to The Chronicle’s database. Employees who make less than $50,000 would not be affected.(804) 649-6645Twitter: @AndrewCainRTD{{title}}{{summary}}You don't have any notifications.Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.Topics

Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisWilliam &amp; Mary leaders take pay cuts, announce voluntary furloughs as colleges cope with COVID's fiscal impactShare thisThree top leaders at the College of William &amp; Mary are taking pay cuts, and the school is instituting a voluntary furlough program in an...

William & Mary leaders take pay cuts, announce voluntary furloughs as colleges cope with COVID's fiscal impact

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