News Local/State

Eastern Illinois Laying Off 67 With More To Come

by The Associated Press, with Additional Reporting from Illinois Public Media
 

The administration Building at Eastern Illinois University, known as Old Main

(Wikimedia Commons)

Eastern Illinois University President David Glassman says the school is laying off 67 employees and says more people will lose jobs as the school wrestles with declining enrollment and financial uncertainties.  He said unspecified additional cuts will happen "very shortly.'

The jobs are civil service or administrative and professional positions rather than faculty.
 
The release says the cuts are intended to reduce expenses to deal with declining enrollment at the Charleston school.

The school started notfying those affected on Monday, and will continue through Wednesday.  Those eligible are also being notified of their option to 'bump', or replace another EIU employee with less seniority in the same job classification.

"Until that process is completed, we won't actually know which employees will be leaving the university," said Glassman.

Enrollment fell 23.4 percent between 2010 and 2014, from more than 11,600 to about 8,900.

But the release notes the university is also still waiting for a state budget. Gov. Bruce Rauner and the General Assembly remain locked in a stalemate about state expenses.