by , @adwolfson –

University of Louisville’s $48 million budget shortfall has claimed its first victims.

The university on Tuesday notified seven employees in the president’s office that they will be laid off, spokesman John Karman said.

The reduction leaves five employees in that office, which once had a staff of about 20, he said. The rest of the jobs were eliminated through a combination of attrition, resignation and reassignments.

Interim President Greg Postel told the U of L board of trustees Feb. 16 that a 4 percent shortfall means that administrators will need to trim up to $48 million to balance the budget, a task he said he hoped could be achieved without major layoffs and changes to programs.

Postel said a hiring “frost” would be imposed that allows no more than 25 percent of open positions to be filled. In addition, renovation and deferred maintenance projects will be put on hold, salaries will remain flat, and administrative and expense reductions will be increased, he said.

 

Karman said Postel decided to lay off employees in the president’s office.

Karman stressed that none of the people who are losing their jobs have done anything wrong or were deficient in their performance. The university declined to release their names.

The budget shortfall was the latest in a string of revelations dating to 2014 about U of L’s financial troubles. Much of the spotlight has been on the university’s foundation, which the university relies on for substantial annual support when state appropriations for higher education have dwindled. Postel said that the reduction in support from the foundation was a factor in the current shortfall.

The announcement about belt-tightening came amid reports that former university President James Ramsey, before he was forced to resign last summer, arranged for athletic director Tom Jurich to receive a total of $6 million in additional compensation, although he will be paid from athletic department cash rather than university or foundation funds.

Postel was appointed interim president in January, replacing Neville Pinto, who left to become president of the University of Cincinnati. Postel had most recently been vice president for health affairs.

Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at 502-582-7189 or [email protected]