UW System Cuts Dozens Of Positions In Cost-Saving Measure

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The University of Wisconsin System has eliminated dozens of administrative and academic affairs positions in a cost-saving move — both to help cope with state budget cuts and as part of a long-term streamlining plan.

No employees were laid off. Attrition through eliminating positions, shifting employees into vacant positions and retirements resulted in a net reduction of 36 positions, UW System President Ray Cross.

The total dollar amount of savings was not immediately available.

Two of the eliminated positions were from Cross' own office, he said.

UW spokesman Alex Hummel said the reductions were the result of changes that were in the works even before lawmakers cut $250 million from the UW System in the new state budget. Cross had announced last November that some belt-tightening needed to occur to make the UW System more efficient and nimble. But Hummel said eliminating the positions will help the system cope as it absorbs the budget cuts.

The state cut has led several UW campuses to lay off workers, eliminate vacant positions or offer buyouts to senior employees.

"We'll no longer do some academic programming things," Cross said. "The program array decisions will be streamlined, and be a team approval rather than one person. Some people are being assigned more work. We have to work better and smarter."

The next focus of streamlining efforts will be information technology, the system's budget office, procurement and human resources, Cross said. Less customized software for student information data systems would lead to significant cost savings, for example.

"That costs us a fortune," Cross said.

The Madison-based UW System serves around 180,000 students each year and employs more than 39,000 faculty and staff statewide. It is made up of 13 four-year universities, 13 two-year UW campuses, and UW-Extension, which operates statewide.

Its annual budget is about $6 billion, with about $1.2 billion coming from state funding, according to the system's website.