University of Minnesota grad students' union sounds alarm over $225M budget cut
Worry is starting to build on the University of Minnesota campus. Graduate teachers and researchers fear their jobs and resources could be on the chopping block.
The university announced last week that $225 million must be cut from its budget over the next two years. How that will happen remains unclear.
Using statistics to solve hypothetical problems is how Ben Lewis teaches his students. But there's a real problem he and his fellow grad teachers are staring down with a potential answer that's tough to swallow.
"I think everybody's extremely nervous that these cuts are going to come at the expense of what we all love to do: The teaching, the research," said Lewis. Beyond teaching, Lewis is the president of the Graduate Labor Union - United Electrical Local 1105.
In a letter to students and staff, the university said the budget cuts are needed due to rising costs, unpredictable state and federal funding, and shifting enrollment trends.
Lewis acknowledged that higher education faces several financial headwinds, but he pushed back enrollment concerns.
"If you go and look at our enrollment numbers, our enrollment numbers are up this year," he said.
The total enrollment across all University of Minnesota campuses has been rising. It was 68,366 for the 2023-24 school year. It rose to 70,090 the following year, then hit 72,010 for the 2025-26 school year. The numbers for the current school year weren't available online. Despite the growing student body, the university has already cut its budget each of the past two years.
"We keep being told to do more with less and it's only getting worse," said John Hutchinson, a PhD candidate in chemical engineering and the general secretary for the Graduate Labor Union.
The union criticized university administrators Friday for what it calls frivolous spending. That includes roughly $250 million combined on consulting and professional services for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. They're also bothered that the compensation package for President Rebecca Cunningham was increased with more than a $1 million in incentives.
"We are not in a budget crisis, we are in a management crisis," Lewis said.
Beyond the proposed cuts, the university recently raised the costs for its employee health benefits. Those will now go up every two years. Tuition was also raised for the 2027 fiscal year by 4.5%. It was the sixth consecutive year tuition has gone up.
