The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees met today to discuss a budget reduction plan that will reduce ongoing spending by almost $20 million and internally reallocate another $6 million in the upcoming fiscal year starting on July 1.

In addition, the Trustees have endorsed another plan recommended by UW President Laurie Nichols to save an additional $10 million for the 2018 fiscal year, including program cuts and restructuring following a review that is currently in progress.

Under the new budget, the University will save around $19 million by eliminating at least 70 vacant positions (which is expected to save around $5 million per year), standardizing faculty class loads, limiting temporary faculty appointments, offering retirement incentives to longtime employees, and eliminating overtime.

Other savings may come from reorganizing academic and non-academic units on campus, reducing, combining, or eliminating non essential programs, reviewing administrative appointments and moving as many as possible to 9 or 10 month contracts, and evaluating opportunities to outsource some UW operations.

Of the reductions, Nichols says, "The university must deal decisively with the reductions in revenues that affect both Financial Year (FY) 2017 and FY 2018. But, as I continue to emphasize, refocusing our efforts over the next two years will place UW in a far more favorable position for the future."

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