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Disclaimer: A version of this article was previously published in the American Association of University Professors at Colorado State University in a May 2026 newsletter.

On Monday, April 13, the Colorado State University Vice President for University Operations and Chief Financial Officer Brendan Hanlon announced that his committee would recommend that the university cut 178 full-time equivalent positions. While some of those positions are currently empty, scores of colleagues across campus were laid off Wednesday, April 15.

CSU’s administration is making these layoffs despite the fact that it no longer expects the state of Colorado to significantly cut its support for CSU. In January, CSU President Amy Parsons suggested that state funding for higher education could decline by nearly $50 million next year. CSU now expects less than a $1 million reduction in state support.

Moreover, CSU projects a $11.3 million increase in tuition revenue next year and a $6.3 million increase in net tuition revenue after accounting for the associated increase in financial aid. Nevertheless, CSU’s administration is cutting college budgets by $13.9 million, or by 5%.

Although the administration has provided very little information about these layoffs, over 100 faculty members from every CSU college completed a confidential survey from the American Association of University Professors at CSU about the impact of these budget cuts. The survey responses show that these layoffs came as a complete surprise to many longtime CSU employees. Several colleagues recount being fired by a college dean who would not tell them how that decision was made or who else is being let go.

Faculty raises have failed to keep pace with inflation for years, but an unexpected job loss is financially crushing. The layoffs are unsurprisingly concentrated among nontenure-track faculty, but as one colleague wrote, “no one appears safe.” The layoffs also undermine CSU’s mission because, as another colleague put it, “everyone is essential at this point.”

Our survey reveals very low confidence in CSU’s administration. The vast majority of faculty disagree, according to the survey, that “CSU’s administration has clearly communicated what budget cuts will be implemented in my unit,” that “the process for proposing, evaluating, and implementing budget cuts has been transparent” and that “these budget cuts serve the best interests of CSU.”

These deep cuts seriously undermine the morale of faculty who keep their jobs. One colleague noted that abrupt layoffs make CSU’s commitment to faculty “feel extremely disingenuous” and “put a pit in my stomach wondering if we made the right decision to come to CSU and Fort Collins.” When asked how they think CSU should address its budget problems, faculty most commonly suggested reducing our athletics subsidy, tackling administrative bloat, freezing top salaries and rethinking expensive projects like the Spur campus.

While CSU’s administration often gives lip service to “shared governance,” these layoffs reveal a different reality. Faculty have not received basic information about what programs and positions are being cut, let alone provided input into those decisions. CSU’s leaders may think that it is easiest to run a university from the top down, but they appear to be running it into the ground.

Faculty have little faith that the administration is addressing our biggest budget challenges. They overwhelmingly disagreed with the survey statement, “I am optimistic about CSU’s future despite the current budget challenges.”

AAUP-CSU believes we should use our faculty council apparatus to hold CSU’s leadership accountable. This episode also highlights the importance of our ultimate goal: unionizing CSU faculty and bargaining collectively over our wages and working conditions.

Guest author, AAUP-CSU

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