YPSILANTI, Mich. – Fuming over support staff cuts and the decision to eliminate four of the university’s athletic programs, Eastern Michigan University’s faculty union hosted a town hall Thursday.
More people than those in the athletics community are concerned about cuts at the school, as the university is facing a budget shortfall of more than $4 million. Additional budget cuts will come from faculty and other school programs.
“We’re seeing cuts around the university. We haven’t seen a serious slash to administrative budget,” said Daric Thorne, the president of the EMU Federation of Teachers.
The union members see budget bloat at the top of the university pyramid and question the transparency and the methodology being used to cut $4 million from the budget.
Updated information about EMU's budget, including campus messages and Higher Learning Commission reports, can be found here.
4 sports programs cut at university
There are 79 students and coaches who don't know where they'll be next year as the men's swimming and diving, wrestling, women's tennis and softball teams have been cut.
When EMU Athletics Director Scott Wetherbee was told a week and a half ago that he needed to cut $2 million from his budget, he knew it would hurt
"I will say, the toughest part for me was standing before the student-athletes and coaches," Wetherbee said.
By cutting the four programs, the university will save $2.4 million per year.
"I feel handcuffed," Wetherbee said. "I walked into a terrible situation. I knew the budget was bad, but I didn't think it was this bad.
"For students, this is much more than the dollars and cents. It's about Eastern Michigan committing to them, and the athletes committing four years of their lives to EMU, some who came from a long way. What do they do now?"
The faces of the women's tennis players before practice Tuesday said it all.
"I think this is the best university for me, and now I have to change," freshman tennis player Nadania Redanada said.
"Telling them that you're no longer going to be able to play the sport they love at the university they've chosen is tough," coach Jayson Wiseman said. "I've been pretty emotional about it, and the girls have, too."
Wiseman, who is married with eight children, now has to find a new job just seven months after landing this one.
Cutting the football program was never an option for several reasons. Eastern Michigan would have had to leave the Mid-American Conference, which officials wanted to avoid.
The football program doesn't break even financially, but it generates enough money -- around $6 million a year -- to support other programs. Without it, Wetherbee said the school would have to cut even more teams.