Emory & Henry College officials are looking to reduce the school’s budget, and that will include restructuring that will likely require small reductions in faculty, staff and programs over the next three years.
Nothing has been approved, and the number and positions that might be impacted aren’t yet known. But it would affect the faculty and staff, Jennifer Pearce, vice president for external affairs, said Monday. The timing of job reductions also isn’t known, although a decision on the numbers will likely come by the end of June, she said.
“It’s all part of the larger plan to plan for the future,” Pearce said, adding that inflation and rising costs are challenging E&H and other colleges.
“I think every college in the country is kind of going through that to see what sets them up for future success,” she added.
E&H President John Wells spoke about the restructuring to the college’s board of trustees in late March and talked to the faculty and staff earlier this month, she said.
“We’re always going to be looking for ways to be efficient and respond to market demand,” Wells said in an emailed statement Monday. “Every college and business in America is doing that, or should be, if they want to remain competitive. As Southwest Virginia’s oldest higher education institution, we can’t continue to be a leader without constant change and restructuring priorities while paying attention to the economy and having a sound operational budget.”
E&H is a 188-year-old private liberal arts college in Emory, which is in rural Washington County.
Pearce said college officials want to persist with the growth the college has experienced in recent years, which has included record enrollment numbers, new programs and a number of capital projects.
She pointed Monday to continuing construction on a multi-sport athletic complex. Other additions over the last couple of years have included a new equestrian center, a new bachelor of science degree, the creation of a College of Business, for which there was a $5 million building renovation; and a new student success center.
Pearce also noted the opening of a new housing building, though she pointed out that the college remains at capacity with regard to housing for students.
The school is slated to become a university later this year.
Colleges across the U.S. are facing a so-called “enrollment cliff,” a significant decrease in enrollments of traditional college-age students resulting from a decline in birth rates that began with the recession of 2008.
Asked whether the restructuring is connected to the enrollment cliff, Pearce said, “not necessarily. For Emory & Henry, we know it’s coming, but we’ve been high in our enrollment. But I think you’ve got to think about where that’s going to hit down the road.”
E&H’s enrollment numbers have remained steady, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. In fall 2023, the total number of students was 1,359. In 2022, the number was 1,355, and it was 1,356 in 2021. In fall 2020, the number was 1,232, and it was 1,298 in 2019.
