3 March 2020 | Walla Walla University has announced that it will be cutting faculty and staff positions at the institution due to a difficult financial situation.

Four full-time positions will be eliminated from the College Place, Washington-based school by the end of June this year. Employees that are affected will be notified by March 12. Eleven positions will go unfilled after employees resign or retire.

In a press release, spokesperson Aaron Nakamura said that the reduction was necessary despite two successive years of record-high freshman enrollment.

The Union-Bulletin reported WWU president John McVay as stating that the school’s costs are now outpacing tuition and fee revenue. This puts Walla Walla in a tight spot even after a decade of strong tuition revenue and operational savings.

“We dipped into our reserves to offset this increase in costs, but this is not a sustainable solution,” said McVay, acknowledging the pain felt across the institution due to the changes.

McVay added that current areas of study as well as launches of new programs would be calibrated to meet demand from students and employers.

Walla Walla University has 1,864 students enrolled across five campuses in the Pacific Northwest. The university is affiliated with the Adventist Church.

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