Linfield University's McMinnville campus on March 2, 2023.
Meerah Powell / OPB
Linfield University administrators are nearing the final stages of a two-year process they hope will get the private, nonprofit institution back on solid financial ground. But the McMinnville-based institution’s path to economic sustainability has not been without controversy.
This month alone, proposals to slim down and streamline degree programs within the school’s College of Arts and Sciences have been met with a vote of no confidence in Linfield’s top finance leader and threats from students to withdraw from the university entirely.
By its most recent reported numbers, Linfield has more than 1,600 undergraduate students, spread across three major units: the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing and School of Business.
Linfield’s administrators say the cuts are necessary to address a multi-year structural deficit of nearly $5 million. The shortfall is largely caused by headwinds facing many higher education institutions: declining enrollment and increasing operational costs.
“These decisions have a real impact on members of the community and are not taken lightly,” said Linfield spokesperson Kathy Foss in an emailed statement. “Linfield is focused on ensuring its programs and resources remain strong and relevant for current and future students.”
An initial reorganization proposal document, obtained by OPB, identified a dozen degree programs as potential candidates for either elimination or consolidation. The programs facing potential cuts included music, theater, philosophy, chemistry, creative writing and literature and international relations.
Linfield student Ali Shelton, who is graduating with an international relations major this year, said she can’t imagine the university without these degrees.
“We would not be a diverse community like we are now. There would not be different opinions,” Shelton said about paring down programs. “There would be less clubs. There would be less color to the cultural landscape of Linfield.”
Shelton was one of over 100 students who signed a petition that expressed their dissatisfaction with the university’s budget cut process. The petition, which was presented to Linfield administrators at a university town hall earlier this month, noted that cuts would impact the institution’s mission rooted in liberal arts education.
Students who signed the petition pledged to disenroll from Linfield if cuts are pushed through.
“I know a good number of underclassmen who are upset enough, not just about the cuts, but specifically how the school is handling the cuts, that they would rather transfer somewhere else to complete their education,” Shelton said.
Shelton thinks the coordinated student effort is beginning to get through to university leaders.
Administrators’ most recent proposal, released on Monday, walked back some of the eliminations to just three programs: sports economics, environmental humanities and environmental policy. History and literature programs would be offered as a minor only.
Linfield’s top leaders have been following a two-year directive from the university’s board to close the nearly $5 million budget deficit by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
The first round of reductions began last school year, with the university trimming more than $3 million through personnel cuts, voluntary workforce separations and streamlined vendor contracts. Majors in French, Japanese and Global Studies were some of the programs eliminated, according to the student paper, The Linfield Review. Students and faculty pushed back, saying those cuts would gut the heart of the university.
Students and faculty are echoing those concerns again this year as Linfield looks to close the remainder of the deficit, or about $1.7 million.
On Tuesday, faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences narrowly approved a vote of no confidence resolution in Linfield’s Chief Financial Officer Mike Wenz. The resolution said Wenz, who was hired by Linfield in 2022, failed to balance the university’s budget in a manner that promotes “transparency, accountability, competency, and responsiveness.”
Foss said the university has engaged students, faculty and staff in its budgeting process and is incorporating feedback into proposals.
She said final decisions on program cuts won’t be made until later this fall and any students currently enrolled in programs that could be impacted would be able to finish their degree at Linfield.
“The proposed changes affect a relatively small number of students, and the university is focused on ensuring continuity and support for those individuals,” Foss said. “More broadly, these steps are designed to strengthen Linfield’s long-term position — ensuring that its academic programs remain sustainable, relevant and attractive to future students.”
For some students, like Shelton, that statement rings hollow. She believes university leaders’ communication about the ongoing budget process with students has been vague and, at times, condescending.
“Even if cuts aren’t made, I think the way that this is being handled is going to harm the administration’s relationship with the student body,” Shelton said. “And that will be very, very difficult to come back from.”
