LACEY, Wash. — Professors could lose their jobs, and academic programs could be restructured to offset what St. Martin’s University interim co-president called a “dire” financial situation.
“It's heartbreaking, “ said Dr. Roy Heynderickx.
According to a school spokesperson, enrollment is down 6.7% since the campus saw its largest population in 2021 when 1,615 students attended St. Martin’s, a private university in Lacey.
In the fall of 2023, 1,506 had enrolled in the school.
Dr. Ian Werrett, faculty president and professor of theology and religious studies, said he and 13 colleagues received letters informing them their contracts would not be renewed at the start of the 2025 school year.
"I opened it in my kitchen, on my phone, and I thought, 'Oh no. I've been fired.' It was really a jarring moment,” said Werrett.
Werrett, who has been teaching at St. Martin’s since 2006, said one of the instructors who received the letter has been at the school for 38 years.
Werrett said the faculty members, even those who did not receive the letters, are willing to take pay cuts, and reduced retirement benefits.
”There are other ways to get at this that haven’t been contemplated, that haven’t been considered, that can actually have an impact on the budget now, not two years from now,” said Werrett.
St. Martin’s currently has 110 faculty members, according to the university.
Heynderickx would not confirm how many professors received the letters.
“We are a community. We value each and every individual. However, we don't feel we're doing the best for the community if we ignore some of the financial issues we're experiencing right now,” said Heynderickx.
He said the school is exploring other cost-cutting measures, including cutting back on part-time employment, continuing a hiring freeze, reducing retirement benefits, and eliminating some majors and minors, likely in humanities programs.
"It's just very difficult today to get a student, a number of students, excited about some of the humanities, the liberal arts¸ we've always prided ourselves on,” said Heynderickx.
Heynderickx noted while overall enrollment has declined, programs like nursing and exercise science are growing in popularity.