Entire degree programs and numerous faculty positions within Linfield University’s College of Arts and Sciences are on the chopping block as administrators at the private liberal arts school consider different ways to offset a nearly $5 million budget deficit.

Majors in literature, philosophy, physics and international relations are among the subjects under threat of elimination in a proposal presented to Linfield faculty and shared with OPB this week. The university is looking to shed 27 faculty positions, with the majority of those positions coming from the arts and sciences departments.

Linfield has an undergraduate enrollment of about 1,700 students, spread across three major divisions: the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing and School of Business.

Some students and staff at the McMinnville-based university say there’s been a lack of transparency with the university’s budget process so far. Jamison Nemecek, a third-year Linfield student studying philosophy and creative writing, said the current proposal would mean future students wouldn’t get the kind of liberal arts education he’s experienced at the school.

“The proposed cuts are targeting the College of Arts and Sciences in an unbalanced way that I think threatens Linfield as liberal arts institution,” Nemecek said. “We are going to end up focusing on nursing and business and lose what makes Linfield special: small class sizes and connections with professors.”

Nemecek joined about 50 other students in a demonstration on campus Monday, protesting the university’s budget proposal.

“I attend Linfield because of the small class sizes, the great relations to professors and the breadth of varying disciplines,” said third-year student Sage Henke. “The prospect of that just being taken away from Linfield is especially upsetting to me. And all of this happening in light of the recent attacks on education from the Trump administration, it just doesn’t feel great.”

Linfield is no stranger to restructuring cuts. The school let go of 35 staff members last year due to budget constraints. And in 2019, Linfield leaders announced plans to eliminate up to 25 tenured positions in order to shore up the university’s finances.

Now, after years of operating in the red, university administrators are discussing how to bring its budget deficit to zero by June 2026, said Linfield University spokesperson Scott Nelson in an emailed statement.

“The School of Nursing and the School of Business have already made structural changes,” Nelson said. “Now, our College of Arts and Sciences is reviewing a first draft reorganization proposal, with a 60-day period for feedback and alternatives that will come from the faculty themselves.”

The university is considering other ways to fill the budget gap, such as by selling real estate.

Some professors at Linfield are cautiously optimistic about the university’s shared governance procedures that allow faculty to voice their opinions regarding the budget proposal.

“Our Provost [Beth Concepción] has told us this proposal that lists eliminations of departments and majors, which includes my own English department, is only a draft,” said Linfield professor Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt. “In good faith, I would like to give her a chance to see if she can truly listen and turn her words into action and uphold our mission to deliver a liberal arts curriculum and education.”

Earlier this month, a committee made up of arts and sciences faculty presented a report to the Linfield administration outlining concerns with the current budget model. The report argues that the university’s proposal as-is could hurt student enrollment in the future and compromise Linfield’s capacity to deliver its mission of “connecting learning, life and community.”

The report’s authors — as well as a petition with nearly 400 signatures opposing the proposed faculty cuts — also challenge university leaders over their priorities, including an apparent boost to Linfield’s athletics department over support for academics.

Linfield’s financial reorganization comes as the university is in a leadership transition. A new president, Mark Blegen, is set to take over on July 1.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/07/linfield-university-mcminnville-oregon-higher-education-college-cuts-layoffs-budget/