KANSAS CITY, Mo. — More than 1,800 staff at Kansas State University will be furloughed, possibly for nearly a year, as the university works to address significant financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
K-State President Richard Myers on Friday said the administrative furloughs are part of the university's plan to cut nearly $37 million, which also includes terminating and eliminating positions, voluntary salary reductions and cuts to operating expenses. He said the cuts were a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between the administrative furloughs and the emergency furloughs implemented in May and June, Myers said a total of 1,868 employees will be affected.
The cost-cutting measure will save the university $8.65 million in the short term, according to Myers, who acknowledged the “steep cost” of the furloughs.
“These emergency and administrative furloughs have real-life consequences for our faculty and staff who are the heart of our university,” Myers said in a news release. “These are very difficult decisions to make.”
The length of administrative furloughs will be determined by leadership at each college, though the furloughs can begin Aug. 9 and last through the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on June 15, 2021.
The furloughs will occur in the College of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension; College of Architecture, Planning & Design; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Health and Human Sciences; Division of Communications and Marketing; Office of International Programs; and the Office of the President.
Furloughed employees can apply for emergency funds through a response fund administered by the KSU Foundation.
