LINCOLN - University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Rodney Bennett announced his final budget reduction proposal in an email to students, faculty, and staff on Monday.

In his final plan, Bennett proposes eliminating four programs: Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Educational Administration, Statistics, Textiles, Merchandising, and Fashion Design. Community and Regional Planning and Landscape Architecture, which were initially on the chopping block, were excluded from the final proposal, reducing the expected savings from program cuts from $7.7 million to $6.7 million.

The chancellor is supporting an alternative proposal from the College of Architecture and the Academic Planning Committee to consolidate all its programs under one umbrella, which would achieve similar cost savings of $700,000 through administrative efficiencies.

The proposed shared director position between the Glenn Korff School of Music and the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film was omitted from the final proposal. The college was able to find alternative savings of $350,000. Bennett said in the email that he modified the proposed cuts after receiving input from the Academic Planning Committee. The APC voted against eliminating Community and Regional Planning, Landscape Architecture, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Statistics.

The final budget proposal comes despite the APC calling on the chancellor to delay the budget reduction process in a 12-page letter. The APC raised similar concerns that faculty groups and students shared regarding the university's process for deciding which programs to eliminate, such as the short timeline and the metrics, which some faculty have called flawed. The elimination of the staff positions, unfunded scholarships, and a 1% across-the-board budget cut will save the university $11.66 million, according to the final proposal.

All state-aid funding for the Division of Student Life, totaling $850,000, will be eliminated. The university will save $2.5 million by reducing unfunded scholarships and replacing them with private scholarships. Several administrative and staff positions within the Office of the Chancellor, the Executive Vice Chancellor’s Office, and Business and Finance will be eliminated, resulting in a $2.95 million savings. This is a $260,000 increase from the initial proposal.

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