The University of Montana will be presenting its voluntary early retirement plan to eligible faculty Friday.
UM President Sheila Stearns says early retirement will be offered, “exclusively to a subset of full-time tenured faculty at the university’s main campus and Missoula College.”
In a letter to faculty and staff, Stearns says some will be disappointed to hear that voluntary retirement won’t be available to all employees. She says the program’s scope is being limited by funding from state lawmakers, and guidance from the Board of Regents and Commissioner of Higher Education on bringing UM’s faculty-to-student ratio “in line with other units in the state university system.”
In April, Stearns announced a $3 million budget cut for UM.
Enrollment at the school has dropped by about 3,500 students since 2009.
