Moravian University has implemented a series of layoffs and budget reductions to address a multi-million dollar deficit. University President Bryon Grigsby announced the decision to faculty and staff in an email on Oct. 17.
According to Grigsby, the university’s projected operating deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year had reached $4.9 million, a shortfall driven mostly by overspending in the previous budget cycle and rising operational costs. The reductions, which he described as “painful but necessary,” included eliminating seven positions, restructuring four others, and making multiple staffing schedules and vacancy adjustments across departments.
“These weeks have been hard for everyone, as staffing changes have touched valued colleagues and friends,” Grigsby wrote in the email. “Our resources must focus on student success and on caring for the staff and faculty who bring our mission to life every day.”
The layoffs mark the end of a weeks-long internal review process that began in late September, following the university’s announcement of the deficit and a directive for each division to identify potential cost reductions. The combined impact of personnel reductions and operating budget changes has lowered the deficit to about $1.5 million.
Moravian’s Sept. 29 financial update detailed the pressures behind the cuts. While both undergraduate and graduate enrollment have continued to grow, juxtaposing national declining student population trends, expenses still outpaced revenue.
Between 2024 and 2025, operational expenses rose 24%, including a 41% increase in utilities, a 61% increase in grounds maintenance, a 52% increase in advertising, and a 41% increase in equipment costs. As a tuition-dependent institution, these expenses pose challenges. Despite high enrollment rates, Moravian’s financial stability remains closely tied to student revenue.
The increase in advertising comes as an effort to increase student enrollment across undergraduate, graduate, and adult completion programs.
“It became apparent once we knew the number of students, retention, and how much money we actually had,” Grigsby explained. “We had pulled as many levers as we could to figure out how to balance the budget. At that point, the options were either to freeze raises and retirement contributions, drop the operating budget by $5 million, which would impact students directly, or implement layoffs.”
Ultimately, the university opted for a combination of layoffs and operating reductions, which Grigsby said would allow the university to “maintain the student experience” while addressing its financial needs.
Grigsby emphasized that the layoffs were not performance-based. Instead, vice presidents across divisions assessed their departments and made recommendations for where work could be “restructured, reduced, or redistributed.” The goal, he said, was to preserve academic quality and student-facing operations.
“No faculty positions were affected,” Grigsby said. “No one will see day-to-day operations change. We already delegated tasks and are asking: does the work still need to be done, who is doing it, and what technology support can we get?”
The personnel adjustments included seven eliminated positions, four restructured positions, four vacant positions left unfilled, eight positions shifting from 12-month to 10-month schedules, two positions with reduced hours, two positions refilled at lower salaries, and three positions not being replaced after retirements.
Grigsby stated that while the university anticipates a balanced budget this year, it will continue to monitor expenses closely and limit nonessential purchases. The rollout of Oracle, a new financial management system, is expected to provide better oversight and prevent future overspending.
“This year’s deficit was, in many ways, self-inflicted,” Grigsby said. “We are one of the few institutions with growing revenue and enrollment. We just spent more than we budgeted for.”
Grigsby clarified that the HUB construction was not a factor in overspending.
Despite the financial challenges, Grigsby remains optimistic about Moravian’s trajectory. He said enrollment indicators for next fall are already ahead of last year. Graduate programs, in particular, have exceeded expectations, enrolling more new students this year than the incoming undergraduate class for the first time in the university’s history.
“We’ve been working for over a decade to offset the demographic cliff through new graduate and adult programs,” Grigsby said. “Programs like aviation, where there’s huge workforce demand, are key examples of how we’ll continue to grow sustainably.”
