UM System Facing $180M Budget Shortfall

The University of Missouri System is  expected a $180-million budget shortfall due to impacts from COVID-19, said Mun Choi, president of the system.

“We have a challenging road ahead,” he said, estimating that the country is facing a 13 percent unemployment rate. “We need to plan and address deficits for this year and next year. During the next weeks and months, we will be making some very difficult decisions together,”

Among the measures the MU system will take are cuts to all expenses, furloughs, layoffs and the elimination of some programs, Choi said. He and other top administrators in the system will be taking pay cuts. The system is attempting to cut its budget by 15 percent.

In-person classes at the system’s schools were suspended on March 11. Classes are expected at this time to resume in the fall and the current plan to to re-open schools in phases when that time comes.