EKU Cuts Spending, Regents Promote Early Retirements

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While Eastern Kentucky University is working to cut spending by $23 million, its Board of Regents will promote early retirements to before instituting layoffs. Chairman Craig Turner says a plan the regents approved Tuesday morning offers incentives to professors willing to work part-time and staff members who qualify for early retirement.

“The objective here again is to treat everybody as fairly as possible, providing incentives for them to potentially retire, and based upon those numbers, then that will determine how deep cuts go on the reduction plan itself,” Turner said.

The board also authorized the involuntary layoff of faculty and staff. Turner says the total number of layoffs depends on the success of their early retirement incentives. EKU is downsizing and reorganizing as its board searches for a new president.

Last week, Murray State University's board of regents authorized the administration to begin cutting more than $5 million from the budget and creating an extra $1 million in new revenue streams.