Sacred Heart University has laid off 31 employees in a move that President John Petillo said was influenced by the pandemic and its knock-on economic effects.
Although the Fairfield-based university recently announced plans to acquire some programs from the University of Bridgeport ”“ the graduate-level engineering, chiropractic and nutrition programs, along with some education programs ”“ Petillo said that was not directly related to the job cuts.
“You may be asking why we did this while announcing layoffs,” he wrote to the SHU campus community. “I hope you can understand that both decisions were made to help ensure the university’s strength into the future. The acquired programs provide us opportunities to extend and diversify our academic offerings without spending any additional operational dollars.”
“This decision was made by the respective senior leaders in each area and was not made lightly,” Petillo continued. “However, this measure is part of a larger initiative to reimagine how we operate as a university in the face of anticipated financial and enrollment challenges ahead and, more importantly, remain regionally and nationally competitive.”
Some of the 31 affected employees had been furloughed earlier in the year. SHU said it will extend the opportunity for those workers to apply for other positions at the school.
