Loyola Maryland cuts 66 positions amid $20 million budget deficit

Loyola University Maryland cut 66 positions at its Evergreen Campus on North Charles Street, a move that included 29 layoffs and the elimination of 37 vacant jobs as the North Baltimore school works to close a $20 million structural deficit.

University leaders said the reductions were part of a broader operational reset, not a temporary trim. President Terrance Sawyer said the changes were meant to let Loyola reallocate resources while carrying out its strategic plan, with the goal of preserving the university’s ability to invest in its community, maintain campus infrastructure and support new academic programs while keeping costs reasonable for students and families.

The pressure on the 172-year-old Jesuit university has been building for years. Loyola says it has faced an ongoing structural budget deficit, driven in part by demographic shifts, fewer students, rising expectations for financial aid and weaker public confidence in higher education. The university has also pointed to a 24% drop in tuition revenue between 2019 and 2024 as a major factor behind the shortfall.

Loyola’s Operational Excellence effort has been led by Provost Cheryl Moore-Thomas and Vice President for Administration and Finance and Treasurer Kristy Michel. The university said more than 400 people took part in a March 23, 2026 town hall, and leaders returned to the community at a May 21 town hall to discuss final recommendations. After reviewing outside recommendations, vice presidents and Sawyer combined some proposals and removed others. Year one of the process produced more than 40 recommendations, and the final report identified 20 as the most promising.

The school’s own planning documents say the target is to reduce the structural deficit by fiscal year 2028 and build a budget with sustainable savings by fiscal year 2029. Loyola’s 2025-26 profile lists 1,120 graduate students, including 299 entering and 821 continuing. It also says 99% of students receive financial aid and 98% receive a Loyola-funded grant or scholarship, a reminder of how tightly university finances and student affordability are linked.

Loyola’s 2025 audited financial statements, prepared by KPMG LLP, cover the years ended May 31, 2025 and May 31, 2024 and say management must evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about the university’s ability to continue as a going concern for one year after issuance, though the audit does not say such doubt exists.

For Baltimore, the cuts matter well beyond the campus gates. Loyola is a major North Baltimore employer and a visible part of the city’s higher-education landscape, and the reductions add to signs that enrollment pressure and rising operating costs are forcing Baltimore-area colleges to make harder choices about staffing, spending and long-term scale.