Bowie State University to cut 79 jobs amid $18 million deficit

Bowie State University is cutting 79 positions as it tries to close an $18 million deficit, a move that will shrink its workforce of 1,175 employees and reverberate through one of Prince George’s County’s biggest anchor institutions.

The reductions will come through a mix of vacant jobs, reorganization and layoffs, university leaders said, after months of mounting pressure from lower enrollment, reduced state and federal funding, and rising costs for employee benefits, utilities and essential technology. Bowie State’s total FY 2026 budget was $222,401,946, so the gap amounts to a sizable hit for a public university of its scale.

The financial strain has been building for months. In a March 3 budget town hall, Bowie State said it had already closed a $13.6 million shortfall without layoffs by cutting costs, delaying hiring, improving processes and diversifying revenue. Even then, the university warned that enrollment remained weak and that more than $3 million in unbudgeted expenses were still hanging over the budget.

Those enrollment losses are now part of the problem. Bowie State’s FY 2026 budget materials show actual fall enrollment ran 2% below budget, with 238 fewer enrolled students and 2,901 fewer credit hours. Spring enrollment was projected to come in 3% below budget, or 267 fewer students and 3,254 fewer credit hours. Tuition and fee revenue was projected at $52,327,972, down from $54,885,195 budgeted for FY 2025. At the same time, in-state undergraduate tuition rose from $6,113 to $6,235, a 2% increase.

The squeeze also hit funding tied to Bowie State’s status as Maryland’s oldest historically Black university. The school’s budget materials show state general funds at $64,286,454 and HBCU settlement general funds at $16,318,751, with the HBCU settlement money reduced because of lower enrollment. The university also faced a broader fiscal environment in which Maryland’s revenue deficit was estimated at about $3 billion and the University System of Maryland said its own FY 2026 budget faced a $111.1 million shortfall.

For Bowie, the consequences go beyond its campus in Bowie. As a major employer and a pipeline for local students seeking degrees, credentials and upward mobility, any cut in staffing can ripple into classroom support, student services and the county’s workforce-development engine. University leaders are scheduled to hold a budget forum on May 15, one week before spring commencement, where more detail is expected on what parts of the university will absorb the cuts and how deeply the reductions will affect daily operations.