A Message from President Cudd Regarding Our Financial Path Forward
Sent to PSU Faculty & Staff on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025
Dear Colleagues,
Friday morning, several members of Portland State University’s executive team joined me in hosting a Financial Town Hall to share an important update on our budget and a clear strategy for the next two years. I want to ensure every one of you has this information.
Despite our successful efforts to reduce the budget by $18 million last year, our university, like many others, faces a significant and persistent financial challenge. Declining enrollment since 2010, rising costs and reductions in state support have resulted in a new budget gap. Our analysis shows we must reduce expenditures by approximately $35 million over the next two years to secure our financial future and stop the cycle of annual budget cuts.
This will not be easy, but it is necessary. We have heard and reflected upon the feedback we received from last year’s plan. We are responding to that feedback with a comprehensive, collaborative, multi-year strategy to achieve financial sustainability by FY2028. It is built on two core strategies:
- Instructional Portfolio Rebalancing: We will use an inclusive data-driven process to align our academic programs and academic support programs with student demand, regional workforce needs and our mission.
- Administrative & Fiscal Optimization: This process will evaluate administrative functions based on their importance to the mission, demand, financial stability and efficiency. The findings will determine which operations should be restructured, consolidated or eliminated to improve overall effectiveness.
I want to be transparent: given that more than 80% of our budget is tied to personnel, these strategies will likely result in workforce reductions. This is a deeply difficult reality, and we are committed to approaching this in a thoughtful and compassionate way.
Our path forward is to build a new era of achievement for Portland State. We are not aiming to return to the past, but to create a vibrant future that reflects our 2030 Vision. We need to make the necessary adjustments to advance as a 20,000-student university. By embracing who we are today, we can ensure Portland State continues to thrive as an anchor institution for our students and our region.
We will present this plan to the Board of Trustees at their meeting this week. I will provide a progress update at the Administrative Briefing on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
In the meantime, I encourage you to review the updated Bridge to the Future 2.0 webpage for a detailed summary and timeline, an in-depth report of our plan and a recording of Friday’s Financial Town Hall.
Thank you to everyone who attended Friday and for your thoughtful questions. And thank you all for your dedication and your understanding as we navigate this challenging but vital work together.
Sincerely,
President Ann Cudd
Portland State University