Dear Campus Colleagues,
I know many of you are waiting to see the Final Plan in our Article 22 retrenchment process as part of our overall financial sustainability effort. Following the close of the second comment period and my meetings with all potentially affected departments, we have been working toward a Final Plan that will complete the process of reducing or eliminating academic departments to address our deficit.
As part of this effort we have been in negotiations with the PSU-AAUP academic union to pursue pathways that limit the number of involuntary layoffs while still achieving the savings needed to close PSU’s $35 million budget gap. That work and those conversations are ongoing and today, PSU and PSU-AAUP released a joint statement to address the delay.
You can read the statement in full below. Thank you for your patience and engagement in this process and I will be back in touch with more details and the Final Plan later this month.
Sincerely,
Ann Cudd
PSU President
Joint statement from Portland State University and PSU-AAUP:
Portland State University and the PSU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (Association) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to outline a process for ongoing retrenchment discussions in advance of the University issuing its Final Plan of retrenchment for the process it began on March 9, 2026.
The Association and the University have agreed to engage in joint negotiations through July 15, 2026, to explore whether they may reach agreement regarding alternative ways of meeting the budget reductions identified in the Provisional Plan using ideas brought forth through the Article 22 process to reduce the number of involuntary layoffs. Any finalized alternative agreements and related retirement transitions must be fully executed by July 15, 2026, to be incorporated into the Final Plan. To allow the University and the Association a full opportunity to explore these alternatives, the University has agreed to delay issuing its Final Plan of retrenchment until the week of July 20.
As part of this MOU, in response to feedback received during the comment period on the Provisional Plan, the University is announcing that the final date of employment for all instructional faculty who received notice of layoff on May 14, 2026, will be extended to June 15, 2027. Further, the final date of employment for all academic professionals who received notice of layoff will be extended to be December 15, 2026. The University may amend that notice date to meet unit needs.