At least 111 staff members have applied for voluntary severance from DU as a result of the financial crisis affecting the university and other schools nationwide.

The figure was supplied by Dick Gartrell, director of Human Resources.

In an e-mail sent to faculty and staff on Nov. 19, Chancellor Robert Coombe unveiled the voluntary severance program, in which staff members who willingly left DU would receive a lump-sum payment equal to six months’ salary.

Full-and part-time benefited staff and union employees with at least one year of service were eligible to sign up for the voluntary leave by Dec. 24.

In a memo to faculty and staff on Dec. 15, Gartrell detailed a second wave of staff employee severance as part of a “targeted reduction program,” or the possibility of staff firings which would commence this month.

He said any individual whose position is eliminated as a result of this realignment will be offered a severance package that will consist of a lump-sum payment equal to their salary until June 30.

“Decisions regarding unit realignment and the related reductions, if any, in staff positions will be made early in the new calendar year only after we have had the opportunity to evaluate the impact of the voluntary separation program,” Gartrell wrote.

He also wrote that the university will provide two workshops early this month and in February that will provide support and assistance to staff members preparing materials for a job search.

Gartrell said he won’t know how many staff members will actually leave for some time.

Those applicants who are over 40 years old have 45 days to accept the program from the date they picked up their agreement. Those applicants who are younger than 40 years old have until this Thursday to accept the program.

“We had probably a somewhat larger group of people express their interest [in the program], but until it’s all said an done we won’t know how successful the program is,” Gartrell said.

“Provost Gregg Kvistad attended the last meeting of the Faculty Senate for the fall quarter on Nov. 21 and outlined the difficulties DU would face if enrollment drops significantly for the 2009-10 academic year. If the drop is large, faculty jobs may be eliminated, Kvistad said.

Anne McCall, dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS), stated in an e-mail sent Jan. 10 that eight AHSS staff positions have been removed.

Ken Stafford, vice chancellor of University Technology Services, said they lost one staff member.

Eric Gould, vice provost of internationalization, said three staff members were lost in the Office of Internationalization. One was reportedly lost in the Service Learning department.

Daniels College of Business declined to comment on how many staff members have applied for the program.

Coombe wrote in his Nov. 19 e-mail that the structural realignments of the university are “taken in an effort to assemble resources that will be applied to financial aid for our students, both undergraduate and graduate, faculty and staff salaries, and our defenses in the face of the weakening economy.”

“We recognize that this will be a difficult time for our community and that is why we have chosen to offer this voluntary program,” Coombe wrote.

“In addition to the voluntary severance program, Coombe wrote that all vacant staff positions across the university would be rescinded, including recently halted searches and positions that have been vacant for some time.

A temporary hiring freeze was instituted at DU in October when the financial turmoil on Wall Street began.

Coombe also wrote that the offices of the Provost and the Vice Chancellor for Business and Financial Affairs have recommended a number of cuts in supply and expense budgets.

He stated that he would work with business units to apply structural realignments that could result in more staff reductions.

“In taking these steps, we have worked carefully to minimize their impact on individual employees while ensuring the financial strength and sustainability of the university,” he wrote.

In this e-mail, Coombe reassured faculty and staff that the university is still in good condition.

“Our assets and enrollments are strong, and applications for both our undergraduate and graduate programs continue to surge,” he said.