Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, has announced plans to cut at least 16 faculty positions at the end of the current academic year, according to a report from WYSO.
The reduction in faculty follows a period of financial turmoil at the historically Black university. In 2024, Central State was placed on a fiscal watch by the Ohio Department of Higher Education. As a result, the HBCU cut 33 staff positions and seven faculty jobs in 2025. However, the university still faces a $26 million backlog in student tuition and fees, as well as unpaid utility bills with the city of Xenia.
In addition to cost-saving measures, some of the upcoming faculty cuts are a result of the HBCU’s compliance with the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, which requires public universities to eliminate programs that have graduated fewer than five students over a three-year period. The majority of these faculty layoffs are in humanities disciplines.
