Martin University in Indianapolis has a student body that is 94 percent Black. The university, founded in 1977, was named to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and St. Martin de Porres, who worked with the poor in Peru in the 16th and 17th centuries and became the first biracial Catholic saint.
The university experienced an unexpected drop in enrollments this fall. The school had expected 700 students to enroll for classes but only 522 actually did so.
The drop in enrollments has produced a $600,000 shortfall in anticipated revenues. As a result, the university has announced the layoffs of seven faculty and nine staff members.