UNC-Chapel Hill trustees celebrate NC budget funding even as campus faces more cuts

As students prepare to return to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, trustees are celebrating a new state budget while voicing some concerns about cuts they’ve promised to make.

Nate Knuffman, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations, told trustees Wednesday that the university put itself in a “favorable position” with legislators by committing early in the year to cut $25 million in administrative spending before the state budget was finalized.

“I think that work really did put us in a good position and a strong position with the legislature and probably helped us avoid a management flexibility cut or some other consequences,” said Knuffman.

The state budget fully funded enrollment growth. It included salary increases and bonuses for employees, new sports gambling revenue for athletics, and planning and infrastructure funds for Carolina North, the university’s massive expansion plan.

But even with a favorable budget, he said UNC-Chapel Hill must continue to find savings.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Knuffman told the Board of Trustee’s budget and finance committee.

About 70% of the cuts the school has already made were identified through the university’s ServiceFirst initiative by consolidating human resources, finance, technology workers and other admin positions.

Eliminating vacant positions on the Chapel Hill campus has made it easier to achieve savings, he said, but the belt-tightening will continue this fall.

Knuffman said by October 1, there will be a list of vacant positions that will be eliminated and a movement of other staff into shared service centers. Beyond that, the university will look at how to better leverage technology to complete certain tasks.

Administrative headcount at Carolina has decreased 5.5% from 2025 to this year.

Balancing growth with cuts

Trustee Perrin Jones said while he’s all for finding new ways to save money, he has concerns about trying to dial back administrative support to 2019 levels, a benchmark suggested by the UNC System.

“The university has changed a good deal over the last seven years. Our student population has increased. I just want to make sure that we’re not going to strangle the ability to grow the university while we’re trying to find efficiency,” said Jones.

UNC-Chapel Hill hopes to increase enrollment by 5,000 students over the next 10 years. Student Body President Devin Duncan, an ex officio member of the board, questioned whether a smaller Student Affairs staff will be able to manage a higher caseload of students.

“What are some of those types of data points that you’re looking at to determine where you could make those thoughtful cuts or where you need to invest more money?” Duncan asked.

Trustee Jim Blaine said while he was supportive of the administrative consolidation, he’s also interested in opportunities for savings in the university’s executive leadership.

“I think there’s a lot of questions around the people at the upper end of our pay scale — finding out who they are, what they do and what they’re responsible for,” said Blaine.

As students return to UNC-Chapel Hill, university employees brace for ‘nerve-racking’ budget cuts

Trustee Brian Allen said that while the university is making difficult choices, it would be wise to set key performance indicators to measure their success, as well as conducting a fresh survey of students, parents and faculty.

“Sometimes reality doesn’t matter as much as the perception. So we may think we’re doing a good job, but if the faculty does not think we’re doing a very good job, it’s good to know that,” said Allen.

The Daily Tar Heel reported in January that 52% of UNC staff view the cuts  somewhat or very negatively.

The full Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday. Classes at UNC-Chapel Hill begin August 17.