Jul 20, 2013 07:29 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Around 31 employees have been laid off and 20 vacant positions have been removed to effectively manage the 2013-14 fiscal year budget of $160 million at Xavier University (XU). The layoffs are a part of the $5 million cost-cutting program.

Overall, the 51 lost jobs represent 5 percent of Xavier's labour force of nearly 1,000 employees. In a letter issued May 30 by the president of the university, the layoffs are estimated to save $800,000 in the 2014 financial year alone, which began July 1.

"This is an important and difficult step," said, President Rev. Michael Graham. "However, the changing world of higher education requires a tighter alignment of all our resources with our mission, vision and strategy to secure the long-term health and vitality of Xavier University and the students we serve."

Graham also hinted at the possible layoffs in the letter.          

"Eliminating their positions to better secure our strategic future was a tough decision, one that I own," Graham said. "I am sure that some will question whether we have compromised the Jesuit identity of Xavier University because the principle of cura personalis, the care of the person, is so very central to that tradition. I confess that I have pondered that myself. And yet, the Jesuit tradition has always sought to balance cura personalis with cura apostolica, the care and continuation of the work. It was in that balance that I made these difficult decisions."

The university has decided to invest its 2014 budget on financial aid, tuition hikes, renovation of the Alter Hall classroom building and other academic facilities for students.

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