UC Berkeley to cut spending in response to $150 million deficit

The University of California, Berkeley will cut spending significantly, announced Berkeley's Chancellor Nicholas Dirks this past Wednesday.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Berkeley faces a $150-million deficit, 6% of its annual operating budget. Dirks says that the university must make changes in response to a “new normal” of weakening taxpayer support.

Dirks explained in a teleconference that those changes are likely to include reviewing its staff structure, expanding its online course offerings and increasing fundraising through the athletic program, but the exact details will be determined in a strategic planning process over the next few months.

This past May, UC President Janet Napolitano and California Governor Jerry Brown reached a spending compromise which included a two year freeze on rising tuitions.

Dirks’ announcement comes amid a series of student protests on UC campuses against tuition hikes.

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