UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences will face the largest monetary cuts of all UF colleges and administrative units next year, when it will lose $9.5 million and about 110 faculty and staff positions.
Though the figure is large, the multi-million dollar purge is consistent with the 6 percent cuts taken across campus, said Jimmy Cheek, senior vice president of IFAS, in a Friday telephone interview.
The cuts will eliminate 14 faculty and 96 staff positions, 44 of which are vacant. No faculty will be fired, but IFAS faces 66 staff layoffs.
Retaining faculty was Cheek's highest priority when deciding what to eliminate and what to protect, he said.
"Faculty are the intellectual resource of the university," he said. "We have to have the capacity to fill some vacant positions over time."
Because UF is the state's land-grant university, there is an IFAS extension office in each county and 13 research centers statewide, said Jack Battenfield, IFAS spokesman.
He said staff cuts were directed toward the institute's research centers across the state and in Gainesville.
Recent resignations and the arrival of new grants provide unexpected funding that could save some positions slated to be laid off. Cheek said he anticipates the number of proposed layoffs to be lower by July 1.
In addition to seeking private donations for UF's capital campaign, Florida Tomorrow, Cheek said he has been encouraging faculty to seek grants, contracts and endowments for more support.
"We've got to be more entrepreneurial," he said.
