Naropa University in Boulder is eliminating 11 core faculty positions and about 40 instructor jobs in an attempt to correct a long-term structural operating deficit in the university’s budget.
Naropa President Paul Burkhardt to the staff, faculty and students of Naropa on Wednesday announcing the decision.
“These sorts of reductions are very difficult, and they cause suffering,” Burkhardt told the Daily Camera on Thursday. “I want to reiterate how much I appreciate the people who are affected and the good work that they’ve done for Naropa, and the way the whole Naropa community is supporting one another, including those most affected through this process.”
Six core Naropa faculty members volunteered to leave their jobs and accept a leave of absence, in which they still receive medical benefits from Naropa but don’t work or receive their salary. Five additional core faculty members were told their positions were being eliminated for the upcoming academic year. Those five faculty members were also offered a leave of absence.
Faculty on leave can request a return to regular employment next year or elect not to return at all. If a professor on a leave of absence decides not to return — or if Naropa cannot support a return — severance based on years of service will be provided in spring 2027.
Faculty on leave also have the option to continue teaching at Naropa as adjunct instructors, who teach per course and are paid per credit.
“We want to hold our community together … thatap why we’re encouraging our faculty on leave to continue to teach,” Burkhardt said. “We’re looking forward to continuing to grow so that even though we have to shrink right now, as we return to growth, we can bring back those who are on leave of absence. And, hire more full-time faculty as well as adjuncts and more staff and pay them better.”
Naropa also employs instructors, who are part-time or full-time professors with one-year contracts. Out of 50 Naropa instructors, about 40 of them were informed that their contracts would not be renewed. They were also given the option to teach as adjuncts.
The university also has about 50 core faculty members.
Naropa has been operating with a roughly $2 million since the pandemic, Burkhardt said, meaning Naropa’s expenses each year consistently exceeded the money it brought in by roughly $2 million.
The university has previously sustained itself through federal government subsidies, increased fundraising efforts various properties. Those short-term strategies were reasonable at the time, Burkhardt said, but are not sustainable long-term.
Because Naropa’s enrollment grew during the pandemic, faculty and staff hiring also increased. After the pandemic, student enrollment began to decline, so between 2023 and 2026, Naropa reduced staff primarily through attrition and by leaving vacant positions unfilled.
Even as new student enrollment this summer is three times greater than last year, enrollment will still decline as the university graduates larger cohorts from past years.
To respond to those challenges, Naropa operational, enrollment and budget plan. Part of that plan includes what to do with the proceeds Naropa will receive from the next year.
“Itap very hard to lose this beloved building … but thatap going to bring in over $20 million in cash,” Burkhardt said. “The trick is to make sure that we don’t use it to continue to fund a structural deficit, but rather to correct the business model, to make sure that we’re able to flourish.”
As part of the decision to eliminate faculty and instructor positions, adjunct pay has been increased for the upcoming year. The new rates are $1,300 per credit for undergraduate courses and $1,500 per credit for graduate courses. Previous adjunct pay ranged from $857 to $1,221 per credit. For a typical three-credit, one-semester graduate class at Naropa, an adjunct instructor will get paid $4,500.
The faculty and instructor eliminations happened across campus and depended on the balance between revenue and expenses in each department, Burkhardt said. The departments that were especially impacted, he said, were the Department of Wisdom Traditions and the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, due to decreases in enrollment.
“But we value those program areas very deeply, and we will always be committed to having religious studies, world wisdom traditions and arts at the center of our curriculum,” Burkhardt said. “But we do need to shrink it right now before we regrow it. It is not our intention to move away from those areas of study, and at this point in time, we’re not closing any programs.”
No faculty or instructors are being released from their jobs because of performance. Naropa needs to evolve so it can survive a changing higher education landscape, Burkhardt said.
“Itap not every institution thatap willing to evolve. But Naropa is willing to evolve,” Burkhardt said. “And so we have a plan, and we see a pathway forward for this evolution that many institutions are unable to see or implement. So I’m very optimistic and confident in the future of Naropa.”
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