Less than a week after announcing likely staff cuts and program changes amid budget constraints, leaders at
Alverno College announced Friday that an anonymous donor has offered a matching grant to the university – pledging to match up $1.5 million in donations made to the college between now and the end of the year.
The Catholic, liberal arts college for women, founded in 1887 and located on the city’s south side,
announced Monday that it will likely seek “program changes and a reduction of faculty and staff positions” in a recommendation to its board of trustees within the next 60 days. No other details about the program changes or layoffs were disclosed.
The announcement about the matching grant was made Friday by
Alverno College president Christy L. Brown, JD, during her presidential inauguration address.
“This generous contribution shows confidence among our donors in our collective mission to prepare women for lives of personal and professional distinction and meaningful engagement with the world, and to provide an abilities-based education. This gift will support our endeavors towards financial sustainability,” Brown said. “It also is a call to action to all who know, love or have been impacted and touched by Alverno through education, a coworker in their workplace, or a friend. It is a challenge for us all to rally together in solidarity and determination to create a new, stronger Alverno College.”
Although the donation news comes after the college’s budget cuts announcement, it is not clear whether any money raised as result of the gift will be able to mitigate or reduce the number positions or programs that are cut going forward.
“The gift is going toward the highest priority as we adapt, and figure out how to get to that financial sustainability,” Kim Muench, interim vice president for advancement at Alverno College, told BizTimes Milwaukee on Friday.
A growing trend
Current enrollment at Alverno is 1,719. Of that, 887 are undergraduates and 832 are graduate students. This year’s enrollment is up 7.7% from the 2022-23 school year, but it is down 28% from the 2014-15 school year when Alverno’s enrollment was at 2,389.
Alverno College in Milwaukee is just the latest Wisconsin higher education institution to plan cost-cutting measures to address financial challenges caused by rising costs and declining enrollment.
Cardinal Stritch University, founded in 1937 and located in Fox Point and Glendale, shut down at the end of its spring 2023 semester.
Earlier this year the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee announced that it will cease operations of its Waukesha campus after the close of the spring 2025 semester. That news came about five months after UWM announced the closure of its Washington County campus in West Bend – its other satellite location.
Marquette in March announced places to cut the institution’s overall budget by $31 million over the next six years.
Concordia University Wisconsin also recently notified state officials that it planned to lay off 24 employees at its Mequon campus.
