In a letter to St. Thomas faculty and staff Friday, University President Julie Sullivan announced that she and her senior leadership team would take a 15% pay cut from May 15 through the end of 2020.

Sullivan, Executive Vice President and Provost Richard Plumb and Chief Financial Officer Mark Vangsgard are included in this cut. The rest of the president’s cabinet will take a 10% cut during the same time period.

“The financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are very serious and require that we immediately take disciplined steps to close out the current fiscal year ending June 30,” Sullivan wrote.

The university has experienced an $8 million revenue shortfall during the spring semester due to the pandemic, and the university expects the next fiscal year to be “even more difficult financially.”

Sullivan’s salary will take a cut of around $63,000; Plumb’s around $38,000 and Vangsgard’s around $27,000 based on 2017 reports.

The Star Tribune reported that private institutions will receive about $40 million in stimulus aid from the CARES Act. Half of that aid must be used for direct cash grants to students.

In that same letter, Sullivan also announced that the university is initiating a hiring freeze until further notice, all university-related travel would be suspended through July 31 and the university will “reduce discretionary spending.”

“These immediate mitigation strategies are difficult but necessary,” Sullivan wrote. “As we journey into the summer and plan for the fall, additional cost-cutting strategies will have to be employed.”

A “Scenario Planning Steering Committee,” co-chaired by Plumb and Vangsgard, was appointed by Sullivan to help guide her through additional decisions regarding financial health and success and to prepare the university to “adapt and thrive” following COVID-19.

Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.