Claremont Graduate University (CGU) announced plans for extensive cuts and consolidations to university operations in light of a projected $7.8 million deficit for the coming year, according to an Oct. 6 email to faculty and staff from President Michelle Bligh.
The projected deficit follows a year of financial strains for the university, with records showing an $8.15 million deficit in the 2024-25 fiscal year. The university began pursuing potential partnerships to “address the operational budget gap” in April 2025, and began exclusive negotiations with Pomona College in December 2025.
Nick Owchar, CGU’s director of executive and advancement communications, said in an Oct. 15 statement shared with TSL that the university is trying to bridge the gap in its budget independently of the potential Pomona partnership.
“While a partnership could offer important opportunities, CGU must independently establish a sustainable financial foundation,” Owchar said.
Bligh’s Oct. 6 email outlined five key areas where changes will be made. Among these is a voluntary separation program — a benefits package offered to employees for their resignation or retirement — for CGU faculty and staff.
“Personnel is our biggest expense at CGU,” Bligh wrote. “[Voluntary separation programs] are a critical part of our broader effort to bring our workforce — both academic and operational — into alignment with the university’s restructuring and financial realities.”
Bligh also stated that CGU would reorganize and consolidate its academic portfolio, citing a faculty-approved vote to move from having seven academic units — five schools and two academic centers — to three units.
“Later this month, the CGU Board of Trustees will vote on the proposed redesign,” Owchar said. “Additional decisions regarding academic programs, staffing, and university operations will also be made in the months ahead as part of a multi-year strategy.”
Some programs have already begun to see these changes take shape. CGU’s MFA program has paused enrollment, according to an email shared to the program’s students on June 29.
In addition to pausing admissions, the university initially dismissed all adjunct faculty members in the MFA program, according to Belén Yudess CG ’27.
“We were going to have to complete all of our studio units with only three professors or four professors,” she said. “It kind of defeats the purpose of having studio units because then you’re just talking to the same person like five times, and the whole point is to get a diverse array of perspectives.”
Yudess said that the plan to dismiss adjunct faculty was reversed after MFA students met with Bligh and other administrators over the summer.
“It was very refreshing to have the fact that the president and all of these people who are dealing with a lot of crazy stuff took the time to listen to our concerns and come up with solutions that really benefited us,” Yudess said.
Bligh’s email also said the university would examine its “physical footprint” to reduce its maintenance and energy costs, which would include “hoteling” — increasing shared office and study spaces among students and faculty — and closing Hagelbarger’s Café after the fall semester.
CGU will also seek to consolidate and streamline services and reduce operating costs where possible, according to the email. Bligh emphasized that consolidation of services would occur regardless of whether or not the partnership with Pomona moves forward.
Owchar said CGU will “begin implementing deficit-reduction measures before the next fiscal year begins in July 2027, with the goal of achieving an ongoing balanced budget within five years.”
The boards of both Pomona and CGU will vote on the proposed partnership this month, according to Owchar.
This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.
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