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Howard University offers retirement packages to at least 600 faculty, staff
Howard University is offering voluntary retirement incentive packages to at least 600 eligible faculty and staff as part of what the school calls long-term workforce and financial planning. The move comes after hundreds of students were recently disenrolled over unpaid tuition, with some later reinstated.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Howard University is offering voluntary retirement incentive packages to at least 600 faculty and staff members as the school evaluates its workforce and long-term financial needs.
What to know
Howard said the Employee Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program is available to eligible faculty and staff members with significant years of service to the university.
Employees who participate are being offered the opportunity to retire with additional financial support and benefits.
A university spokesperson said about 16% of Howard employees are eligible for the program.
Howard said the program is "part of our responsibility to plan thoughtfully for the University’s long term financial sustainability and continued academic excellence."
Why Howard says it is offering the program
The university said the effort is focused on workforce planning, including examining its organizational structure and making strategic investments in emerging academic and research priorities.
Howard also stressed that voluntary retirement incentive programs are not new to the university.
The school previously offered similar programs in 2009-2010 and from 2013 through 2017, according to a university spokesperson.
Howard said faculty and staff were first informed about the current program internally on June 17.
Tuition controversy at Howard
The retirement incentive program comes as Howard continues responding to questions surrounding the abrupt disenrollment of 500 students over unpaid tuition at the beginning of the semester.
About 200 of those students have since been reinstated.
The university has said the retirement program is a separate workforce planning effort.
$80 million donation raises questions
Howard also received an $80 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott last fall.
According to The Dig, Howard’s university newsletter, $63 million of the donation went to general university funds and $17 million went directly to the Howard University College of Medicine.
FOX 5 asked Howard how that donation relates, if at all, to the university’s current financial planning and retirement incentive program. The university had not responded to that question at the time of reporting.
What's next:
Howard has not said how many eligible employees are expected to accept the voluntary retirement packages.
The university maintains the program is intended to support long-term financial sustainability while allowing it to redirect resources toward academic and research priorities.
The Source: This article was written using information from Howard University and reporting from FOX 5’s Tisha Lewis.