by Isabelle Camoin ’26 on April 30, 2026
News
In its mission, Providence College declares itself to be a liberal arts institution. The curriculum requires students to participate in the humanities and arts through core requirements and four semesters of Development of Western Civilization. The unique aspect about being a liberal arts institution with professional areas of study is that undergraduate students can be both “life ready and career ready” in the words of provost Dr. Smith. For example, one can study to become an accountant and still take classes in the arts.
Maintaining a balance between professional areas of study and the liberal arts curriculum has proven to be a delicate challenge financially. Many universities and colleges across the country continue to face budget cuts, hiring freezes, and even closures. According to a recent PBS report, “Hampshire College, a liberal arts college in Massachusetts, has announced it will close at the end of the year. But the college is hardly alone. A new estimate projects that nearly 450 of the nation’s 1,700 private, nonprofit colleges and universities are at risk of closing or having to merge within the next decade.” Additionally, an estimated 25 percent of private schools are at risk of merging or closing within the next 10 years.
Higher education has been facing many challenges in maintaining its integrity and survival. Smith shared that there is a lack of trust in higher education and its ability to provide a return on investment. He also emphasized that the allocation of federal grants to higher education institutions has declined. Employee health insurance has increased. All of these factors put a lot of pressure on making financial decisions.
Chief financial officer John Sweeney indicated that the increasing number of faculty is growing faster than student enrollment at PC, which is financially unsustainable long term. This further emphasizes the recent trends in Northeastern high school graduates that suggest a decline in college enrollment in the Northeast.
Financially, PC is also in a unique position since many of our leadership positions do not take salaries. Sweeney shared that the school allocates an estimated $5 million to house and support the Friars on campus. Sweeney also shared that compared to other schools our President’s Cabinet funding is low because we do not pay our president or executive vice president.
With a quick search on ProPublica you can find that the top paid positions of our institution are mostly housed in the athletics department. You would also be able to find that Dr. Quincy Bevely’s cabinet position as Senior Vice President of Institutional Diversity Equity and Inclusion was in the top paid positions. When inquiring with Sweeney about where this salary will be redistributed to, he shared that it will be saved for future initiatives the College may choose to invest in. This was shared without any concrete provisions. He also assured that the money already allocated to diversity, equity, and inclusion will remain in Moore Hall’s budget under the Office of Mission and Ministry. When asked about the future plans of the Fr. Morris Institute, Sweeney shared that it is being developed with philanthropic support. He also shared that it is too early to know plans for hiring.
PC has moved forward with decisions that seek to preserve financial security amidst institutional changes, an overall request to cut spending by one to two percent has been advised. The Office of Academic Affairs and overall departmental budgets, were requested by Smith to prepare for reductions of up to 10 percent in order to allow for different options for consideration.
Smith shared that the overall academic affairs budget includes labs and facilities, staff and faculty, IT, research and faculty development, and discretionary department budgets. Smith shared that he left the decision of how to cut funding up to the discretion of academic departments, but that he advised cutting from department discretionary budgets. He also included that the Provost’s Office has taken discretionary budget cuts. Ten percent budget cuts will look different for each department. Smith was unable to provide the amount of funding each department receives and how this impacts their budgets.
In a recent open letter from the faculty, concern for this decision was raised in regard to trust and transparency within the institution. The letter discussed, “…the issue of an across the board 10 percent budget cut requested of every department and program on campus. Perhaps this is financially necessary: but it has not been explained this way–—in fact, we have been assured, time and again, that the campus is in an enviable and solid financial position: a fact that we, as faculty, are grateful for. We cannot help but notice that we have funds to pay off a nine million dollar coaching contract, funds to hire and pay off another coach’s contract, and fly him to campus on a private jet,” referring to the firing of former head men’s basketball coach Kim English and the recent hiring of his replacement, Brian Hodgson, and his new coaching staff. Though athletics and academics are not overseen by the same Cabinet members, nor do they share budgets, these actions indicate the direction the school is taking in their funding priorities.
There is a looming concern on the direction the College is heading based on financial decisions. Currently, the School of Business houses the largest percentage of students attending PC at 45 percent. The School of Business is followed by the School of Arts and Sciences at 39 percent. The School of Nursing and Health Sciences accounts for 11 percent of students, the School of Education and Social Work accounts for five percent, and less than one percent of students are accounted for as pursuing individualized/general studies. The distribution between professional and educational degrees remains relatively balanced. However, departments such as global studies in the School of Arts and Sciences, are faced with vacant positions and a decline in student enrollment.
Sweeney shared that there is an aim to remain financially flexible to student and parent’s demands. Smith also shared a similar sentiment when stating that parents want their child to have a job when they graduate,demonstrating a care for not only student demands but the demands of families. Amidst budget cuts and an increasing financial focus on new areas of study at the College, there are concerns for the future of departments that may be in a phase of decline and are unable to bring in large amounts of financial support. In the faculty open letter, it was shared that “…the creativity required of faculty in this moment of tremendous technological
change would provide reasons to increase departmental and program budgets, especially if
those departments and programs can show how they will be used to increase student
engagement and critical thinking skills. Such flat, across the board cuts also place undue stress
on growing departments handling increased numbers of majors and students.” In a climate that is prioritizing meeting certain student demands, the opportunity for other departments to expand and attempt to attract new learners is diminished.
Both Sweeney and Smith shared their appreciation for the liberal arts curriculum PC has to offer. Currently, the school seems to be navigating a fluctuating market in higher education, whilst attempting to preserve its own identity and traditions. Smith shared that, “Budgets are priorities set to numbers,” truly emphasizing that the schools allocation of funds speak to what the school cares about and is choosing to focus on.