RENO, Nev. (AP) - The University of Nevada, Reno has notified
about 40 upper-level staff that they will lose their jobs within a
year because of the state's escalating budget crisis.

UNR President Milton Glick called the layoffs draconian but
necessary in anticipation of projected 14 percent cuts Gov. Jim
Gibbons has told the university to prepare for during the 2009-2011
budget cycle.

"It was a very sad day at the university," said Glenn Miller,
a professor and president of the UNR Chapter of the Nevada Faculty
Alliance.

"No one really knew who was going to get those letters until
they were received. It was a difficult time. There were some very
good people that were basically given notice that they were not
going to have a job."

Bill Follette, chairman of the faculty senate, said, "As of
today, our campus is different."

The university absorbed a 4.5 percent budget reduction in
January. An additional 2 percent to 4 percent reduction is expected
this summer to address the state's $1.6 billion shortfall in
2007-09.

Gibbons has told university officials to plan for the 14 percent
cuts, Glick said. State leaders, including Senate Majority Leader
Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said that the state might be facing at least a
$1 billion deficit for the next two-year budget cycle because of a
steep downturn in sales and gaming taxes.

"If you are talking about 14 percent cuts, we will change the
trajectory of the university and we will not be able to serve the
state in the way that it needs to be served," Glick said.

"Already, we have fewer students going to college and
graduating than the states we compete with, and most of the states
in the nation. We need more education, not less education."

The university chose to cut senior professional staff first,
Glick said. Faculty positions were spared to protect the teaching
and research focus of the university, he said.

"We have set a priority of protecting students, education and
the value of a UNR degree," Glick said.

The layoffs were preceded by other cost-cutting measures last
week that included voluntary early retirement for qualified tenured
faculty members and a hiring freeze for non-essential positions.

"This reduction of our work force will be felt on our campus
for some time, particularly in reduced services and other key
campus roles," Glick said in a letter to staff and faculty Wednesday.

"And in the coming days, university administration will begin the process of assessing the institution's programs and resources, to further prepare for the state's budget reduction mandate.

"This may result in the elimination or consolidation of
programs or other services," Glick wrote.

"We will be as thoughtful as we can as we study possible
scenarios, and we will measure each program or service's value
based on their centrality to our mission."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)