KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Budget maneuvers and unforeseen developments have allowed UMKC's College of Arts & Sciences to restore two of the four theater positions cut from the department earlier in the summer.
The positions were eliminated amid budget cuts from Governor Eric Greitens, coupled with declining enrollment across the University of Missouri school system.
“The UMKC Department of Theatre plays a very significant role in the cultural life of our community," said Barbara Bichelmeyer, the interim chancellor and provost at UMKC. "The people of Kansas City’s university worked very hard to find a way to lessen the impact of a still-difficult budget situation."
School officials said several retirements both in and outside the theatre department, as well as adjustments to the existing budget, allowed them to restore the positions.
UMKC senior Kyle Womelduff called the news a good start but said the department and its students are still reeling from cuts.
"They've cut shows, and I know a lot of my peers and friends are pretty devastated about what's going on," he said.
More cuts could come in the future, following an ongoing review of all programs and budget expectations that should be completed before the end of the year.
"We are at a very critical stage right now," College of Arts & Sciences Dean Wayne Vaught said of the funding situation.
The department has already had to cut 16 percent of its budget, but it is committed to supporting the arts -- even through subsidizing programs and maintaining a deficit.
"UMKC continues to subsidize the Theatre department with about $1 million a year culled from general revenues," said a statement from the university Wednesday.
The Kansas City Star has reported that the theatre program operates at a deficit of around $1.3 million. Bichelmeyer told the paper back in June that figure was "by far" the largest in the Arts & Sciences college.
“We cut so much that we can either have students with no one to teach them, or we can pay for faculty and have no graduate students in our MFA programs,” said professor and UMKC chair Tom Mardikes at an event earlier this summer. “We’ve been cut to the point where we cannot provide the programs that we have drawn these young people of Kansas City to do."
In an earlier statement, UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton lamented a necessity for staff cuts:
The University is solving a $20 to $30 million deficit based on cuts in our state appropriations, and that will impact our operations for the foreseeable future... When 80 to 90 percent of your costs is in people, it’s hard to do without touching people in some way.
Morton went on to say the university has never had the intention of eliminating the theatre program outright but said the university has to be mindful of costs in order to support a wide range of programs.
“When you’re faced with the kinds of cuts we’re faced with, you have to stand up and make some difficult decisions,” Morton said.
Mardikes said the program is already down four positions due to cuts in the past. The most recent round of cuts in 2017 removed more than 50 university employees, including 29 faculty positions.
Other UMKC programs and positions the cuts impact are libraries, the Bloch school, campus facilities, Arts & Sciences, and Student Affairs.
In intercollegiate athletics, roughly $1.3 million will be cut in staff positions, operating expenses, and scholarships.
For a detailed look at UMKC’s new budget plan released back in June, click here.
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