SPRINGFIELD (AP) - Drury University has announced plans to cut a dozen jobs amid lower student enrollments.
Drury officials told 12 faculty members last week they're losing their jobs. Five of the faculty members will be let go in May.
Three of those are employed full time. The other seven, all full time, will only have contracts through the end of the 2016-17 year. Three faculty members will also be assigned to other roles in the university.
Drury spokesman Mike Brothers said the 12 faculty members losing their jobs teach in areas with less demand, including architecture, theater and languages. He said the cuts were the direct result of fewer students enrolling in Drury's traditional, undergraduate "day school," dropping from 1,454 students a year ago to 1,315 this year.
"It's a response to the current reality," Brothers said.
Brothers declined to say how much money would be saved by cutting the positions.
Students also gathered Tuesday lining the main hall outside President David Manuel's office to protest the cuts. They want Drury officials to consider alternatives to cutting faculty and they also want to be involved in any future discussions about cutting jobs.
"Our faculty are dedicated to us and that is why we are here," said junior Karis Agnew, who coordinated the sit-in. "We are dedicated to them."