School of Public Health lays off lecturers, staff amid budget shortfall

Lex Eisenberg, a lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, told the Michigan Daily they received notice that they had been laid off mid-contract on March 13. 

“What sucked about losing my job was also that I had to tell all of my students,” Eisenberg said. “I’ve been here for 10 years, first as a student and then as a lecturer — it just feels disrespectful.”

Eisenberg isn’t the only one — during the winter semester, citing financial strain from reduced federal research funding and declining international enrollment, the Public Health School fully laid off two lecturers and partially laid off two others — meaning they will have reduced teaching loads or a hiatus. Two of the impacted lecturers are from the Health Behavior and Health Equity department, one of six departments in the school. 

The Public Health School also eliminated or will no longer fill 15 staff positions, though it is unclear what roles have been eliminated, and from which departments. 

Funding cuts, instability pressure Public Health School budget

In an April 28 email to the Public Health School community, Interim Dean Lynda Lisabeth wrote that the reduction in faculty and staff was challenging, and that the administration is working to minimize the impact on students.

“These are deeply difficult decisions,” Lisabeth wrote. “The individuals affected are valued members of our community, and these actions in no way reflect their contributions or capabilities. Out of respect for privacy, we will not share identifying details, though individuals may choose to do so.”

According to the email, some courses will be reassigned to other faculty members, while certain electives with lower enrollment may be offered less frequently or paused. 

The Public Health School relies primarily on two revenue streams: tuition revenue from student enrollment and indirect cost recovery from research — funding from federal grants that helps cover overhead costs like facilities and administrative support. According to an email sent to faculty and staff, both revenue streams are under pressure, and the school is predicting a budget shortfall for fiscal year 2027, which begins in July 2026. 

Declining enrollment, particularly among international students, has contributed to strain on tuition revenue. While overall enrollment has declined only slightly since 2022, the school saw a 65-student drop in international enrollment between 2024 and 2025. That decline is expected to continue nationwide amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban affecting 19 countries and increased scrutiny of student visa issuance.

Enrollment figures are a key component of the school’s general fund allocation — the core operating budget allocated by the University from state appropriations and tuition revenue. The allocation peaked at $57.7 million in fiscal year 2024 and declined by 5.8% and 10.7% in each subsequent fiscal year. 

Applications to the Public Health School’s master’s program have decreased by 22.8%. Public Health lecturer Kirsten Herold, Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs vice chair, told The Daily that uncertainty at the federal level has dampened interest in public health — a field she says has diversity, equity and inclusion principles “baked into” it. 

“The master’s program is where the big hit is,” Herold said. “It’s a lot of money to pay right now for a degree that is — you know — who knows? We have an administration in Washington D.C. that doesn’t believe in public health.”

At the same time, research funding has become less reliable. Although the school’s total research expenditures have remained relatively steady, awarded research dollars fell from $120.8 million in fiscal year 2024 to $63 million in 2025.

Federal policy shifts have contributed to the uncertainty. Trump’s proposed 12.5% cut to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health funding, along with the cancellation or suspension of thousands of NIH and U.S. National Science Foundation grants in 2025, have disproportionately impacted public health research — particularly in social and behavioral sciences and studies focused on underrepresented groups.

In an email to the Daily, Paul Corliss, U-M assistant vice president for public affairs and internal communications, acknowledged the Public Health School — like many similar schools across the country —  is responding to enrollment and federal funding challenges. 

“While these challenges require thoughtful adjustments to ensure the school’s long-term financial sustainability, we remain committed to delivering the world-class education and research that define the University of Michigan,” Corliss wrote. “The school also continues to maintain strong staffing and lecturer levels to support its academic mission and student experience.”

Previous investments complicate budget shortfall

Under F. DuBois Bowman, former Public Health School dean, the school made a one-time $2 million investment in faculty and staff pay in 2023, which included hiring 19 new tenure-track faculty. 

However, compensation funding —which makes up roughly 80% of the Public Health School’s general fund allocation — could not keep pace in subsequent years, even as salaries for newly hired faculty increased through tenure and promotion processes. The compensation allocation was cut from $39.3 million in fiscal year 2025 to $37 million in fiscal year 2026. 

At the same time, stagnant enrollment left fewer teaching assignments available.  According to Harold, tenure-track faculty must be retained and assigned courses, which leaves lecturers — who rely on those teaching opportunities — more vulnerable to layoffs. 

“A lot of assistant professors were hired, and a lot of people came in with tenure — there’s a fair number of people here who have not been here very long,” Herold said. “They worked really hard for the degrees they have. Some of them come from other institutions where they have a great track record — all that stuff, but they came right as the bottom fell out of the sky.”

“It’s not going to be the same.”

Eisenberg was hired to teach courses passed down by their mentor Barbara Israel, who is known for her leadership in community-based participatory research and efforts to reduce health inequities. After a decades-long career at the Public Health School, Israel retired in 2024 and died earlier this year.

“Lecturers — we’re hired only to teach, we care deeply about our teaching roles, and in my case, it’s not true that tenure track faculty can just pick up my courses,” Eisenberg said. “I’m personally upset because, not only did I lose my job, but the course work that I carry, and sort of this legacy that I carry, isn’t going to be taught anymore.”

Public Health student Cyrena Matingou said taking classes with Eisenberg has been fundamental to her experience in the Public Health School’s master’s program, and that Eisenberg’s curriculum of community organizing and advocacy would be difficult to replicate. 

“They taught community organizing and power analysis in a way that I wasn’t even expecting to get from my education in (the School of Public Health), and I don’t think anybody else in our department would be able to fill the gap that they’re going to leave,” Matingou said. “It’s not going to be the same, even if somebody gave the same lectures.”

Pay raises announced alongside layoffs

According to an April 28 email from Interim Dean Lisabeth obtained by The Daily, the Public Health School is offering one-time, merit-based flat-percentage salary increases to faculty and staff who are paid through the general fund — not including those paid primarily from grants, contracts or other sources.

She also wrote that the Public Health School administration is working with the University’s Office of the Provost to “rightsize” the school in light of reductions in research and enrollment. 

In another email to faculty and staff, Kelley Kidwell, interim associate dean for faculty affairs, wrote compensation increases and layoffs are happening simultaneously, but are structurally separate decisions.

“Unfortunately, it cannot be used to offset or reduce the Reduction in Force measures currently underway, and we must continue to reduce costs moving forward,” Kidwell wrote. 

Public Health School community calls for transparency, reversals

Many in the Public Health School community are rallying against the layoffs. 

About 50 students, faculty and staff held a public demonstration on April 22 outside the school’s annual award ceremony, calling on leadership to halt the staff and lecturer cuts and commit to financial transparency. The group then walked to Lisbeth’s office and chanted outside the door for several minutes, including “What does U-M have to hide? They’re not on the worker’s side.” 

Public Health student Christian Patterson told The Daily the lecturers in his department often fill gaps left by a limited advising staff. He said he hoped the demonstration would prompt the Public Health School administration to better recognize the broader role lecturers and staff play in supporting students and shaping the school’s culture.

“It’s important to practice what we preach,” Patterson said. “We’re able to now understand that the dimensions of health go beyond just how we are physically. It’s also related to our community and the health of other members of our community, our mental health, our social health … There are so many dimensions of health that we need to continue to prioritize.”

Students also organized a petition calling for the reinstatement of laid-off lecturers and staff, transparency about who was laid off and why and recognition of the contributions of lecturers and staff. The petition now has 190 signatures. 

Eisenberg, who attended the demonstration, was recognized at the Public Health School awards ceremony. 

“I found out that I won this award just a couple of days after getting laid off,” Eisenberg said. “This award is for excellence in cultivating diversity, and so it’s emblematic of the values that the University says it holds, and yet I’m being disposed of, you know? There’s just a dark irony to it.”

Daily Staff Reporter Edith Pendell can be reached at ependell@umich.edu. 

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