On April 20, RWU faculty received a letter from the Office of the President, specifically the Chief of Staff, Brian Williams through their RWU Faculty Association representative, Cliff Murphy. Leslie Florio, an Assistant Executive Director/UniServ for the National Education Association of Rhode Island (NEARI), and Tom McDonough, the RWU Vice President of Human Resources, were CC’d in the letter.
The letter included this final answer to the long-standing question: Are faculty getting furloughed?
In November of 2025, the news broke that RWU was expected to have a $3 million deficit in its 2025-26 budget. This deficit was set to result in almost all staff and faculty being furloughed. They would be required to pick one week out of four set options, which they would not work and therefore not be paid. This furlough was set to repair over a million dollars of the 3 million dollar deficit, according to the University President Miaoulis, who spoke on the furlough during a Student Senate meeting on March 2, 2026.
In November, NEARI issued a letter and petition against the university on behalf of the RWU faculty, insisting that the implementation of the furlough was illegal. In the letter, written by Jennifer Azevedo, the Deputy Executive Director & Legal Counsel for NEARI, they claimed the administration’s furlough was an action that is forbidden by federal labor laws.
The letter sent to faculty was aimed at explaining the next steps with the furlough implementation. Williams said he was open to talks between administration and union leadership, but he said the conversations were not continuing. Therefore, the university is continuing with furlough implementation. Later in the week, Williams stated, the faculty association union members will receive communication from Human Resources with guidance on the furlough implementation.
After addressing the furlough implementation, the letter ends, and the appendix begins. The appendix, shared by Williams, includes seven sections aimed at providing the RWU faculty association members with an understanding of how the university has gotten to the point of needing this furlough.
Section 1 dives into the institutional context. It states that RWU’s enrollment and revenue are highly dependent on tuition, and given the recent enrollment declines, the budget has been affected.
Section 2 includes a budget overview of 2025/26. At the start of this year, the university entered with an approximately 11 million dollar structural gap.
Section 3 covers actions taken prior to the furlough. These efforts include operational adjustments, new hiring models, a focus on revenue growth, and more.
Section 4 covers the current financial position. The initial gap was $11 million, the current projected position is $5.7 million, and the target position is $1.6 million.
Section 5 is a clarification on endowment draw and how it is different from a traditional loan.
Section 6 provides rationale for the furlough decision, including personnel costs, the commitment to retaining “bonus” days off, avoiding deeper workforce layoffs, and more. The last section is a forward outlook for the year 2026/27. This information includes the Improvement in undergraduate applications, expected to exceed 9,000, the increase in deposit activity, and more.
The appendix information is aimed at providing the RWU faculty association members with the reasoning behind Williams’ assessment that the furlough is an essential measure and that this deficit and furlough will not extend into the next fiscal year. This letter is intended to clarify with the RWU faculty that the furlough will continue and is financially necessary for the university.
