Student Engagement Surprises Club Leaders by Slashing Budgets in Half

University administrators announced that they cut all club budgets in half, in addition to other significant policy changes, Monday, Feb. 3.

Effective immediately, Student Engagement is cutting club budgets in half, purchase request policies are changing and the department will not have access to ad hoc funds, said Dean of Students Michelle Brisson in an email to club leaders.

In response to the announcement, many club leaders expressed concern for their clubs’ events and the state of the university.

Eva Woolard (‘26), vice president of the Drew Environmental Action League, said, “[Our club] saved up all of our fall budget for Fern Fest in the spring, so we’re really upset at the sudden budget cuts.”

The budget cuts, despite surprising many students, follow a previous announcement from President Hillary Link that the university needed to cut expenses by $5 million.

“Effective immediately, there will be a significant suspension on spending, including on budgeted expenses,” Link said in her update on the fiscal year 25 budget, which she sent to staff and faculty Jan. 16.

In a statement to the Acorn, Link explained that the administration is taking a proactive approach to balancing the budget. She said this is in response to challenges caused by inflation, the decline in the number of college students nationwide and structural deficits that the university faced over the past decade.

Their approach to balancing the budget included reviewing all budget lines and making cuts across all departments.

“There are no easy decisions and the cuts that were made across the institution were done through the lens of having the least possible impact on our students and the academic experience. While we face challenges, there are so many great things happening at Drew,” said Link.

Despite emphasizing the strength of Drew’s community, Link’s fiscal update explained that deficit spending and financial aid costs are straining the budget. Furthermore, Link noted that the success of the fiscal year budget depended on both expense cuts and the aggressive growth of several revenue streams.

While Link said that spending was mostly in line with the approved budget, the university needed to change the budget based on current revenues and expenses.

“For the rest of the year, we will only be spending funds on items that are inarguably critical to our operations,” said Link, after saying the finance team has already identified $2.5 million in potential cuts.

In their announcement to club leaders, administration said they know club budget cuts are disappointing and that club programming will have to be changed in response to budgetary constraints.

When asked if administration has plans to help support clubs with important events in the spring, such as Fern Fest, they emphasized that there are no additional funds available.

“Club leaders are encouraged to collaborate on events to maximize their budgets,” said Ellen Johnson, vice president for Enrollment Management & Strategic Communications.

During the Winter Leadership conference, Student Engagement staff encouraged club leaders to find and share creative ideas to circumvent budgetary challenges, including running fundraisers and cutting events.

“Clubs may also pursue merging, which should be done first at the club level and then through approval of BOB. Staff in Student Engagement is able to assist clubs in these processes,” said Johnson.

In her email, Brisson also informed student leaders that all purchase requests must be made at least two weeks before event dates and requests would be closely monitored and evaluated.

Johnson said, “All requests for items now have a multiple step review process, ultimately requiring area [vice president] approval,” when explaining the two week time frame for purchase request.

Student Engagement staff also told club leaders that they should use all the money they request or inform the department of unused funds.

The Drew Acorn is committed to updating the university’s community on subsequent current events. Drew students may continue to monitor our publication for ongoing updates on developments and information that could potentially affect the well-being and livelihoods of those on campus.

Sierra Walker is a senior majoring in media and communications and marketing and minoring in Spanish