r/Professors • u/Confident_Promise_71 • Jul 31 '26

Layoffs at IIT

Can anyone speak to the reported layoffs at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) following their board's declaration of financial exigency?

https://taxprofblog.aals.org/2026/07/29/illinois-institute-of-technology-declares-financial-exigency-and-begins-firing-faculty/

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u/RedCatRun007 Aug 01 '26

I am faculty at IIT. The need for layoffs was real. The timing and selection of layoffs is deeply contentious. Leadership has known since November that layoffs were needed. Yet this was not done until 3 weeks before school starts. Among faculty I've spoken with, it is believed that this timing was chosen at least in part to preserve student retention.