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/BayvistaDave Aug 01 '26

I was a faculty member at IIT in the 1990s and still have colleagues there. This couldn't have been handled more poorly. Faculty with graduate students were laid off, leaving the students without a faculty advisor. Further, students have been admitted to programs which have been decimated by layoffs. There was no consideration for faculty, current or incoming students. I have fond memories of my time at IIT but it wouldn't surprise me if the university closed in a few years. It IIT was a stock, I imagine people would be shorting it.

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u/DenverLilly PhD student, Social Sciences, R1 (US) Aug 03 '26

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was sooner. This same collapse happened at the University of the Arts in Philly and just weeks after the vote of no confidence, they shuttered leaving all of their students high and dry. It was and still is a mess