SMU plans to trim expenses by $35M through layoffs, other changes

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Lance Murray

Southern Methodist University is expected to impose layoffs as a way to cut expenses next year.

Lance Murray

Digital Content Producer- Dallas Business Journal

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Southern Methodist University in Dallas is expected to trim as much as $35 million from its annual operating expenses using layoffs and administrative changes to trim the budget, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Citing a ratings update from Moody Investors Service, the Morning News reported that the move comes even as SMU continues its billion-dollar capital campaign.

The Morning News called the decision surprising, and reported it comes after a series of high-dollar expenditures in 2013. Those include:

• The opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library
• A change in the school's athletic conference
• Consulting fees for a branding study aimed at boosting SMU's national reputation
• 3 percent salary increases

Moody's said that SMU has reached its debt capacity under the school's current rating, and has "very thin liquidity" compared to comparable universities. Moody's did give the school a stable outlook, however.

The Morning News said that SMU has an Aa3 rating from Moody's, the fourth-highest credit rating, but that it lags behind such schools as Emory, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame.

Chris Regis, SMU's chief business and financial officer, told the Morning News that affected employees should be notified early next year.

"It's too soon to make predictions about the number of positions that could be affected," Regis told the Morning News.

The newspaper said that SMU is on track to raise $1 billion through its Second Century Campaign and that new multimillion-dollar buildings have gone up across the campus.

Lance Murray edits and writes for the DBJ's website and can be reached at 214-706-7106. Subscribe to our email newsletters.