University System of Maryland Chancellor Jay Perman warned a state legislative committee Monday afternoon that government funding cuts are endangering the state’s public universities and could lead to layoffs.
In his address, Perman said President Donald Trump’s reduction in financial aid, federal grants and international student funding has worsened the impact of state cuts.
“We’ve already slashed nonpersonnel operating expenses to address earlier state cuts, meaning future cuts would harm our people,” Perman said. “We don’t want to do it and we know you don’t want it either, but pressure on our revenue is real and it’s crippling.”
The state has cut the public university system’s budget by $233 million in the last two years, according to Perman. The University of Maryland’s funding was reduced by $59 million, the university wrote in an email to community members in June.
The university has faced many financial changes within the last year, including the grant funding cuts and increases in tuition costs and fees.
Perman told the legislative committee that this university has seen about 60 grant cuts worth $30 million.
The University System of Maryland Board of Regents also passed tuition and mandatory fee increases across its 12 member institutions in June, The Diamondback previously reported.
Tuition rose by 4 percent for in-state undergraduate and graduate students and 2 percent for out-of-state undergraduate and graduate students. Mandatory fees increased by 4.5 percent for in-state and out-of-state students.
These changes could increase the system’s fee and tuition revenue by 3 percent for the 2026 fiscal year.
