USM chancellor says budget cuts putting heavy pressure on Maryland universities

University System of Maryland Chancellor Jay Perman warned a General Assembly committee Tuesday afternoon that further budget cuts would bring irreparable harm to the state’s public universities.

The public university system’s budget has been cut by $222 million over the last three years, Perman said in his testimony to the budget and taxation Committee. These cuts leave many jobs at Maryland’s public institutions vulnerable, which is reflected in their surrounding communities.

The University of Maryland’s funding was reduced by $59 million, the university wrote in a campuswide email in June.

“We’re worried about irrevocable damage,” Perman said. “The pressure on our revenue is real, and it’s crippling.”

Perman acknowledged that though he is asking for support from Maryland legislators, he understands the state’s nearly $1.4 billion budget deficit this year is also making legislators’ jobs difficult.

He also told legislators threats faced by the university system have been an ongoing issue. Three months after an address to a state legislative committee in September, the university system is still facing these issues, he said.

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In September’s address, Perman warned that government funding cuts are endangering the state’s public universities and could potentially lead to layoffs.

Perman said then that President Donald Trump’s reduction in federal student aid, grants and contracts, and international student funding has worsened the impact of previous state cuts.

“We’ve already slashed nonpersonnel operating expenses to address earlier state cuts, meaning future cuts would harm our people,” Perman said in September. “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.”

Perman told the legislative committee in the fall that this university has seen about 60 grant cuts worth $30 million at this university alone.

The University System of Maryland Board of Regents approved tuition and mandatory fee increases across its 12 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 are expected to increase the system’s revenue from fees and tuition by about 3 percent for the 2026 fiscal year.