In response to mandatory budget cuts across the University of Wisconsin-Madison, several UW Law School employees, including the director of the school’s public defender training clinic, have been laid off, according to Isthmus.
UW Law Dean Dan Tokaji wrote in an Aug. 7 email to staff and faculty that as most of the school’s general revenue goes toward salary, there was no way to avoid the layoffs, and those who will be directly affected have been notified.
He added that the school does not expect “that further cuts of this nature will be necessary in the coming academic year.”
The move comes in response to an order in June from UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, which directed all schools and colleges to cut 5% of their budgets for the coming fiscal year.
In addition to undertaking the layoffs, which include John Gross, a UW law professor who specialized in criminal law and directs the school’s Public Defender Project, the law school is also cutting funds for supplies and other expenses, such as travel, catering and library acquisitions.
