Southern Oregon University’s financial crisis will require a complete overhaul of academic programs and other major changes to stay afloat, according to a preliminary report from Deloitte Consulting released on Tuesday.
SOU holds all licenses for the Federal Communications Commission for Jefferson Public Radio, and the station is located in a building on campus.
As part of the university’s cost savings measures, Deloitte suggested finding a new home for JPR, or “spinning it off,” but didn’t explain what that might mean.
Deloitte’s plan says spinning off JPR would save SOU $300,000 a year, which includes the salaries and benefits for two employees: Executive Director Paul Westhelle and Director of Engineering Darin Ransom.
SOU President Rick Bailey said the vast majority of JPR’s funding comes from the JPR Foundation.
“It's not a huge weight on the university because the JPR Foundation has been so successful and supportive,” he said.
Westhelle said the organization will work with the university and ensure programming continues.
“We’re going to adapt,” he said. “We have to adapt with the university. It just depends on how the university adapts. So some of this is going to be contingent upon what the university does and how we could possibly fit into it.”
He said it’s possible that more JPR employees could shift to being employed by the foundation rather than the university. Most JPR staff are currently employed by the university rather than the foundation.
Another option could be transitioning to a community licensee, where the license for the station would be held by a nonprofit.
According to Westhelle, JPR’s annual budget is about $3.4 million, so a $300,000 loss is almost 9%.
The organization pays for its employees’ health insurance and salaries, as well as IT support. It also owns the station building on the university campus. The university pays for the building’s utilities.
Westhelle said JPR has endured funding cuts in the past. The station recently made up a $525,000 deficit from a loss of federal funding.
But having more cuts on top of that makes the situation more difficult.
“I'm not doing handstands,” Westhelle said. “It is not great to lose $300,000 in additional funding, following 525 [thousand dollars] from the federal support. That's not going to make us a better organization or stronger.”
Still, he wrote in a statement that “We'll work constructively with the University and our listeners to develop a plan that ensures JPR will be able to provide NPR programming, local news and cultural programs that strengthen the civic life of our region and are so valued by the communities we serve."
The consultant’s plan isn’t finalized yet. Deloitte will release its full report Monday, and SOU’s Board of Trustees will vote on it next Friday.
All university changes need to be completed by June 2027.
JPR is licensed to Southern Oregon University, but our newsroom operates independently. Guided by our journalistic standards and ethics, we cover the university like any other organization in the region. This story was reported by JPR reporter Jane Vaughan and edited by Northwest News Network editor Adia White. Under JPR’s editorial policy for reporting on itself, no JPR or SOU leadership reviewed or edited the story before publication.
