University of Oregon alumni and donors joined students, faculty and administrators Thursday evening in a grand opening celebration of the university’s new Portland campus. Attendees shared drinks and appetizers in the outdoor amphitheater of the newly renovated campus in Northeast Portland while hearing from local leaders about the expansion.

Guests toured various academic buildings on campus, including a library and learning center that’s home to the university’s Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health. The institute, which has a mission to fill the state’s mental health workforce gaps, is a cornerstone of the new Portland campus.

But the jovial occasion comes at a bittersweet moment for the university.

At the same time UO is expanding, it’s facing a significant budget shortfall of up to $30 million. The morning after speaking at the Portland celebration, President Karl Scholz sent an email to the UO campus saying the deficit “will require that we make difficult decisions” in the coming months. UO Provost and Senior Vice President Christopher Long also signed the email.

UO will be tackling a problem many higher education institutions across the country are reckoning with now: a huge loss of operating revenue due to actions at the federal level.

Over the past months, the Trump Administration has put universities and colleges in a financial bind. Following federal directives, agencies that give out billions of dollars in federal grants — such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health — have cut off funds and made other moves to stifle the flow of federal money to universities.

Friday’s letter blamed the budget deficit on factors beyond federal pressures too, including declining enrollment, increased costs from labor contracts and flat higher education financial support from the state.

“The University of Oregon is navigating significant financial challenges due to a convergence of external pressures,” said a university spokesperson in a statement emailed to OPB. “Difficult decisions lie ahead, but we are committed to a principled and values-driven approach guided by fiscal responsibility, community well-being, and our aspiration to emerge stronger and more resilient.”

The university is already planning for a 4% decrease in its administrative budget, as well as a 2.5% reduction in its schools and colleges budget, according to the letter.

The headwinds UO, and other colleges and universities are up against, was not lost among guests attending the Portland grand opening.

“It takes bold leadership to create the first ever institute for children’s behavioral health in the nation,” said Andrew Hoan, President and CEO of Portland Metro Chamber, to a crowd of more than 200 people Thursday. “It takes even more moxie to renovate and open a school in the challenging national environment that we are in today.”

The new UO campus is on the former site of Concordia University. UO bought the campus in June 2022, fueled by a $425 million donation from Steve and Connie Ballmer. The university began welcoming new students onto the renovated campus last year.

In addition to the Ballmer Institute, the Portland campus is also home to programs in UO’s law school, colleges of education, business and education and the Agora Journalism Institute, among other programs.

UO alumnus Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Beaverton, said she is heartened to see the university continuing to invest in education despite the hostile rhetoric coming from the White House.

“It’s important and critical that we continue to open the doors of opportunity to higher education, especially at this moment. Higher education is under attack,” Bonamici said at Thursday’s event. “What better investment can we make than in education?”

In Friday’s letter to the UO community, Scholz said there will be no simple fix for the university’s projected budget shortfall.

“[Our institution] is an interconnected and resilient community, and our shared commitment to the University of Oregon and to the purpose of higher education to serve the public good will sustain us as we face the challenges of the months to come,” Scholz wrote in the letter.

Administrators are planning a town hall on June 9 to update and answer questions from the university’s faculty and staff.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/30/university-oregon-portland-campus-budget-ballmer-institute-children-behavioral-health-concordia/