University of Maryland President Darryll Pines put it bluntly at Wednesday afternoon’s University Senate meeting: The state’s budget deficit means the outlook funding for public higher education was “not good.”

While decisions have yet to be made, Pines predicted that the state’s public universities, including the flagship University of Maryland, College Park, will “probably receive some type of cut.”

That cut, he said, means that the university will “probably not” be able to give out cost-of-living and merit raises, which they’ve given to employees over the last five fiscal years.

The state deficit, which sits at more than $1 billion in combined structural and cash deficits this year, is expected to grow to almost $6 billion over a five-year period. And, when state lawmakers return to Annapolis in January, higher education funding could be on the chopping block.

“How this will affect higher education at the University of Maryland remains to be seen, but we know that we will probably receive some type of cut just for the next fiscal year,” which begins in July, Pines said during his “State of the Campus” address. “We remain optimistic that they will minimize the impact onto higher education, because they’ve really supported higher education in the state.”

Higher education is the third-largest general fund budget category in Maryland, according to the latest State Higher Education Finance report. State and local government funding for higher education totaled $2.4 billion in fiscal year 2023, and public institutions in the state received $2.1 billion in tuition revenue.

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s education reform plan affecting K-12 schools, calls for a steady stream of financial investments this year. Gov. Wes Moore has committed in the past to funding the Blueprint, which means the General Assembly could decide to cut higher education instead.

Pines made sure to thank the General Assembly, which will oversee this year’s budgeting process.

“We’re really grateful for all that they have done for us,” he said. “But we will be suffering a deficit for the whole state, which therefore will affect higher education going forward.”

Both Moore and former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan prioritized higher education funding, Pines said. The funding received by the University of Maryland has in part allowed cost-of-living raises and merit raises to continue to increase in recent years.

“It’s an amazing commitment by our state and a commitment to all of you and the good work that you all do for the University of Maryland,” Pines told the faculty senators.

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