Bowie State University plans to eliminate 79 positions through layoffs and organizational restructuring after projecting an $18 million fiscal 2027 budget deficit tied to enrollment decline, rising costs, and reduced state support. The cuts arrive in a broader Maryland funding squeeze that reduced University of Maryland, College Park appropriations for the 2025–2027 period and comes after other pressures linked to federal research funding disruptions and higher utilities. Bowie State leaders cited benefit, infrastructure, utility, and “essential technology” cost growth, alongside a projected drop in enrollment from 6,408 (2024) to 5,320 (fiscal 2027), with losses estimated at $5.8 million in tuition and fee revenue. The university said it previously closed a $13.6 million gap for fiscal 2026 without layoffs, but fiscal 2027 requires further action, highlighting how public-HBCU budgets are being forced into staffing cuts even when near-term gaps are managed.