Portland State University announced a “final plan” that will cut 36 employees and close two departments, aiming to address a $35 million budget shortfall it must resolve over the next two years. The cuts come after months of negotiation with the faculty union. The announcement signals how public universities are translating structural financial stress into organizational restructuring rather than incremental spending adjustments. For affected departments and students, closures can mean program discontinuations, changes to advising and course offerings, and potential impacts on enrollment demand. The action also illustrates the governance and labor dimension of campus finance: negotiations with faculty unions remain part of how institutions operationalize cuts in the current policy environment. University leadership is effectively resetting parts of its academic footprint as it works to stabilize operating budgets, while stakeholders weigh the ripple effects on faculty roles and student pathways.