‘Dire Financial Straits’: A Portrait of a Desperate University That Made All the Wrong Bets

Since 2015, the leaders of Cincinnati Christian University have made bold moves to try to reverse falling enrollment and flagging finances. The university spent big money on athletics, laid off staff and faculty members to cut costs, and revised its academic mission. But instead of revitalizing the institution, those decisions are among the many that have pushed Cincinnati Christian toward the brink of financial ruin and put it at risk of losing its accreditation.