PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The University of Southern Maine will cut 50 faculty positions and two academic programs as it tries to close a $16 million budget gap, the school announced Monday.

The moves, which are expected to cut $6 million off the deficit, are the first of a three-step plan to downsize the public Portland university that has seen enrollment drop almost 30 percent in the last five years, the Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1EkN7Vi ) reports.