I first heard about this issue about a week ago mainly because of my alumni connection to the University of Michigan. Turns out the issue is happening at UT Austin also. The Chronicle has the story here.
The macro picture is that public universities are looking for every last cent in efficiencies as they struggle to find a sustainable business model for the future. The big picture is described pretty accurately with regards to Berkeley here, hat tip to Tyler Cowen.
Discoverers and Discoveries 