AKRON, Ohio -- Just over 12 percent of University of Akron full-time faculty offered buyouts this year opted to leave.

The university announced the buyouts in March. About 46 percent of full-time faculty were eligible, outside of designated fields of study including engineering, communications and computer science. Of the 336 people offered buyouts, 12 percent, or 41, took the deal.

University of Akron spokesman Wayne Hill said the estimated savings from salaries, benefits and fringe benefits came to around $4.7 million, which will go into the university’s general fund. These savings won’t show up until the 2022 academic year.

Faculty offered the deal will keep teaching through the end of the 2019-20 school year, and then be paid for another year.

Any savings from the program won’t immediately subsidize new hires. UA announced last year they would hire 32 new positions in “areas of opportunity," including 23 tenure-track faculty. The areas were selected through a year-long review of UA’s academic programs.

The focus areas for the new hires were:

Cybersecurity, criminal justice and emergency services

Polymer and chemical sciences

Health and biosciences

Performing arts

Digital communication

Business, law and education

See a full list of the positions here.

Some of the searches did not yield candidates, Hill said. There should be updates on those hires announced later this week.

A previous version of this story stated that just under six percent of full-time faculty offered buyouts opted to leave. That number comes out to about 12 percent.