Over the last month, we have been informed of four layoffs happening at King’s through an article published by a student in the Chronicle. Many of us have reacted to these institutional changes with profound concern—not only with grief over the loss of those being laid-off, but also with anxiety regarding the integrity of the university’s financial future, program health, Christian commitment, and lack of open communication from the administration with the King’s community. 

We have read the letter sent on March 24 from the Board of Governors, regarding the institutional changes and recent layoffs. We acknowledge that the layoffs were made for the sake of financial stability and that the administration explored many alternatives before resorting to this decision. However, we are using this letter to voice the concerns of the Student Body over these institutional changes. As a community, we have a responsibility to express student voices of discontent and concern, and advocate for the university to explore alternative directions to help prevent King’s from ending up in this situation again. 

This open letter to the Board of Governors and King’s Administration establishes itself on the following positions:

These members of the Student Body of The King’s University find the recent layoffs to be cause for great concern: it compromises our integrity as a Christian institution of higher-education and it compromises the financial and educational future of King’s (in the long-term). As such, this Student Body calls on the Board of Governors and administration to: 

1. Commit to institutional sustainability, by developing new and creative initiatives to earn revenue and substantially decrease the possibility of increased layoffs in the future, and by reconsidering and changing how layoffs are managed at King’s.
2. Commit to maintaining ongoing, meaningful communication with students, by properly and frequently informing them of administrative developments, however unfortunate, that are relevant to their wellbeing, educational success, and academic community.

This open letter is outlined on the following principles: 

• King’s students have a right to stay properly and officially informed, since we are the primary stakeholders of this university.
• King’s students have a right to advocate for changes in their university, particularly as it pertains to the increase of fees and to the overall financial health of the institution.
• King’s students have a right to feel confident in their university’s ability to be financially sustainable in the long-term.

We hope that the consideration and response that the Board of Governors and administration gives to these points are a means of “supporting [us],” a way of “walking with [us] in this journey,” a way of learning together how to “make love an action [and] not just a feeling,” and a way of “restoring Shalom where it has been broken.” We, too, wish to be part of the “feast of joy,” but we also want to be actively part of the preparation of that feast.*

A link to the full open letter may be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sT_TQ3Wkp3sVqqD0goL8FfzWaUW8nln0STC9sS4zwjw/edit?usp=sharing

Signed,

Adrian Bajaro and Erica Kath

* “Letter from the Board of Governors to the King’s Community,” March 24, 2022.