The Financial Stewardship plan: Colleges Failed Response

Update: The college released a Financial Stewardship Plan and a community letter today confirming 13 faculty non-renewals, 9 filled staff positions eliminated, and 16 vacant positions cut. The college specifically mentions community outrage, so the petition is working! This only came after 375+ of you signed this petition. 

After students reviewed the documents provided, we still have major issues with the report and have decided that the colleges response is unsatisfactory for what the decision was. The following are specific issues.

1: Though we know the extent of the terminations, we are still unsure of WHO. Many classes currently do not have professors and students are completely in the dark about it, unless professors have reached out personally.

2: The term “shared governance” is used multiple times throughout as an attempt to show solidarity, however, their own FAQ admits the college “currently does not have a unified definition of shared governance” while claiming to be committed to it. The cuts were made with zero community input.

3: They say the cuts don’t reflect individual performance but provide zero criteria for how people were selected. No process, no rubric, no faculty input. We have no clue why they decided upon this decision. 

4: Harring writes “none of it will surprise you” about a plan that cut 38 positions and upended people’s lives. That is not accountability, that is dismissiveness. Students are very surprised, and extremely upset over this decision. 

5: Students have noted significant inconsistencies throughout the report and the letter, raising concerns about the credibility and thoroughness of the college’s response.

I think I share many of our feelings towards this; we are not satisfied with this response. The petition remains open and we will continue to push for full transparency and real accountability. Keep signing and sharing. Thank you all for the support to this petition. If you have access to communities in which you can share the petition further, please do! Multiple emails have been sent to media outlets and the AAUP.