Reinstate faculty positions at Sierra Nevada College

The Issue

On July 13, 2017 six professors were fired from Sierra Nevada College in what appears to be a politically motivated maneuver designed to quell conflict and dissent between the faculty and administration. The only justification given for the selection was a "termination that would have the least impact on the student body."

Two of these "terminated" professors served as the faculty council chair and vice-chair, where they worked to ensure that the faculty received fair and just compensation from an administration that has been continually undervaluing its educators for years. This is a growing problem in higher education, where the bureaucracy of bloated administrations essentially ruins the faculty's ability to educate. Colleges and universities are no longer places of learning, but are instead becoming factories for an underserved and ill informed public.

All of these terminated professors have been dedicated educators. They have been striving to enhance their students through civic engagement and critical thinking abilities. They all have worked hard to ensure the success of their students both in and out of the classroom. These educators deserve to be treated better than this.

On top of all this, many other professors were demoted or had their positions reduced. 

The president's response to this action is vague and falls under the auspices of budgetary constraints. This is a man who is receiving a six figure salary to gut the school and terminate its faculty. As president of the school, he should be leading it to a better future. Instead he's taking the school's money (earned from student loan debt and faculty budget cuts) and disappears when leadership is needed most.

This is NOT what leadership looks like, this is theft. A real educational leader would have reduced their own salary before sacrificing the resources of their faculty.

We call upon the Board of Trustees, the President Alan Walker, and the Provost Shannon Beets to immediately reinstate the terminated faculty. We call on ALL alums to denounce this move, and to cease any economic or other support for Sierra Nevada College until these positions are reinstated.

 

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Chris MuravezPetition Starter
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This petition had 810 supporters

The Issue

On July 13, 2017 six professors were fired from Sierra Nevada College in what appears to be a politically motivated maneuver designed to quell conflict and dissent between the faculty and administration. The only justification given for the selection was a "termination that would have the least impact on the student body."

Two of these "terminated" professors served as the faculty council chair and vice-chair, where they worked to ensure that the faculty received fair and just compensation from an administration that has been continually undervaluing its educators for years. This is a growing problem in higher education, where the bureaucracy of bloated administrations essentially ruins the faculty's ability to educate. Colleges and universities are no longer places of learning, but are instead becoming factories for an underserved and ill informed public.

All of these terminated professors have been dedicated educators. They have been striving to enhance their students through civic engagement and critical thinking abilities. They all have worked hard to ensure the success of their students both in and out of the classroom. These educators deserve to be treated better than this.

On top of all this, many other professors were demoted or had their positions reduced. 

The president's response to this action is vague and falls under the auspices of budgetary constraints. This is a man who is receiving a six figure salary to gut the school and terminate its faculty. As president of the school, he should be leading it to a better future. Instead he's taking the school's money (earned from student loan debt and faculty budget cuts) and disappears when leadership is needed most.

This is NOT what leadership looks like, this is theft. A real educational leader would have reduced their own salary before sacrificing the resources of their faculty.

We call upon the Board of Trustees, the President Alan Walker, and the Provost Shannon Beets to immediately reinstate the terminated faculty. We call on ALL alums to denounce this move, and to cease any economic or other support for Sierra Nevada College until these positions are reinstated.

 

avatar of the starter
Chris MuravezPetition Starter
Media inquiries

The Decision Makers

Shannon Beets
Shannon Beets
Provost, Sierra Nevada College
Responded
“Sierra Nevada College’s decision this week to cut faculty and staff positions came after much debate about the financial health of the college, discussion about how to best pursue the college’s academic mission, and an examination of long-term sustainability. Those positions eliminated have been held by teachers of the highest caliber and integrity, and the college remains grateful for their professionalism and wishes them well in future endeavors. Unfortunately, this move has prompted speculation that the college’s decision not to rehire specific faculty members was motivated by politics, to “silence” criticism of the college administration. This charge is 100 percent untrue and has no basis in fact. No attempt has been made to confirm the veracity of this claim and this false narrative has been included in unverified media reports. Like many small, liberal arts colleges with limited endowments, SNC Tahoe is a tuition-driven institution. With fewer students graduating from high school annually and a strong national emphasis on workforce preparedness, liberal arts colleges have faced a very challenging environment for enrollment and recruiting. SNC Tahoe is no exception: We have seen undergraduate enrollments decline every year for the last three years. And these enrollment declines have impacted some majors more severely than others. Liberal arts colleges like SNC Tahoe must adapt to this new environment. The college and its board of trustees believe that adjusting the college’s expenses to match new revenue expectations, while targeting reductions at programs serving a declining number of students, will give us a baseline from which to build a sustainable financial future. Members of the SNC Tahoe community know that before recent steps were taken, the college exercised many other options, including significant cuts to the operating budget last year. Many times in the last two years faculty and staff forums were held to share, transparently, the college’s budget and provide insight into budget challenges. Previous budget adjustments have reduced administrative staff, overhead, operations, facilities, and co-curricular programming. In addition to the recent faculty reductions, six administrative positions will also remain unfilled. Letting faculty go was not the first, or only, option exercised as the college tries to adjust to new budget realities. Through all of this, the preservation of the college’s high academic standards has been a paramount goal for the board of trustees and college leadership. Without question, our academic strength is the college’s most important asset. And so, the decision this week to reduce teaching positions was a solemn but necessary one. The board targeted cuts that would have minimal negative long-term impact on students, while maintaining the college’s academic character. Finally, regarding the charge that the college leadership is trying to silence its critics, nothing could be further from the truth. Last year President Alan Walker created two faculty positions (held by the chair and vice chair of the college’s faculty council) on the president’s cabinet. I also worked with the chair of the board’s academic affairs subcommittee to secure faculty representation on the committee and give faculty members access to board members. These are inherently positions where the expectation is advocacy for the college’s faculty as employees and academia as an enterprise. In the interest of inclusivity, the college leadership invites and encourages robust debate about its most important asset, and will continue to do so in the future. As we adapt to the fast-evolving higher education market, we ask our community to participate by sharing ideas, debating our future, and yes, criticizing decisions. But we ask that, in the spirit of fairness, for those whose interest is to build a positive future for SNC Tahoe to arm themselves with facts and not unfounded speculation.”
Alan Walker
Alan Walker
President, Sierra Nevada College

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Petition created on July 13, 2017