In an effort to close a $18 million budget deficit, Portland State University informed 17 non-tenure track faculty members on Friday that their employment will terminate in mid-June.
According to Emily Ford, president of the Portland State chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which advocates for 1,200 academic staff members on campus, 15 of those were in the College of Liberal Arts.
According to her, those impacted come from a variety of academic fields, such as biology, geology, environmental science, history, philosophy, world language and literature, and conflict resolution. According to Ford, the College of Urban Affairs will lay off two more non-tenure track faculty members.
The institution had issued a warning about the possibility of about 90 layoffs earlier this fall. According to Ford, further layoff notices may be sent out in 2025, particularly for tenure-track teachers and academic staff members that interact with students, like as counselors and financial aid advisers.
According to the university, 23 faculty members have also accepted retirement incentive packages; however, Ford stated that by Friday, when the offer to accept the buy-out plan expires, that number may increase.
A message to the Portland State community on Friday stated that the layoffs were brought on by modifications in the curriculum and programmatic requirements. In line with a nationwide trend of colleges cutting back on offerings that are attracting fewer students, the letter, signed by Portland State President Ann Cudd and Provost Shelly Chabon, stated that programs across the university, which has roughly 21,000 students enrolled, are being considered for moratorium or elimination.
Portland State has experienced a steady loss in enrollment since 2019 and has not yet recovered or stabilized from pandemic enrollment declines, in contrast to the majority of other Oregon universities. Recent state data shows that its autumn enrollment is down about 6,000 students from 2019.
These programs are currently being examined by academic leaders to determine their effects and guarantee that all enrolled students will receive assistance in finishing their degrees. The letter from Chabon and Cudd went on. Even though they are challenging, these layoffs are necessary to help PSU transition to a more financially stable future.
Ford said that the layoff warnings were premature because no programmatic or curriculum changes had been published as of yet. The union has argued that reserve monies and building cost reductions might be used by the institution to repair budget gaps.
According to Ford, these judgments shouldn’t be decided in a few short weeks. Higher education doesn’t operate that way; corporations do. They are making these choices without fully accounting for the unforeseen repercussions, such as the impact on undergraduate students and their capacity to enroll in the courses necessary to earn their degrees.
The layoffs occur while the university is still negotiating contracts with the unions representing its graduate students and professors.
As a first step toward a possible strike, Portland State faculty had already demanded mediation in their talks with administrators.
The faculty union’s demands for mediation stem from what it claims is the university’s refusal to engage in wage negotiations until it has resolved other aspects of the agreement.
However, a university spokeswoman stated that before discussing pay hikes, cost of living rises, and promotions, the parties had decided to discuss non-economic matters.
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According to Ford, the university has also received grievance concerns from part-time teachers and is currently in mediation with its graduate student union.
Julia Silverman writes for The Oregonian/OregonLive on education. You can contact her at [email protected].
This material was contributed to by Sami Edge, a reporter covering politics and higher education.
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