The University of Akron, which has proposed cuts to several programs as a way to bolster its financial health, is extending the deadline for departments to submit counter-proposals by seven weeks and asking others across the university to consider measures that would reduce costs or increase revenue in an effort to save faculty jobs.
The Dec. 18 agreement asking for a university-wide look at costs was reached between University of Akron President R.J. Nemer and the head of the professors’ union. It calls on a committee considering the proposed cuts to expand its scope to potentially “include other creative alternatives” to the reductions.
The process of eliminating some faculty positions, known as retrenchment, was initiated by Nemer Nov. 19 due to enrollment drops, reorganization that requires more efficiency and the modification, elimination or suspension of academic programs, a spokesperson said previously.
The current proposal could affect more than 30 faculty positions across eight departments, including Art; History; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Chemistry; Chemical, Biomolecular and Corrosion Engineering; Anthropology; Physics; and Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering.
By extending the deadline for faculty in the affected departments to make recommendations to deans — to March 3 from Jan. 13 — and by asking other academic units to contribute to efforts to raise funds or reduce costs, Toni Bisconti, the president of the Akron chapter of the American Association of University Professors, hopes enough savings will be found to stop the retrenchment process.
In an email, Bisconti called the agreement a great example of how shared governance should work, saying, “the more enrollment grows, the less likely we are to have to retrench.”
“Nobody wants to reduce the workforce,” Bisconti said. “We need to work together to keep UA in business for another 150 years.”
There are no current proposals on the table from departments for the committee to consider, but Bisconti said in a text message that both Nemer and Provost John Wiencek were excited by the idea of creative proposals that could decrease or eliminate the need for a reduction in force. Nemer “is really working to reduce the need for retrenchment by voluntary separations and academic solutions that can maximize enrollment with new programs or initiatives,” she wrote.
A spokesperson for Nemer said he had nothing to add about the extended timeline or the request to departments to look for other financial solutions. According to the agreement, a university program that’s incentivizing faculty members to leave has had “early success” and both the president and the union will focus on securing additional separation agreements.
In a Dec. 19 message to professors, Nemer and Bisconti said they and others “continue to work collaboratively to best position The University of Akron to regain the financial health needed for long-term stability.”
The union “believes that if we put out a call to all academic units on campus, rather than only those directly impacted by the retrenchment proposal, we will have a better chance to avoid retrenchment through creative proposals aimed at increasing revenue and decreasing expenses,” the letter said. “We hope that all of you will work collaboratively to find these solutions.”
Faculty members that are part of the union’s bargaining unit will receive a survey requesting proposals, the letter said. The retrenchment committee will evaluate those proposals between March 3 and April 1.
On April 4, the committee is scheduled to present recommendations on “ways to relieve the need for retrenchment by raising additional funds, by reallocating funds, or by cutting or eliminating specified activities or positions,” the agreement said.
The letter to faculty said it was the committee’s “sincere hope” that the extension “will add the time needed to yield proposals that will help the University forge ahead with as little impact to the campus community as possible.”
Additionally, the extra time will give the committee the opportunity to better understand the university’s financial position, assess how much would be saved through voluntary separations and see what solutions visioning groups appointed by Nemer might come up with.
The extension also alleviates some pressure on leaders to work toward solutions over the winter holiday, the letter said. Bisconti said in a text message that the union “felt great about the ease at which we got this extension.”
If retrenchment is still necessary once other departments’ proposals have been considered, affected faculty members will be notified no later than April 25, according to the agreement — later than the original March 15 notification date.
“We look forward to receiving alternative proposals in the next two months that will help us do our work to most effectively propel The University of Akron forward in the best way possible,” Nemer and Bisconti said in their letter to faculty.
