May 29, 2012. After a hasty reorganization of the College of Engineering three years ago FAU administrators summarily fired five tenured faculty members
June 3, 2009. It is not the easiest thing to introduce oneself in the midst of a crisis, so I will hold off on such formalities for now. On Friday, May 29 three Associate Professors and two Full Professors in the College of Engineering received layoff notices effective August 8th. All five faculty members were tenured. This action by the FAU Administration is a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which stipulates a seniority process in the event of layoffs and requires that tenured and tenure-track faculty be given one year notification prior to termination. Moreover, with plenty of funds in reserve FAU administrators cannot claim financial urgency, which would in fact be a precondition of such drastic action.
UFF-FAU intends to fight for these faculty members through the grievance process assured under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Without the CBA there would be little recourse for faculty aside from costly legal battles, and virtually nothing would stand in the way of the administration terminating even wider swaths of faculty.
The would be necessity of FAU’s “reorganization” and resultant layoffs of faculty and staff rests on administrators’ argument that the institution is suffering from a shortage of recurring state funds. Shortly after postponing a 10% salary increase of his own after faculty criticism, President Frank Brogan seldom missed an opportunity to make proclamations of future job losses and overall financial austerity. Yet here’s the rub: FAU is sitting on over $70 million in reserves–enough for independent authorities and a Special Magistrate to conclude in March that the university was capable of a minimum salary increase for all faculty of 150% more than it grudgingly granted in April (1%). Further, UFF-FAU’s study, How is the Money Spent? FAU Expenditures on Faculty and Higher Level Administration in the Period from 2001-02 to 2008-09, provides solid evidence of the growth of administrative positions and salaries versus those who actually see the inside of a classroom.
To be sure, the Florida legislature has cut its support to state universities, but there are no cutbacks in the 2009-10 budget, and past shortfalls will to a significant degree be made up for in tuition increases and federal stimulus money–the latter of which is specifically intended to prevent layoffs.
When a family loses a small portion of its income it must turn to some of its reserves in order to sustain its normal functioning. No self-respecting family would think of putting its children up for adoption or placing them on the auction block as a result of such circumstances, particularly if it’s sitting on millions of dollars. In a similar vein, when a university invites a scholar to fill a tenure-track post and grants her tenure it makes that individual part of its family–bestowing the assurance of some job security as a reward for dedication and hard work. This is what five of our fellow faculty members believed before May 29. By terminating tenured faculty the FAU administration has sown the seeds of distrust and fear among those who carry on the institution’s most important work–teaching, research, and service. Unfortunately, under the present administration this is only a small foretaste of what is likely in store. If you are not already a member I encourage you to consider joining UFF-FAU today.
In solidarity,
James Tracy
UFF-FAU President
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