The 2 tenure-track assistant professors within the division of philosophy at St. Norbert Faculty in Wisconsin had been amongst 12 school on the faculty knowledgeable final week that they’d be dropping their jobs on the finish of this time period. And simply yesterday the College of Wisconsin-Milwaukee introduced it might be closing its Waukesha campus.
The cuts at St. Norbert are a part of an try by the administration to shut a $5 million deficit blamed on an enrollment decline, the Inexperienced Bay Press Gazette reports.
Philosophers Jaime Edwards and Sydney Keough, each untenured assistant professors, can be dropping their jobs.
The termination of their employment is efficient on the finish of the present time period.
Elsewhere in Wisconsin, roughly 45 school on the Waukesha campus of the College of Wisconsin-Milwaukee had been advised yesterday they’d be out of a job on the finish of Spring 2025, as the campus is closing. It will likely be the fifth College of Wisconsin department campus to shut just lately.
Philosophers Timothy Dunn, Dean Kowalski, Tait Szabo—all tenured—can be dropping their jobs.
Based on UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, “there merely weren’t sufficient college students to maintain a two-year campus in Waukesha.”
UPDATE: Professor Szabo of UW-Milwaukee-Waukesha, writes that he has despatched Chancellor Mone the next questions:
Wis. Stat. s. 36.22(12) (and Regent Coverage Doc. 20-24.II.A) covers Different Appointments in case of program discontinuance. The place tenured CGS school are certified to show programs within the establishment presently coated by non-tenured adjuncts, will tenured CGS school be retained and appointed to these programs? Failure to take action not solely would set a harmful precedent that ought to fear all tenured school at UWM in addition to anybody in academia who could think about accepting tenure-track or tenured employment at UWM, however it might additionally arguably be in violation of Wisconsin statutes and Regent coverage.
Regent Coverage Doc. 20-24.II.C-F requires that layoffs or termination of school members resulting from program modifications proceed by a college committee appointed for that goal (which doesn’t apply to CGSTT, as that was not its cost) and F-I require a report back to the Board of Regents and approval by the Board. None of this has occurred, so isn’t it untimely to ship notices of termination to tenured school (which is roofed underneath half J, in spite of everything these different steps)?
The Faculty of Normal Research (CGS) incorporates a number of applications: First-12 months Bridge, Pre-Engineering, the UW Versatile Choice, Persevering with Training, On-line, and the AAS Diploma. In actual fact, the 2023 Washington County Work Group discovered that solely 17% of scholars enrolled at UWM at Washington County accomplished the Affiliate’s Diploma. The Chancellor introduced solely the discontinuance of the Affiliate’s Diploma, however not the opposite CGS applications. No CGS school are particularly appointed to the Affiliate’s Diploma program. Due to this fact, is it not the case that shedding tenured CGS school by interesting to a program discontinuance would represent a misapplication of Wisconsin statute and Regent coverage?
