Post by sidheguitarmichael on Jun 5, 2020 19:42:50 GMT -5
As a result of the shut down in WA state, the Gov (Inslee) recently told all state Us and colleges to expect at least a 15 percent reduction in support next year. At the place I am most familiar with, the chickens are coming home to roost big time, and they’ve all been cross-bred with honey badgers and hobo spiders. Since the dorms and food services have evidently been a major profit center for the U, and they’ve been shuttered this spring, we are looking at a 36 mil shortfall. As a result, over 400 classified staff and faculty are getting pink slips. The staff are first: we’ve lost both the secretary, and the admin assistant in our department of over 150 majors. If one knows how important the secretary in particular is to the organization and running of any big department, one would rightfully realize that this is a complete disaster.
The word is that they are going after all the lecturers next. Tenured faculty can’t be let go unless the department gets disbanded, and adjunct faculty are the cheapest labor there is, as they have no benefits, are supported in part by lab fees, and—unlike grad students—don’t go to school as part of their stipend. I will probably be alright, as I am a solid recruiter for the dept/school, have a good track record, and have brought the most rock stars and grammy nominees of anyone on faculty to the school for high-profile events and clinics—all for as little as 8-9k a year in really bad years. I note also that a quick check in yesterday to see enrollment for next fall’s classes and lessons showed that a class that was slated to be taught by a lecturer is now on my load—new as of this week.
Good sign for me, bad sign for someone else. It’s a bloodletting.
On the other hand, they did kill the entire diversity program—which I am in favor of keeping in general terms, but not at the rate that they’ve been hiring low 6-figure VPs for every identity and populating the office Complex/center with admin assistants. That program had to be 750k/yearly just in payroll alone, as these were admin offices, and not academic faculty and programming.
Anyhoo, the new post-COVID state-level reality. By the time these firings take effect, the initial bonus super-unemployment will have run its course as the state moves to phase 3, so a lot of these folks are on their own with plain ols 60 percent, or whatever it is. The VPs should have some savings, if they’re smart, but the lecturers—typically about a 42k/yearly job on a 9-month contract—are right in the sweet spot for a disastrous level of financial hurt. It’s brutal to be helplessly in watch and wait mode right now.
The word is that they are going after all the lecturers next. Tenured faculty can’t be let go unless the department gets disbanded, and adjunct faculty are the cheapest labor there is, as they have no benefits, are supported in part by lab fees, and—unlike grad students—don’t go to school as part of their stipend. I will probably be alright, as I am a solid recruiter for the dept/school, have a good track record, and have brought the most rock stars and grammy nominees of anyone on faculty to the school for high-profile events and clinics—all for as little as 8-9k a year in really bad years. I note also that a quick check in yesterday to see enrollment for next fall’s classes and lessons showed that a class that was slated to be taught by a lecturer is now on my load—new as of this week.
Good sign for me, bad sign for someone else. It’s a bloodletting.
On the other hand, they did kill the entire diversity program—which I am in favor of keeping in general terms, but not at the rate that they’ve been hiring low 6-figure VPs for every identity and populating the office Complex/center with admin assistants. That program had to be 750k/yearly just in payroll alone, as these were admin offices, and not academic faculty and programming.
Anyhoo, the new post-COVID state-level reality. By the time these firings take effect, the initial bonus super-unemployment will have run its course as the state moves to phase 3, so a lot of these folks are on their own with plain ols 60 percent, or whatever it is. The VPs should have some savings, if they’re smart, but the lecturers—typically about a 42k/yearly job on a 9-month contract—are right in the sweet spot for a disastrous level of financial hurt. It’s brutal to be helplessly in watch and wait mode right now.
