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Union leaders from APSCUF, AFSCME, and SCUPA (an affiliate of PSEA) today addressed the possibility of retrenchment and other job losses at Commonwealth University, which includes Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield campuses. In the East Wing Rotunda of the Pennsylvania Capitol, speakers discussed the failure of Pennsylvania’s public officials to properly fund its universities and the lack of accountability for questionable decisions made by university and State System leaders.

Watch the full press conference:

Dr. Kenneth M. Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, emceed the event, which took place 10 years after the conclusion of APSCUF’s first faculty strike (Oct. 19–21, 2016).

“This retrenchment, this loss of jobs, doesn’t lie on the backs of the faculty members who are going to lose their jobs, the workers who are going to lose their jobs,” Mash said. “It should be on the backs of the people who put us in this situation in the first place. It certainly shouldn’t be on the backs of students who will have fewer course offerings, difficulty graduating from their classes, and they will not have the options that they otherwise would have had. Someone has got to take responsibility.”

Rachel Shaffer, Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg campus SCUPA president, spoke directly to legislators.

” … Step up and make investments in all of our state-funded universities, including Commonwealth University, so that we have the resources we need to prepare our students for future success,” Shaffer said. “To the elected leaders in the Capitol right now, we have a message for you: We need you to fund our colleges and universities. We need you to invest in our students and the professionals who help make their college experience a success.”

Shawn Makar of AFSCME Council 13 works at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg.

“Don’t play a game with my life and the lives of my fellow PASSHE employees,” Makar said. “Please.”

Dr. Alan Gishlick teaches at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, and his position is in peril. He underscored the importance of workers to a university.

“It’s the faculty who teach the classes,” Gishlick said. “It’s the faculty who mentor the students. It’s the faculty who provide research opportunities and intellectual enhancement to the students’ lives.”

Dr. Matt Girton of Commonwealth University-Lock Haven talked about his lifelong ties to all three Commonwealth University campuses. He discussed how cuts would harm the university and communities.

“Retrenchment doesn’t solve a problem,” he said. “It hastens the demise of the school.”

APSCUF photos

The Oct. 8 Board of Governors meeting was streamed via YouTube. Watch APSCUF Vice President Dr. Kara Laskowski’s remarks in the video below or read the comments as prepared in this post. 

Good morning, Chair Shapira, Chancellor Fiorentino, and members of the board. My name is Kara Laskowski, and I serve proudly as the vice president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, or APSCUF.

I want to first thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this morning, and for the flexibility in allowing me to appear remotely so that I can meet obligations at Shippensburg University, where I am a professor of communication studies.

One of the classes I’m teaching this semester is Communication and Sport. I frequently require students to locate and analyze current examples of communication in the context of sport, whether it is coaching or athlete interaction or crisis communication. I like to believe that if it wasn’t for verifying the links that my students submit as part of these assignments that I’d stay off social media entirely. I’m sure we all have some version of that story that we tell ourselves. But, the algorithm works the way the algorithm is supposed to work, and after blinking a few times I found myself watching an Instagram reel posted by Dr Joanna Flavell, a lecturer in environmental politics at Sheffield University who also researches higher-education institutional policies and change.

Sheffield notes that, while one restructure or policy change at a university is disruptive, the real concern is when there are consecutive changes. She argues that although most managers remain only long enough to engage in one restructure and may not even stick around for the outcomes of their own acts, this is not the experience of those who go through those changes. Instead, she says, “it is the collective experience, the cumulative effects, the consequences for morale and trust, on people’s abilities to plan their lives, and the actual work universities are able to do.” She goes on to note that “every time you remove people you don’t just remove their salary from a spreadsheet, you remove experience, you remove institutional knowledge, you remove the relationships that they have spent years building and then the people who remain have to somehow keep things going and then you wind up with a situation where fewer people are trying to do more work while simultaneously dealing with the uncertainty and wondering whether you’re going to be next. … And then management looks at the organization and says we need to restructure again. At some point you have ask whether restructuring is actually solving any of these problems or whether the constant restructuring is part of the problem itself.”

Sheffield acknowledges that in some instances there may appear to be savings, but that the appearance of such savings are short term and/or false; they are the “difference between making something cheaper and making something sustainable, and universities are at risk of learning this lesson far too late because a death by a thousand cuts doesn’t necessarily look like one catastrophic decision. It looks like restructure after restructure until eventually you realize the institution you had has been slowly dismantled.”

She concludes by asserting that “the question we should be asking is not: How much money will it be saving? It is instead: What is it doing to the people who are left? And what will be left of the university if we do this?”

In other words, in my words: What is the real cost of these actions?

My colleagues across this State System have borne the costs of a series of decisions on the part of the legislature, this board, and the administration at our universities. We have endured consolidation and the costs that it inflicted to morale, to enrollment, to campus identities. We have shouldered and suffered the costs of curriculum restructuring, department integrations, and program arrays. We have borne the increased workloads mandated by the imposition of an illogical student-to-faculty ratio that not only cost in unsustainable workload and overload, but in real dollars. We are engaged in a program-array process that imposes equally illogical metrics of completers and net tuition that have already, and will continue to, cost again, in terms of declines in programs, opportunities, and consequent enrollment, and which will result not in net savings, but losses in students due to the cuts to majors, minors, and campus opportunities.

And most damaging, my colleagues at Commonwealth University,
* who have experienced all of these acts of restructuring and the cumulative damage they have caused,
* who have nonetheless been participating in full and good faith in a three-year plan to balance the budget including through attrition but with assurances of no layoffs,
* who have worked diligently to contribute to strategies and saving, to the realignment of colleges and departments and the revision of programs and undertaking more and more work in the effort to attract, retain, serve new populations and serve new markets in order to achieve true sustainability,
* who have sustained these losses and endured the expenses incurred by one management restructuring plan after another,
* who have stayed because of a love of their campuses and profession and students while those administrators have moved on without accountability or responsibility for the losses they have created

have now had management, after receipt of a memo, announce yet another restructure in the form of retrenchment.

Now, we are well aware of the dire situation of the system’s finances. We know the toll of underfunding on our classrooms, our educational supplies, and most importantly, on our students. We know the challenges are real, which is why we lead advocacy for increased appropriations — not to the 5.5% ask this Board will vote on today, but to 15% in order that we can protect students from tuition increases while allowing our campuses to meaningfully achieve sustainability and pursue innovation — and for the Pennsylvania Promise, and we continue to welcome your partnership in those efforts. We do this because we believe in the mission of the System and our universities, the value of higher education as a public good, and the potential of the students we serve. And while we may be idealistic, we are not naïve. And consequently, we know that this decision –—somehow simultaneously another of a thousand cuts while also catastrophically damaging —n will not save Commonwealth University. The question is: How much will it cost?

How many classes will disappear from the schedule? How many additional semesters will students be forced to stay, taking out more loans in order to access the classes they need to complete their degrees? How many will leave, instead, for an institution that has not been restructured beyond recognition or function?

How many faculty members will receive a letter notifying them that their employment, their health insurance, their family’s livelihood, their ability to continue to contribute to the work of education and research, their opportunities to serve their campus and community has been ended as part of yet another “restructure”?

How much additional reputational damage will Commonwealth University and the State System of Higher Education suffer? How much trust from the local communities and businesses will be lost?

And despite the claims of financial exigence, and setting aside the regard for the human and intellectual and community expenses that will be realized, what costs, in real dollars from lost revenue from enrollment, grant activity lead by faculty, campus utilization in academic camps and conferences, and the like, be recorded in red on the balance sheet in what Commonwealth University student Corbin Conklin accurately characterized as a “self-amplifying cycle of further monetary losses” in the BU Voice.

And when the managers making these decisions move on, without accountability or consequence, what will remain of the people and campuses who have paid the cost?

Now, make no mistake. We will vigorously enforce the contract and our colleagues. We have experience and expertise in this exercise. And I believe that in the end, it will be unlikely that you will succeed in eliminating the positions, the livelihoods, the investments, the expertise, the talents of my colleagues — and the opportunities all of those represent to our students — and I believe this because I know that retrenchment does not, will not, save anything. These actions already have costs — costs to our students, to my colleagues, to our staff colleagues, to the university, to the local community. The extent of those costs will be measured in the toll your actions take on those left behind and what is left of Commonwealth University at Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield.

Not incidentally, after seeing that reel on Instagram I shared it with a faculty member at Commonwealth University. That person replied: “all of this. This is so spot on I would be crying if I wasn’t sitting in the dining hall surrounded by students. I can’t believe how well this describes our experience. I am stunned. And sad. And worried.”

Thank you for your time and attention this morning.

We are standing together on Sept. 28 in Harrisburg to advocate for a 15% increase in funding for public higher education in Pennsylvania, for the Pennsylvania Promise plan to make college more affordable, and for other higher-education and labor issues. The Affordable College Now! rally is slated to begin promptly at noon on the front steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol. Students, faculty, coaches, staff, alumni, and other supporters of Pennsylvania’s community colleges, state-owned universities, and state-related universities are invited to attend.

Click here to read the press release. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

Dr. William E. Fulmer was president of APSCUF from 1998 to 2004. File photo

APSCUF is mourning the loss of Past President Dr. William E. Fulmer, who led the organization from 1998 to 2004. He died Aug. 19 at age 85. Click here to read the retired Clarion University professor’s obituary. APSCUF offices are closed today in his honor.

In 2017, Fulmer reflected on his time as president, during which only one month was not in contract negotiations for faculty, coaches, or both.

“I received enormous personal benefit from my APSCUF service, gaining friendships among many dedicated and talented faculty members and leaders at each of our 14 universities,” he wrote. “And I believe we were able to help and assist many … That is an accomplishment that prevails over all others.”

Fulmer received APSCUF’s Distinguished Service Award in 2004. Clarion University Alumni Association presented him with a Distinguished Faculty Award in 2022.

Professor Emeritus Helen Bieber of Kutztown University reflected on the many memories she has of Fulmer, who encouraged her to run for State APSCUF secretary, a position to which she was elected in 1998.

“No clue what I was doing but Bill was patient, generous with his time and knowledge which led me to what seemed to be a second career,” she said. Bieber served as secretary until 2016.

“I remember Bill driving us to meetings with the Kingston Trio playing on the CD player in his car, I remember his laugh, his interest in what one was saying — always paying attention,” Bieber wrote. “I remember him talking about former students he’d been in touch with and how their success meant so much to him. Bill cared and was caring, about APSCUF, fairness, faculty, but above all, his family, who meant the world to him. May you rest in peace, my friend. You will be missed.”

More Fulmer memories

“While I’m a faculty member at IUP, I was an undergraduate student at Clarion and the student trustee during some of my time there. Dr. Fulmer was the APSCUF president at the time and I learned a lot by observing him. He was also my best friend’s academic advisor, so I also learned indirectly from him through her. As the student trustee, I wanted to demonstrate that I was engaged and made a comment at one of the public meetings that, at the time, I didn’t realize was poorly delivered and made one of the administrators look foolish. It wasn’t my intention to do that, but I didn’t even realize that was the outcome. Through a message delivered by my best friend, he said, ‘You should tell Mimi that she might want to share that kind of information privately and not at a public meeting.’ I have told that story many times and have never forgotten the lesson I learned from him.”
—Mimi Benjamin, Ph.D.
Professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania

This post will be updated.

Have a Fulmer memory to add to this post? Email it to . Please include your name and university.

Dr. Margaret Ervin accepts APSCUF’s Distinguished Service Award in April. APSCUF photo

Dr. Margaret Ervin likes to empower people.

“It’s sort of who I am,” said the former English professor, writing-center director, chapter president, and a winner of this year’s APSCUF Distinguished Service Award. “Inspiring people to be able to find their own power, that’s my thing. That’s what I live for.”

Ervin started her educator journey as a sixth-grade teacher.

“I enjoyed teaching writing to the middle school students,” Ervin said. “And I enjoyed helping them come up with things to write and expressing themselves and learning how to think using writing.”

From there she earned her graduate degree. After a time as a managing editor for the Journal of Speech Language Hearing Research for the American Speech Language Hearing Association, she secured a job at West Chester University.

And she joined APSCUF.

“That was the first thing I did,” Ervin said. “I was always attracted to unions out of a sense of fairness.”

After years of APSCUF membership, Ervin became a member of the negotiations team, and she was elected chapter president in 2021. She would serve in that position for four years.

“One of the reasons that I became a leader (was) I just had the willingness and passion to put in the time and had a lot of heart for the role,” she said.

Current West Chester Chapter President Dr. Chris Stangl shared a story via email about how Ervin stood up to management.

“Margaret was excellent in holding Management to account,” he wrote.

The willingness to do the work is a major part of the job, she said.

“Part of what I wanted to do was to find new leaders in the chapter and bring them along,” Ervin said. “I did bring in a number of women leaders, but I found that there were so many women with fantastic skills who could have been great union leaders.”

Ervin discussed the need for increasing participation in APSCUF.

“I worry about people who are not my colleagues in APSCUF, people who don’t join the union,” she said. “And even for some people who do join but don’t really get involved. I think understanding how strong the union is something people need to be educated on.”

Ervin discussed people who inspired and helped throughout her APSCUF journey. Dr. Jamie Martin, immediate past APSCUF president who passed away on June 5, was a major inspiration, Ervin said.

“I felt so out of my depth when I got onto the (negotiations) team,” Ervin said. “And Jamie just brought me in and explained things to me and was just so friendly and kind, like a big sister would be.”

Ervin also praised the leadership of APSCUF President Dr. Ken Mash and former APSCUF Vice President Dr. Chris Hallen, as well as all of the people who are delegates to the legislative assembly.

“Professors are such a hard-working group of people,” Ervin said. “They just will do anything for their students.”

Ervin’s commitment to her students went beyond the classroom.

“I think as a professor I was able to touch students’ lives and give them more confidence in themselves as thinkers and communicators,” she said.

Ervin was also a director at the Writing Center on campus. As director, she expanded the Writing Center to be more universitywide and took it out of the English department.

“When I would see the students who came to the Writing Center to get services, when they would experience a sense of efficacy that they didn’t have before they came in, that was great,” Ervin said. “And then the tutors developed great professional skills. Most of them were master’s students that were hired in their first year, so they would work for two years in the Writing Center, and could leave with this incredible skill set.”

Throughout all three of her major positions within the university, one consistent theme emerged.

“What did I enjoy about being a professor?” Ervin said. “What did I enjoy about being a writing center director? What did I enjoy about being a union leader? It’s empowering people.”

—Ethan Rapp, APSCUF intern