Today the president of Edinboro University released a strategic plan that includes the elimination of 40 faculty positions. The administration publicly released the plan prior to meeting with the campus chapter of APSCUF.
Edinboro is the second state-owned university to announce sweeping faculty layoffs. Several weeks ago Clarion University announced that it would lay off 22 faculty members as part of its workforce plan.
“We are shocked by management’s actions. The administration has deliberately chosen to publicly release a plan that fires faculty and staff instead of meeting with us to discuss the proposal,” said Dr. Jean Jones, president of APSCUF’s Edinboro chapter.
APSCUF represents the 300 permanent and 127 temporary faculty at Edinboro. The association has been meeting with administrators to discuss ways to help the university meet its financial obligations while maintaining educational quality.
“Edinboro was recently cited in U.S. News & World Report as a top regional university because of the quality education our faculty members provide. Our students come to Edinboro trusting that they will receive an excellent education,” Jones stated. “Eliminating programs like music, philosophy, and world languages will only reduce educational quality. Potential students will choose to attend other colleges that offer the well-rounded liberal arts education they desire.”
According to the university’s strategic plan, declining student enrollment has contributed to Edinboro’s financial situation.
“Unfortunately, management has spent years putting more money into capital projects and debt service at the expense of student instruction. Instead of overspending on capital projects, the university should have been preparing to deal with lower enrollments and fewer students on campus,” Jones noted. “Now the administration is proposing to sacrifice faculty positions and student instructional resources to meet Edinboro’s budgetary needs.”
Local and State APSCUF will continue to fight the proposed faculty layoffs and find workable solutions to the State System’s financial needs.