On Monday, March 4th, PSU-AAUP put out the call for you to support our Intensive English Language Program (IELP) colleagues, and to help stave off future cuts. We corrected the misinformation presented by President Cudd in Currently and on her President’s Blog about Administration’s recommendation to eliminate the IELP. Over 1,000 of us responded to the call for action, emailing the President and members of the Board of Trustees, encouraging them to make decisions that support a bright future for PSU, and approximately 180 of us attended the Board’s Finance & Administration Committee meeting on March 6th. See below for next steps to continue this engagement.
Faculty Senate Meeting
At Monday’s Faculty Senate meeting (recording here), President Cudd offered a verbal apology for her “unclear” communications and for the “bad feelings” it created.
But what was stated earlier today in that blog post was very unclear and has led to bad feelings, which I regret. What I should have said is that we have taken the decision to take the steps necessary with Faculty Senate and AAUP, to get to the conclusion we seek. I apologize for suggesting that we have already done so. We have not done so we are still in the process of negotiations about the exact process that will be applied. I apologize to the AAUP leadership Senate for suggesting that they have engaged in formal consultation with us about this. - (minute mark 1:15:52)
Board of Trustees’ Finance & Administration Committee Meeting
Since Monday, the Board of Trustees’ Finance and Administration Committee met to consider Dr. Cudd’s request for an additional spend of the University’s Reserves (full recording here). There were around 180 community members in attendance to observe that meeting. They heard PSU-AAUP members’ message loud and clear: stave off massive cuts. While the majority of the committee spoke in support of additional reserves spending for the upcoming fiscal year, no formal recommendations were made and there are no guarantees this spending will be allowed.
The Chair of the Finance & Administration Committee continued to insist that University Administration prepare for massive “right-sizing” of the institution at a much quicker pace. To translate: faster cuts; deeper cuts.
Over the summer President Cudd’s administration intends to identify programs with poor “program margins” and begin the process of program reductions in September. This process will take into account what the administration provocatively refers to as “operational complexities” such as Shared Governance (aka Faculty Senate) and Collective Bargaining Agreements (aka unions).
What does this mean?
Without robust pushback by the campus community IELP will be just the beginning. If the Finance Board Chair's vision is enacted, more cuts are coming and layoffs in 2024-2025 are imminent.
Next Steps
As we showed this week, we have the power to move the administration and have our voices heard. Continue to show up to support IELP and be engaged in the University’s governance. Mark your calendars for the following dates and prepare to attend meetings on campus wearing your red AAUP swag (need a t-shirt, drop by SMSU 232).
- Faculty Senate Meeting: Monday, April 1st - 3-5*pm (*corrected time from newsletter posting) in Cramer 053
- Board of Trustees’ Finance & Administration Committee Meeting: Thursday, April 4th - 2-4pm in ASRC 515 or online
- Board of Trustees Meeting: Friday, April 5th - 9:30-12:30 in ASRC 515
Actions you can take right now:
- Email President Cudd
- Email the Finance and Administration Committee Chair
- Grow our union through signing up a a colleague
- Volunteer to help get your department/unit ready for a strong contract by replying to this email
- Get YOUR AAUP T-shirt from SMSU 232