Over 800 sign petition on contingent faculty cuts

Here is the text of a petition we posted yesterday (now closed for signatures as we have shared it with the administration). Thanks to the over 800 who signed in support.

This week, the majority of contingent faculty at Miami University—visiting assistant professors, instructors, and adjuncts—were told that their contracts will not be renewed in fall. This harsh decision will deprive our colleagues of income and health insurance during a pandemic and a recession. Alternatives are available, and we urge the administration to work with faculty to develop them.

Dear President Crawford, Provost Osborne, Divisional Deans, and Miami University Board of Trustees: 

The undersigned members of the Miami University community urge you to take into consideration our collective ideas and solidarity across faculty categories as resources for confronting the crisis presented by the COVID-19 virus. Progressive, proactive leadership from upper administration could unleash the power of mutual aid and individual goodwill. We appreciate the measures taken to protect some vulnerable Miami populations (extending the tenure clock for probationary faculty, promoting the student emergency fund, extending the Credit/No Credit deadline to students), but we are concerned about the apparent disregard for the lives of VAPs and other contingent faculty, most of whom received notice this week that their contracts would not be renewed at the end of the semester. 

The VAPs and other faculty in question are more than a line-item on a budget. As instructors who deliver the core of Miami’s Liberal Education curriculum and teach in high-enrolled professional and applied fields, these individuals have the most contact hours and are among the most visible faculty members. They are the face of Miami University for students, many of whom never know the conditions of economic precarity these professors experience. They innovate without being asked and were some of the most resourceful to adapt to the transition to online instruction, despite teaching nearly double the volume of students as their Oxford tenure-line colleagues. Their success in the past weeks has garnered accolades (see the President’s March 27 letter to the Miami Community) from upper administration and generated some very charming and feel-good Love-and-Honor spirit. This week, the majority of contingent faculty saw their efforts rewarded with nonrenewal in the interests of the fiscal health of the University. 

Many of our VAPs, instructors, and adjuncts are near retirement, or are new parents, or are supporting other dependents. Removing health insurance tied to employment in the middle of a global pandemic and extraordinary economic hardship is, in our view, a harsh action that could result in tragic outcomes. It may also increase the chances that the virus will spread, exacerbating the public health crisis. In the wake of their departure, remaining faculty will absorb their workload, the co-curricular events that enrich Miami’s academic culture will grind to a halt, and students will see less of their beleaguered professors. We the undersigned insist that the University exercise compassion for employees through the period of emergency. We would rather absorb the pain together (see below for some ideas) than witness the hardships to which they will be subjected under current conditions if they are not renewed. 

We are aware that it is the precarity of these faculty that makes it possible for the university to eliminate them. Long-term, our goal must be to work on increasing economic security and equity for all faculty. Our goal as signatories in these very difficult economic times is to protect as many contingent faculty as possible from the uncertainties of unemployment and no access to health care. Faculty have ideas and are willing to make sacrifices, but are dismayed at the pace of personnel cuts and workload changes (effectively pay cuts) made without sharing data or rationales with faculty and foreclosing our opportunity to participate in generating solutions. Upper administration at other universities have proposed sharing the sacrifice through graduated temporary pay cuts across ranks. Such a salary “tax” could present a compassionate alternative to faculty eliminations and workload increases. 

Faculty are willing to do our share in this time of financial difficulty. Should teaching temporarily increase, we will continue to find it a pleasure and a privilege to teach Miami students. But the changes the administration has made could damage students’ educational experiences and opportunities for research. We ask that every effort be made to preserve educational quality and our research trajectory, and that budget cuts not come from faculty alone. Let’s share the sacrifice. In summary, we urge that:

• All existing and planned non-renewals be reconsidered pending shared governance processes. These must include both transparent sharing of budget data and faculty participation in finding solutions to budget problems. 
• Administrators must prioritize the “University” in Miami University by working with us to find creative solutions that emphasize our academic mission over athletics, building, and special projects. 
• The needs of non-renewed faculty must be addressed (e.g., extend health benefits, create reinstatement agreements, set up emergency funds).

To accomplish these three goals, we propose the immediate formation of a Senate-appointed committee that would examine budget data and submit proposals to the provost and president.

As the lifeblood of this university, faculty must play an important role in any decisions affecting our academic mission. We propose to get through this crisis collaboratively, without harming the academic mission of the university. We do this in the spirit of compassion for our valued colleagues, concern for public health, and genuine Love and Honor.