Dive Brief:
- The University of Nebraska System’s governing board approved a plan Friday to cut four programs at its flagship campus despite sustained faculty protests over the eliminations and the process for determining them.
- With the vote, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is set to axe its programs in Earth and atmospheric sciences; educational administration; statistics; and textiles, merchandising and fashion design. Chancellor Rodney Bennett proposed the cuts to save UNL $6.7 million annually.
- In a statement Saturday, UNL’s faculty senate executive committee said it was “deeply disappointed” with the vote and warned that instructors outside of the affected programs are discussing leaving the institution. “It is crystal clear to this committee that the faculty of this university is under assault,” it said.
Dive Insight:
In mid-September, Bennett unveiled an initial version of his plan, which would have eliminated six programs at UNL as part of a broader plan to slash some $27.5 million from the budget.
The announcement sparked a firestorm of protest from faculty.
They have pushed back on nearly all aspects of the process for arriving at the cuts, from the rapid timeline, to the impact of nixing the programs, to the metrics used to evaluate them. Faculty say those metrics were essentially hidden from them and, from what they could glean, deeply flawed. University officials have expressed confidence in the data and metrics used to make decisions.
In their latest push, faculty contended that Bennett’s proposal includes only gross savings from eliminations and does not factor in the revenue generated by programs.
For example, the education administration program brings in $1.2 million in annual tuition revenue in addition to $3.6 million in active external grants, according to a fact sheet circulated to media last week. Cutting the program would result in up to a $27,330 net annual loss. That figure rises tenfold when including potential lost future revenue streams, according to the fact-sheet.
Moreover, an October financial review commissioned by UNL’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors found that the university was fundamentally healthy, raising questions about the necessity of the cuts.
After a universitywide academic committee recommended against cutting four of the six programs put forward by Bennett, the chancellor reduced his recommendation but still placed four programs on the chopping block. Eliminating the four programs — approved by the regents last week — is set to cut the equivalent of more than 50 full-time jobs.
Bennett and the regents moved forward even after the committee pleaded for more time so the university could review the cuts and explore possible alternative paths.
“Our reality is that UNL's expenses have been greater than its revenue for many years,” Bennett said when announcing his final proposal in November. “We have a responsibility to practice sound financial stewardship and to ensure we do not continue to spend beyond our means, especially in an environment where future revenue remains uncertain.”
That didn’t placate faculty, however. Less than two weeks after Bennett released the final plan, UNL’s faculty senate voted 60-14 to approve a measure calling for Bennett’s removal and formally stating no-confidence in the chancellor over allegations of “failures in strategic leadership, fiscal stewardship, governance integrity, external relations, and personnel management.” It was the first no-confidence vote for a leader in the university’s history.
Some University of Nebraska regents echoed Bennett’s messaging in approving the cuts.
“The simple truth is that our current revenues are not sufficient to cover our costs and we cannot assume additional state support,” Regent Tim Clare said at the meeting Friday. Noting the many comments at the meeting and emails to his office asking the regents to vote against the cuts, he added, “Well, how do we keep the lights on? That’s the dilemma.”
System President Jeffrey Gold said in a statement that the cuts were necessary for UNL’s future success. “Even in this time of challenge, we are making remarkable progress,” he said.
Regents on Friday voted in large majorities to approve the eliminations program-by-program after several hours of comments from stakeholders supporting the academic offerings and their continuation at the meeting.
Faculty continued to decry the eliminations after the votes.
The program and budget cuts represent “a devastating setback for the flagship university’s mission and for the people of Nebraska," Sarah Zuckerman, a UNL educational administration professor and president of UNL’s AAUP chapter, said in a statement Friday.
She added, “The Regents chose to endorse cuts that will weaken core academic programs, undermine research excellence, and jeopardize the long-term vitality of our institution.”
