Friday, May 11, 2007

Open Letter on the 1% Solution

Today the letter below was sent to Board of Curators Chairman Don Walsworth, interim President of the MU System Gordon Lamb, MU Chancellor Brady Deaton and MU Faculty Council President Rex Campbell. For background, see the previous post.

May 11, 2007

The home page for the University of Missouri system heralds this institution as "one of the nation's largest and most prestigious public research universities." Given the university's long history of service to the state of Missouri, Workers in Education at the University of Missouri (WE-MU), a coalition of faculty and staff affiliated with the Missouri National Education Association, applaud the Board of Curators' recognition that a great university must offer competitive salaries to faculty and staff in order to continue this record. At the same time, we object strongly to the plan to finance future salary increases through internal reallocation of funds.

We suspect that very few faculty and administrators endorse the Board of Curators' plan, even if they have not openly questioned it. We suspect, further, that we are not the only ones who believe that the Board of Curators' Plan is an abdication of the State of Missouri's basic responsibility to provide quality, affordable higher education to its citizens. We are not the only ones who would like to see a tradition begun in 1839, with the establishment of "the first publicly supported institution of higher education established in the Louisiana Territory,"well maintained.

And yet, the state's flagship university system is being asked to fund salary increases through a $4.2 million reduction in the General Operating budget each year, beginning with the next fiscal year. What may not be clear is that the university has already suffered a 7% cut in state funding over the past six years, as the inflation rate rose 15%.Missouri ranks 46th in the nation for state funding to higher education. It is difficult to see how the University of Missouri can continue to be one of the nation's most prestigious public research universities if public funding continues to decline at such a sharp rate.

The logic behind the Curators' plan to fund salaries through further budget cutting, therefore, is difficult to see. Although the Curators recognize that the university is behind its peers in faculty salaries (with averages far below the flagship institutions of neighboring states Kansas and Illinois), their mandate to fund salary increases solely by essentially stealing money from the university budget itself will only ensure that the university will slide quickly from its historical reputation as one of the nation's finest institutions. The university's cannibalization will in turn cripple its mission to provide high-quality education and marketable degrees to Missouri citizens.

Moreover, the plan's proposed implementation is fatally flawed.Responding to the Curators' directive, university administrators ask that proposals for "cost savings" (i.e., internal reallocations to fund salary increases) be submitted within one month! Under the best of circumstances, a real study to identify supposed "inefficiencies" (i.e., cost-cutting targets) at a large and complex institution such as the University of Missouri would require much more time and careful consideration. Without this planning, possible candidates for elimination or reduction will almost surely be evaluated largely according to their political and economic clout, rather than their comparative value to the university's educational mission. Well-funded units, programs, and individuals linked to powerful constituencies within or outside the university will be spared, whereas others will be targeted for cuts simply because of their vulnerability.

Thus, the most likely targets will be small departments, particularly in the academically central but chronically under-funded Arts & Science College, as well as the already financially-starved library system, and among adjunct or non-tenure track faculty and among staff members, generally. Thus, the university's most poorly-funded units and poorly-remunerated employees are the most likely victims of the cannibalization process. Moreover, we see no evidence that staff members--the worst paid of all university employees--or adjunct, non-tenured faculty are guaranteed any salary increases in the Curators' plan.

The Missouri public's demand for quality and affordable higher education, of course, deserves a better response from its politicians and their appointees on the Board of Curators. We therefore protest this plan and call for our fellow University of Missouri administrators, faculty, and staff to join with us. Protest the Board of Curators'ill-judged directive, collectively and individually, publicly and privately. Don't let Missouri's politicians and public assume, by your silence, that you approve this plan.


Sincerely,

Workers in Education-University of Missouri (WE-MU)

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