Friendly hall on the University of Oregon campus is home to the School of Global Studies and Languages'. (Miles Cull/Emerald)
Deans and department heads at the University of Oregon are under mounting pressure to identify budget cuts amidst a university wide budget deficit. The cuts have led to multiple rounds of layoffs in recent months.
In June, UO laid off 42 positions within the College of Arts and Sciences, including 11 career faculty. Five of those 11 were language faculty within the Schnitzer School according to a newsletter published by United Academics, the university's faculty union.
Despite a recent donation of $25 million by the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation to support the School of Global Studies and Languages, many of the language programs will shrink amid these cuts.
Once the next round of layoffs go into effect in September the school will reportedly no longer offer regular courses in Portuguese, Swedish or Swahili, according to the newsletter. The newsletter also alleges that CAS Dean Chris Poulsen has indicated that the school could eliminate the German and Russian language programs entirely. The cuts could reportedly affect tenured and non-tenured faculty alike.
Under the UA Collective Bargaining Agreement the school would have to provide faculty with a one-year notice of termination meaning that the cuts would not fully impact the program until September 2026.
In an email statement to The Daily Emerald the university said in part,
"The University of Oregon is in the midst of budget reduction conversations across all units of the university. This includes a consultative process with academic leadership and the university senate to review academic programs. This entire process will not conclude for at least another two weeks."
The statement went on to say that reports suggesting that decisions are final are "speculative and premature," asking media outlets to refrain from reporting the potential cuts.
"Throughout this process, the university remains rooted in its values and committed to thoughtful stewardship, community engagement, and building renewed momentum to meet the challenges facing higher education," the statement read.
A faculty member, who wishes to only be identified as a professor within CAS out of fear of department-specific retaliation, said the school's religious studies and classics program is also on the chopping block, putting the college's Arabic and Judaic studies programs at risk as well, said the member.
According to two faculty members with knowledge of the potential cuts, Poulsen allegedly directed department heads to come up with potential budget cut combinations in the scenario of a 2%, 4% or 6% budget reduction. They were also reportedly asked to give names of faculty who could be cut. The CAS is allegedly tasked with cutting $3 million from their budget according to the faculty member.
UO projections indicate a $25-30 million yearly deficit in the education and general fund. In May, President Scholz and Dean Poulsen sent a letter addressing the financial outlook of the university and anticipated a reduction in administrative and schools and colleges' budgets. The university stated the reasons for indicated shortfalls to be changes in federal funding, "limited state support" and fewer nonresident students.
Despite fewer nonresident students, the incoming freshman class will be the largest in UO history.
The professor -- who is eligible for retirement -- said there has been no communication regarding early retirement packages or buyouts.
They also expressed concern that most cuts were aimed mainly at humanities departments, and that those decisions made it feel as if "humanistic disciplines were not as important as the sciences."
CAS is the largest school at UO. It currently houses nearly 50% of students with almost 800 faculty members across 50 programs. The college is one of many schools facing budget cuts. Layoffs are also set to impact the School of Journalism and Communication among potential others.
A second newsletter by UA Monday, stated that UO gave no prior notice to the union about a change in condition of work or the layoffs, which did not allow the union to respond to the spring round of layoffs as they only learned about them when affected faculty learned they were being laid off.
UA has asked that this dispute be submitted to arbitration in an expedited process to address the "procedural failings" and the layoffs directly.
An arbitrator, or a neutral third party, is the standard procedure for this type of dispute, according to UA. If this issue cannot be engaged through expedited arbitration, UA stated they are prepared to file an Unfair Labor Practice against the university.
The union has filed two grievances against the university: one for lack of sharing what guidelines were being used to determine layoff decisions, and one for a lack of notification of what faculty members and units were affected by the layoffs.
Article six of UA's CBA states that UO must inform the union in advance if policy changes will affect the working conditions of any bargaining member, which UO administration allegedly failed to do.
Not sharing this information is in violation with UA's CBA, as is the assumption that remaining employees will have to absorb the work that was previously performed by laid off faculty -- drastically changing their working conditions.
For layoffs in the fall, UO administration is invoking Article 25 of the CBA, which details how tenure-related bargaining unit members may be laid off as a result of program eliminations or reductions, according to the newsletter.
According to an email obtained by The Emerald, Poulson informed faculty that they will receive notice the week of September 8 informing them if they will be laid off or not.
Article 25 cannot be used as a "remedy" for financial difficulties, according to the union.
UA has demanded that both the spring and fall layoffs are subject to bargaining between the university and the union.
The university said they had "agreed to engage in discussion with UA."