80 Loyola profs to take buyout

[bbtds]

http://loyolaphoenix.com/2020/01/80-loyola-professors-plan-to-leave-university-at-end-of-academic-year/

This has to have a pretty interesting effect on a university and it probably doesn't have much effect on the MBB team but it is really big for a school we compete against.

"If [the professors are] not going to be replaced by full-time faculty members, this is gonna be a huge, huge reduction of Loyola's basic educational mission," a history professor and president of Loyola's chapter of the American American Association of University Professors (AAAUP), Benjamin Johnson previously told The Phoenix.

In the past, some have criticized the university for focusing on cost savings, arguing the school is run more like a business than a university, including the AAAUP which recently wrote a letter stating Loyola's president is "ill-equipped" to run the university. 

Callahan responded to this criticism and said universities are businesses. She said Loyola has to remain conscious of costs in order to make education accessible for more students.

"We absolutely do need to pay attention to our cost, to our structure," Callahan said. "If that's likened to just running a business, then so be it, but I think that's about us being responsible to our students and families."

Responsible profs to students paying higher and higher tuitions. What a concept! Although I'm sure many will argue that the value is in the job a graduate is able to get.

[usc4valpo]

Excellent strategy and a bold, smart decision by Callahan and Loyola on maintaining a sustainable university structure. There needs to be a business sense in operating a university while also staying focused on its mission and goals.

[vu84v2]

I have no data on this, but my guess is that a majority of universities have tenure buyout programs. Two universities that I am close to have had such buyout packages for at least five years. In fact, Valpo might have one (though I am not sure).

I am always a bit perplexed when people argue that universities are not businesses. They are not (and should not be) for profit, but like any organization they need to be financially sustainable. Thus, universities need to make decisions (sometimes hard) to ensure long financial sustainability.The costs of a college education (not just financial, but also time) are so high that prospective students and their parents want graduates ready for careers. Hence, you have a shift towards engineering, business, medical professions, etc. and away from liberal arts. Additionally, there is no financial advantage from getting a degree in a career field like education from a higher priced private school. Regardless of whether you like or dislike these shifts, they exist and universities need to adjust.

Tenure buyouts don't necessarily save money, but they do facilitate being able to better support the necessary shift. Who takes a tenure buyout package? Professors near or at retirement across all colleges (not just liberal arts). They might be liberal arts faculty making $80K per year, business professors making $100K to $175K per year, or engineering professors making more than $125K per year. If you don't replace the faculty member with another tenure track faculty member (because of less overall attendance), you save money. You could replace them with a non-tenure track faculty member, but all accreditation boards limit the ratio of non-tenure track faculty to overall faculty. If you are shifting to meet increased demand in fields like engineering, business, medical professions, etc., the cost might increase. Why? Because the competitive market salary for new PhD graduates in fields like business, engineering, etc. is often equal to the salaries of tenured professors. There are just not enough professors in these fields to meet national demand.

[usc4valpo]

Vu84v2 - outstanding analysis and feedback. My daughter wants to go into early childhood education, and she did a campus tour at Valpo. After the visit, she decided to focus on the state schools nearby with excellent education programs. Valpo should focus even more on STEM given the recent economic circumstances. Also, early retirement programs are recently happening at lot of business and corporations nationwide.