Given the significance of the issues at hand, members of the student body have compiled a list of specific concerns and questions they wish to be addressed at today's meeting. These statements have been drafted based on extensive research done by an independent body of current students. The locus of our questions centers on the lay off notices of nine of our tenured faculty and the major impacts that this decision has on our academic experience, and our Institution as a whole.
We have prepared the following statements and questions, please refrain from disrespectful interruptions:
We members of the student body object to the firing of 9 tenured Faculty for the following reasons:
1. Proof of due process delineating exactly how, why, and when specific measures were followed as per the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Faculty and administration has not been given to the students.
- Has a freeze been placed on hiring of any new faculty prior to this decision?
- Have Visiting Faculty been laid off prior to these nine tenured faculty?
- Has seniority been addressed, given the fact that these nine represent service ranging from 10 to 31 years?
- How do these lay offs not represent a serious and unresolvable distortion of the academic curriculum, given that these nine teach courses that are required for a major, required for graduation, and part of a required sequence of courses?
Not providing this information prior to these decisions leaves the school open to wrongful dismissal lawsuits, possibly costing many thousands of dollars in legal fees, which will be paid by student tuition monies, and is blatantly disrespectful to the students’ rightful involvement in making these major decisions.
2. These decisions were made behind closed doors, without the consultation of the Faculty Senate, Union, Students, or Department Heads of affected departments.
-Why has this been done when you have contractual and good faith obligations to include all of these parties in decisions of this magnitude?
3. How do you justify these layoffs by declaring a state of Financial Exigency when, based on the most recent provided audits, our revenues are not even 2% lower than in prior years, an insufficient difference to warrant declaring Financial Exigency?
- Additionally, the monetary savings from these layoffs will not solve any immediate cash shortfalls, as they will not come until Fall 2009, or later.
4. We are concerned that many of the fired Faculty are current or prior union officers, leaving the school open to academic freedom censure, and perhaps lawsuits. And creating a hostile environment for future union members and negotiations.
5. In the administration’s recent letter to students and alumni, it was stated that quote, “[we] are currently reformulating the department of Design and Technology into a School of Design, which will include Media Studies, to be introduced in fall 2010.”
-Given the fact that there will be a 25% reduction in the number of tenured faculty, how do you plan to accommodate new Schools and Programs?
-Will these Faculty have first priority for rehiring as per their contracts?
We demand that the administration rescind this decision and return to negotiations with the faculty union immediately and we demand to see proper documentation of every step taken by the administration and Board of Trustees in making these decisions.
We believe there are other ways to reduce costs that don't require the loss of human capital and the resulting demoralization and gross distortion of the curriculum.
We will begin more public protests if our demands are not addressed immediately.
<Drafted by Concerned Students of the San Francisco Art Institute to present to Dean Enwezor on March 13, 2009. No part has been altered or omitted, however, last minute revisions by the speaker were made upon presentation, so some details were not actually spoken. Please feel free to contact the administrator of this page with any questions or concerns regarding the contents herein.>
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