Expect more — a lot more — about realignment and reinvestment coming from Emporia State University administrators in the coming weeks.
Interim Co-Provost Joan Brewer, Dean of the Graduate School and Distance Education Jerald Spotswood and Director of Media Relations Gwen Larson joined KVOE’s ESU Buzz on Thursday to discuss events on campus the past two weeks, including the reasons for realignment, why the Framework for Workforce Management that led to over 30 faculty and staff dismissals last week was structured as it was and the path forward for ESU. Brewer says the combination of factors, including a better than 20-percent drop in on-campus enrollment the past five years, a smaller drop in overall enrollment and periodic state budget cuts since 2008, put Emporia State in a position where it had to bypass some of its regular notification channels to faculty, staff and students to take significant action. When asked if the future of Emporia State was at stake if the moves of the last two weeks weren’t made, she said yes.
Spotswood echoed statements from President Ken Hush, who has said the realignment is student-focused.
While Hush’s “strike zone” of programs is clear in general terms — nursing, business, education, library science and information management — less clear is how things will advance for programs not in the strike zone. However, Spotswood says students in other programs should be assured those areas will receive the highest level of education possible.
Brewer says there were months of conversations leading up to the formal request to the Kansas Board of Regents at the start of September. She acknowledged the loss of institutional knowledge amongst faculty and staff, including at least two Roe Cross professors signifying the university’s best educator of the year, and she countered concerns about the framework process being politically- or ideologically-based as opposed to being process-based — saying politics and ideology never came up in conversations. And she says she understands the feelings of anger voiced by many on campus.
Larson says ESU is following a process as it informs the campus community and the community at large.
Larson says word of the reinvestment plan is coming soon, although a specific timetable has not been announced. ESU is not announcing the dismissal impact by department.
The KVOE.com Audio Vault will have the full interview this week.
