Concerns about Emporia State University’s dismissals of over 30 faculty and staff this past fall certainly haven’t diminished from the American Association of University Professors’ viewpoint.
This week, the American Association of University Professors castigated both Emporia State University and the Kansas Board of Regents for a “direct assault” on tenure and academic freedom as part of a 16-page report on the university’s Framework for Workforce Management.
Emporia State’s plan, based on a Regents’ temporary policy allowing for staff dismissals if universities were facing extreme budget pressures connected to COVID-19, was approved by the Regents in September. Dismissals of over 30 faculty and staff — mainly tenured faculty — followed soon afterward, although three professors have now regained their positions.
Report co-writer and AAUP investigation chair Nicholas Fleishman, a linguistics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, tells KVOE News the Board of Regents opened the door for the framework, which he says goes against AAUP guidance — but more importantly, against university policies and procedures.
The report said neither the Board of Regents nor university leaders were fit to lead, “least of all during a crisis.” Fleisher says that was a response to both Regents and university claims they are trying to uphold higher education norms.
Fleisher says the AAUP investigative team “talked to as many people as we could who were affected by the situation,” including interviews with terminated faculty, documents submitted through the grievance process and correspondence through university leadership. He says there was one common thread for those that were dismissed: no specific reason given for the termination.
Fleisher also countered the university’s position of being in financial distress, saying ESU has not claimed financial exigency — the education version of bankruptcy — or demonstrated any more significant financial pressures than many other universities across the country. Connecting to AAUP concerns about academic freedom and tenure, Fleisher says tenure serves as a guarantee of due process for professors, and there are reasons professors can be dismissed, including incompetence, financial hardship or the impending end of certain programs. Besides not demonstrating extreme financial pressure, Fleisher says ESU stated early it was not terminating professors for cause and there was no serious faculty involvement in determining which programs would be eliminated.
The Board of Regents has not commented.
Emporia State was quick to say it disagreed with the report’s findings, also saying it was “committed to moving forward with strategic reinvestments that deliver elevated, best-in-class programs to today’s students and will ultimately benefit Kansas families and the Kansas workforce.”
