Records Request Accidentally Turns Up Retrenchment Plan

Oops. Salem State University in Massachusetts accidentally released a detailed faculty retrenchment plan as part of a faculty member’s larger public records request, according to The Salem News. More faculty members, who are already at odds with their administration over a budget deficit and furlough, reportedly saw the document when it was posted to an online forum Friday. The document included several unfinished university plans for saving up to $3.3 million, including the elimination of named faculty members. Tiffany Chenault, president of Salem State's chapter of the Massachusetts State College Association, told The Salem News, “It was a detailed document that had three different scenarios. It had people's names, departments that would be retrenched, moved.” Rita Colucci, Salem State's general counsel, reportedly said, “We looked at some scenarios but never finished the document. It was an unfinished exercise -- never meant to be shared, never meant to be distributed in any way.”