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Five Pennsylvania state universities have moved to lay off more than 100 full-time faculty members, The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is set to lose more than 80 tenured and tenure-track faculty members. The university has lost about one-third of its enrollment in the last decade and is also moving to restructure several of its fine arts and communications programs. Edinboro University is set to lose 21 faculty members, while Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is set to lose six, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is set to lose three, and Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania is set to lose two.
The layoffs are to take place at the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year.
The faculty union has said the layoffs would be the largest retrenchment in the university system’s history.
“Not only are faculty cuts a blow to the professors themselves, but, by extension, layoffs take opportunities away from students,” Jamie Martin, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, said in a press release. “Retrenchment is devastating at any time, but these letters are threatening to take away livelihoods and healthcare in the middle of a global pandemic.”
Enrollment in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has dipped 22 percent in the last decade, and the universities have dipped into their reserves to fund expenses. The system is currently undergoing a redesign, announced before the COVID-19 pandemic, that would integrate six of the universities into two institutions.
