Dean of the Faculty offers explanation to faculty spending situation

Dean of the Faculty Jon Chenette has explained some of the numbers and rationale behind the recommendation to not renew the contracts of two English adjunct professors in a written statement to The Miscellany News. Chenette, who has been working feverishly in the past few days, according to sources within the administration, has been unable to comment to The Miscellany News until now.

Chenette also offered the explanation at a faculty meeting on Dec. 11. Dean of the College Chris Roellke described the meeting as both "sobering" and "collegial."

"I leave the meeting proud of my colleagues," said Roellke.

Chenette's words clarify many of the rumors that have sprung up among many students and alumnae/i about the situation—though some might still disagree with the ultimate decision.


The reduced spending on faculty salaries was "part of the campus-wide effort to maintain a level budget for next year," Chenette explained. The decline of the College's endowment, which lost over $250 million through November 2008, necessitated significant cuts to the operating budget, including a reduction in the faculty salary budget by about $750,000 relative to this year. "Because departments and programs submitted initial plans for 2009-10 that would have cost about $600,000 more in faculty salaries than this year, the reduction from proposed levels of staffing amounts to approximately $1.35 million," Chenette clarified.

Much of the decision-making process, it seems, was highly involved and very technical, involving a detailed quantitative review of faculty contracts, the curriculum and the budget constraints of the coming year.

"The recommended reductions campus-wide averaged about 10 percent, 125 teaching units out of approximately 1,300, relative to the staffing levels proposed for next year," explained Chenette. This is a reduction of 6 percent, 75 teaching units out of approximately 1,250, relative to the existing levels. Chenette said that reductions in specific departments and programs ranged anywhere from 0 percent to 33 percent of the requested staffing levels. "Departments with no reductions were asked to contribute to the effort in other ways, such as additional freshman writing seminars, multidisciplinary program offering or newly cross-listed courses," he noted.


Chenette and other administrators have proposed five actions that would achieve the necessary reduction in staffing levels. First, the College will delay previously approved tenure-track searches to gain three FTE. Second, the College will cut or temporarily not offer paid courses taught by emeritus faculty to gain one FTE. Third, Vassar will deny many of the requests for new visiting or adjunct faculty to save 12 FTE. Fourth, they will reduce "existing multi-year, visiting and adjunct non-expiring contracts" to the very minimum number of courses allowed in the contracts, saving one FTE.

Finally, Vassar will reduce or not renew one-year or multi-year visiting and adjunct contracts that end on June 30, 2008 and were proposed for renewal, saving eight FTE. This proposal has been the most contentious. A group of students recently organized with the hope the the College will retain two non-tenured professors in the creative writing program whose contracts will expire at the end of the 2008-09 school year. English Department co-Chairs Peter Antelyes and Michael Joyce issued a statement against the decision to reduce the two adjunct professors.


"In our recommendations for cuts, my office looked at areas where reductions of staffing were contractually possible and then balanced curricular need, enrollment patterns, equity, degree of team teaching, and spousal or partner employment to the best of our ability," he added. "We made our recommendations fully cognizant that there might be better ways of achieving the level of savings required and invited suggestions of alternatives that would achieve similar savings. Discussions of such alternatives continue with some departments."

The English Department, particularly the creative writing program, has recently been at the center of discussions as it stands to lose two non-tenured faculty members at the end of the 2008-09 school year when their contracts will expire. In a statement to Chenette and President Catharine Bond Hill, Antelyes and Joyce wrote, "Our course offerings in that area are inevitably going to be affected, though we hope not irrevocably. We have, to this end, also offered a plan whereby we can re-hire two of our non-tenured faculty who have taught with us for almost a decade." 

Chenette denied that there is a hope to do away with all adjunct and visiting faculty, which some alumnae/i and students have inferred. "There is no such plan," he stated. Next semester, however, the administration will "pursue important conversations" on the appropriate balance between tenure-track and non-tenure-track professors, and how each fits into the curriculum.

"We need to honor the important work these faculty members do and clarify the circumstances under which we will employ contingent faculty and the extent and limits of what they can expect from the College," said Chenette. According to Roellke, it is time for the College to consider solutions to curricular and faculty challenges, "some of it short term and some of it long term."