Weekly Briefing: Emporia State U. Fires Tenured Professors

A policy on the books for over a year is being carried out. ADVERTISEMENT [Weekly Briefing Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. Emporia State U. fires professors with tenure. Emporia State University, in Kansas, has been firing tenured professors this month. In January 2021, the Kansas Board of Regents [approved a policy]( that allowed the six state universities to suspend or terminate employees, including tenured professors, even if the institution had not declared financial exigency or initiated that process. The board wanted to give its universities the flexibility they needed to deal with financial strain brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, regents said at the time. For a year and a half, no university acted on the policy. That changed this month when Emporia State submitted to regents a short “framework for work-force management” that sketches out the university’s criteria for cutting employees, some of which mirrors the language in the regents’ policy. Regents unanimously approved the framework, although before voting, Cynthia Lane, a board member, remarked that this “is a tool that should be used sparingly.” Ken Hush, president of Emporia State (whose administration building is pictured above), told the board that traditional cost-cutting measures, like hiring freezes and spending restrictions, hadn’t been enough. “So what’s the choice?” Hush asked. “Continually passing the burden to students is a failure of our — ESU’s — previous strategies and is no longer acceptable.” Expenses continue to rise, he said, as enrollment declines. (According to a university spokeswoman, on-campus enrollment declined 24 percent between 2017 and 2021.) Hush told the board that the faculty had had input in the university’s work-force decision. Brenda Koerner, a member of the executive committee of the Faculty Senate, disagrees about that. “All faculty recognize that higher ed is changing,” Koerner told our Emma Pettit. “A fair number of faculty recognize that some of that change is going to be painful. The biggest affront here is that faculty weren’t involved … in the process at all.” Shortly after speaking to The Chronicle, Koerner, a tenured professor, learned that she won’t have a job at Emporia State come mid-May. You can read more about [Emporia State’s decision here](. Since Emma wrote that article last week, [33 employees have been dismissed]( according to The Emporia Gazette. This past Monday, reported KVOE, students and workers [held a candlelight vigil]( for those who were fired. The author Joyce Carol Oates called the move[“self-sabotage to a university”]( on Twitter, and The Kansas Reflector [says]( professors want answers about which departments are most affected before they recruit students for next year. President Hush was seen [leaving campus in a police car during protests]( according to the student newspaper. ADVERTISEMENT Lagniappe. - Read, weep. [Unthinkable]( a memoir by Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland’s Eighth Congressional District, is about his experience on January 6, 2021, the second impeachment trial of President Trump (which Raskin led), and the suicide of Raskin’s 25-year-old son, Tommy, a week before January 6. It is sad and surprisingly uplifting. - Read. The colors on the wristbands changed every thousand people. Find out [what it was like]( in the Queue of All Queues, the one to pay respect to the late Queen Elizabeth II. (GQ) - Watch. If you’re in New York City or D.C., two academic plays are in theaters this month. In New York, [peerless,]( about college admissions and twins who will stop at nothing to get into their top choice, runs until November 6. In Washington, [Heroes of the Fourth Turning]( concerns alumni of a conservative Catholic college who reunite in Wyoming to try to make sense of their country, through October 23. (59E59 Theaters in N.Y., Studio Theatre in D.C.) — Heidi SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Chronicle Top Reads THE REVIEW | REPORTING [Why Faculty of Color Are Leaving Academe]( By Joshua Doležal [STORY IMAGE]( Too many find themselves disenfranchised, exhausted, and isolated. 'FOCUSING ON PEOPLE, NOT ON NUMBERS' [What Colleges Can Learn From the Affirmative-Action Lawsuit Against Texas A&M]( By Marcela Rodrigues-Sherley [STORY IMAGE]( The university hoped for a diverse faculty. It got a legal action instead. CAMPUS SAFETY [UVA Students Demand Transparency After Noose Is Found on Campus]( By Marcela Rodrigues-Sherley [STORY IMAGE]( When the university’s police announced the hate crime, they failed to mention what else had been found at the crime scene. That led many students to assume the worst. ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Building a Faculty That Flourishes]( [Building a Faculty That Flourishes]( Colleges and universities cannot be successful without vibrant and engaged faculties. Now is the time to figure out sustainable ways to recruit, support, and diversify the faculty. [Order your copy today.]( NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2022 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037