OU faculty raise alarm about budget cuts, prepare to go on offensive

More than 100 Ohio University faculty met Thursday evening to air grievances about university administration, and to discuss a plan of action in response to looming budget cuts that they say could drastically damage OU's academic quality.

Although it's far too early to tell, the faculty members present discussed a potential faculty walk-out in response to the administration's handling of the university's budget crisis, as well as talking about possibly attempting to unionize OU's faculty. The meeting was hosted by the OU chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).

The university administration set a target of roughly $19.3 million in budget reductions last spring that it’s asking OU’s various Athens campus academic colleges to make over the next four years. The largest portion of that – about $8 million – is coming from the College of Arts and Sciences.

The university’s AAUP chapter raised the alarm last month about how those cuts and other proposals could drastically impact the quality of education at OU. The chapter cited potential layoffs of as many as 40 or more "Group II" instruction-heavy faculty members (who are non-tenure track).

Read more: https://www.athensnews.com/news/campus/ou-faculty-raise-alarm-about-budget-cuts-prepare-to-go/article_a7f161a6-07c0-11ea-8ff1-e730b81f9560.html