EVANSVILLE — The University of Evansville is allowing faculty more time to provide input on a proposal that would significantly cut the school's academic offerings.
The comment period on the "draft academic realignment plan" is now set to close at the end of February, the university announced Friday afternoon. When the plan was unveiled on Dec. 10, faculty were told they'd have approximately 30 days.
"As we've said from the beginning, we weren't tied to the 30-day timeline," President Christopher Pietruszkiewicz told the Courier & Press in his first interview after the announcement was made.
"I hope this is evidence of demonstrating our interest in continuing a meaningful dialogue because we've had some very good conversations and some intriguing proposals," he added.
The current plan calls for the elimination of three departments and 17 majors and would force out nearly a quarter of the faculty.
The changes, if approved, are slated to go into effect in the fall 2022 semester. Some faculty will be offered buyouts, which, if they accept, would have them leaving at the end of the spring semester.
The window to accept the buyout offers opens Monday and will close on Feb. 26. All full-time faculty members in affected departments and majors can participate in the voluntary program, which will provide them a year's salary and $10,000 in healthcare expenses.
Pietruszkiewicz wrote in an email to faculty that the outcome of both the extended faculty input period and the buyout offers "likely will" affect the outcome of the alignment plan and could reduce the number of faculty positions and majors that would be cut.
Although faculty have been asking for more time to comment on the plan, some don't welcome the announcement as good news.
"I guess I would say it is a tactical delay designed to encourage faculty to jump through the window," Daniel Byrne, associate history professor and secretary-treasurer of UE's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said in a message to C&P.
"By keeping everything up in the air, the president creates more uncertainty and is attempting to encourage tenured faculty to surrender tenure for the certainty of one year's pay," he added.
Pietruszkiewicz said the announcement was unrelated to a resolution the faculty approved by a wide margin asking that they be given more data so they can have a plan on the president's desk before the end of the spring semester.
The Board of Trustees wasn't thrilled with the idea.
"The timeline proposed in the resolution is concerning as it appears designed to create unnecessary delay," the board wrote in an email to faculty Wednesday.
The administration previously said trustees would likely vote on the plan at their February meeting. Pietruszkiewicz now said it's "evident" that won't happen. The next board meeting is in May, he said, but it's possible they could convene a special meeting at another time.
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