Indiana University of Pennsylvania has announced plans to restructure academic programs. Part of the plan is to eliminate 128 faculty positions, nearly one-quarter of current faculty. Eighty-one faculty members were notified last week that their jobs would be eliminated (“Indiana University of Pennsylvania notifies 81 faculty members of pending job losses,” Oct. 30, TribLIVE).
Professors do their work based on expertise and time. Specialized expertise is why particular faculty are hired. That professional know-how is passed along to young adults of Western Pennsylvania through faculty time. Expertise means that your son can be asked to participate in a professional conference presentation, that your daughter can help conduct grant-funded research, that a student can be invited to co-author a publication. Students given these opportunities have access to more and better job offers at graduation.
But human energy is finite. As fewer professors fill gaps to teach unfamiliar courses, take on additional nonclassroom duties, and continue to publish in their fields, faculty time will have to go to those nonnegotiable university expectations. There will be less and less time to invite students to work on special faculty projects and professional experiences.
I urge state system universities like IUP to consider ways to creatively manage current challenges rather than enact drastic reductions that make it difficult, if not impossible, to serve area students and to ensure their success.
Helen C. Sitler
Ligonier