Update on CAS Staff and Layoffs

I met with staff on March 17 to go over the same ground I will here, but I know that not everyone was available for that noon meeting, so I thought it made sense to blog a bit on this topic. I know that the prospect of layoffs is causing anxiety; my hope is that knowledge is a mediator of that stress. Thus, I reiterate here the update I provided earlier
First, let me say clearly that AS OF TODAY NO STAFF MEMBERS EMPLOYED IN THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES HAVE BEEN LAID OFF AS A RESULT OF THE CURRENT BUDGET CRISIS. My understanding is that the Board of Trustees will meet on April 13th to discuss the state of the university finances and that only after that meeting will the schools and colleges have any clarity with regard to the possibility of additional state funding and its possible uses.
The Deans have been told that if additional funding becomes available, we will be given the choice of retaining the staff positions or the funding. The College of Arts and Sciences has base-budget funded staff in two categories who have been told that they are at risk of layoff. The first includes four positions that were initially funded by a HELIX Award in support of undergraduate research and are now funded by the Provost’s Office. Of those four, two technicians, will continue to be offered employment by CAS on slightly reduced appointments because they support our teaching missions in Biology and Psychology; the two other positions have been transferred back to the Provost’s Office, where decisions will be made about layoffs or reallocation. The second category includes eight staff positions slated for possible elimination in CAS. Two positions are vacant, one is funded on a gift account, and five are base-budget funded. Although this is not certain, it is possible that the position funded on the gift account will be eliminated. If additional state funding is forthcoming and CAS has a choice of keeping the remaining five base-funded positions that now have people in them, I have announced in several venues that my decision will be to keep those people employed. That is my plan.
I will provide an update on this situation when I have one. In the meantime, I know that you will treat the people in your midst who you know have been alerted to the possibility of layoff with the utmost kindness and concern. I do hope that these layoffs can be averted.

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