Only 12 of 21 vacant faculty positions to be filled for 2009-2010

Only 12 of 21 vacant faculty positions have received approval to be filled for the 2009-2010 academic year, President Charles Edmondson announced Oct. 31 at the general faculty meeting.

Edmondson said the faculty positions that have received approval are currently vacant due to faculty retirement, faculty leaving AU, or extenuating circumstances. They have been approved for mostly full-time or tenure-track positions even though most institutions have moved away from hiring long-term professors during the national economic crisis, instead focusing on hiring more adjunct and temporary faculty. In fact, most SUNY schools have had to enact some sort of hiring freeze, he said.

Only 12 of 21 vacant faculty positions have received approval to be filled for the 2009-2010 academic year, President Charles Edmondson announced Oct. 31 at the general faculty meeting.

Edmondson said the faculty positions that have received approval are currently vacant due to faculty retirement, faculty leaving AU, or extenuating circumstances. They have been approved for mostly full-time or tenure-track positions even though most institutions have moved away from hiring long-term professors during the national economic crisis, instead focusing on hiring more adjunct and temporary faculty. In fact, most SUNY schools have had to enact some sort of hiring freeze, he said.

Edmondson says that although AU has great adjunct and temporary professors, tenure-track and full-time faculty are a better fit for the AU community.

Edmondson said his decision to fund only 12 of 21 faculty hires was based upon the unpredictability of the economic crisis. Edmondson stated clearly that although AU is in good financial standing, he must anticipate the possible long-term effects the economy might have on AU.

“We do not know how the economy will play out, and I might find myself making changes next fall,” he said.
Even though Edmondson has only approved around one-half of the vacant faculty positions, it will put AU over budget by about $560,000, he said. Funding for approved positions is not yet accounted for, and AU will need to find new ways to secure this funding, he said.

Edmondson said that AU wants to maintain the high quality of education that comes from the low student-to-faculty ratio. However, AU must view faculty as an institution-wide expense and be realistic in hiring, considering today’s economy, he said.

“We are trying to get a student-to-faculty ratio at a level we can afford without making huge quality sacrifices,”Edmondson said.

According to Professor of Psychology Lou Lichtman, hiring only 12 of 21 faculty members is the responsible thing for AU to do at this time. Lichtman explained that personnel are the biggest expense to an institution, which is why the president is looking carefully at faculty.

Lichtman added that he was surprised at the number of faculty positions approved and questioned whether the president was being too generous.

“I was surprised that the president approved as many positions as he did, because I think the economic downturn is likely to result in a significant shortfall in revenue,” Lichtman said.

Professor of marketing Amy Rummel says that as an AU faculty member, she is willing to do anything to keep the university running smoothly. If that means cutting back on faculty hires, so be it, she said. Although Rummel did comment on the added stress that the lack of positions can put on faculty, she said that she has no doubt that AU will get through tough times due to the decisions the president and Board of Trustees are making.

“It seems that the administration and faculty are unified in looking over the health of the university,” Rummel said.

How will the approval of only 12 of 21 vacant faculty positions affect the AU student body? The faculty will be larger next year, since 12 of the 21 vacant positions should be filled by then, he said.

He said that his hiring decisions were based on how they will affect AU students’ quality of education.

“We do not want to compromise the quality of the academic programs the students have come here for,” Edmondson said.

According to Faculty Senate President and Powell professor of psychology Ed Gaughan, the president is doing all he can to ensure that AU has a solid future. He says that AU is making the right hiring decisions in order to protect itself, in a time of national financial crisis, without jeopardizing its quality of education.

Ceramic engineering and material science Professor James Varner agrees with Gaughan.

“We all appreciate that the president and Board of Trustees have to be appropriately careful in this extraordinary situation,” he said.