October 28, 2005

Fr. Wildes, Dr. Harris, Dean O’Brien, Dean Scully, Dean Dumastre,

I am writing to express some of the many interests and concerns of a significant number of faculty members, including the more than 50 members of the Loyola Chapter of the American Association of University Professors.  I have been in contact with the Committee on Governance at the AAUP national office and am guided by their advice in this email.

Almost 100 faculty members have been blind copied on this email.  These faculty members are primarily, but not exclusively, from the College of Arts and Sciences. 

I am numbering the matters at hand because I am respectfully requesting a response to each concern.  Communication will be clearer if you respond to each issue by using the same numbers.

1. At a meeting of some faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, Dean Scully said we would be asked to teach four classes each in the Spring semester and four classes in an additional extra 10 week semester without additional pay, even though this extra semester would extend past the end of our contracts. AAUP advised that we should not give our chairs or the Dean a list of the courses we will teach in the Spring or for the extra semester until the new requirements (course load and extra semester) are in writing.  If they are requirements for all faculty members in all colleges, the Provost should publish them.  Surely you realize that it is difficult, if not impossible for the faculty either to follow or to respond to new requirements that only are spoken in a meeting with less than half of the faculty of one college present. 
2. The rationale for the requirements should also be in writing.  If it is the case that we have to teach 26 weeks to be able to distribute Federal Financial Aid, as we were told at the above referenced meeting, we should be able to see the federal rule that is being referenced.  Further, since faculty at most other universities in the area are not being required to teach this over load and extra semester, we should be shown why the rule applies to us and not other schools.  Finally, there must be some evidence presented that our students have any interest in attending this extra semester.
3. We would like to be given the opportunity to present alternatives to these extra requirements on the faculty to make up the budget shortfall.
4. Decisions are being made that directly affect the faculty without any input from the faculty.  In fact, we don't even know for sure who's making the decisions. Our regular governance structures, guaranteed us by our contracts are being completely ignored.  We know, for example, that we have insurance on our payroll and on interruption of business, but we have been told that these aren't sufficient to cover our losses.  We know many other schools have accepted our students while allowing Loyola to keep their tuition.  We know the President has been fund raising specifically for hurricane relief.  We know other schools, Xavier of Cincinnati for example, are fund raising on our behalf.  Surely we are eligible for some of the hundreds of billions of dollars Congress has allocated for hurricane relief, or for the international fund raising efforts such as the Bush-Clinton fund.   The budget committee should be meeting and these numbers should be presented.  It is irrelevant that the faculty are scattered about.  There should be a process, faculty should be included, and individual faculty members should be able to decide whether or not they are able to participate.  However, it is our contractual right to see these numbers.
5. Faculty members who have spent years of hard work developing study abroad programs are deeply concerned that this proposed extra semester will jeopardize the relationships, facilities and locations that have been established for these programs.  The Academic Affairs Strategic Agenda, developed by the faculty of the university and not some outside consultant, requires more study abroad opportunities, not less. 
6. Many faculty members are disappointed, if not embarrassed that Loyola has not taken any official leadership responsibility to help rebuild New Orleans.  Some of us have volunteered ourselves, but with this proposed extra teaching and extra semester, it seems unlikely we will have much impact.  This is a monumental task and an historic time.  People and organizations will be remembered forever for their efforts, or forgotten.  We are afraid Loyola has already been forgotten. 
7. Does the University plan to do anything (beyond providing a list of URLs we could have gotten by ourselves) concerning housing for displaced faculty? If we are on our own, then we are on own -- but somebody must actually come out and say that.  Of course we know Tulane has secured a cruise ship and is subsidizing the costs for faculty, staff and students. Is there a plan at Loyola?  Some faculty members have lost absolutely everything.  I know some of you suffered losses, but none of you lost everything.  During regular times students are transients. Faculty should not be.  Surely you realize it is more important at the moment to retain faculty than students?  This, even more than any immediate dip in revenue, is the single biggest and most potentially devastating loss faced by the University.
8. An interim vice president has reportedly told several junior faculty members that extraordinary and untenured faculty better get their resumes “in shape” because they are going to be “let go,” and that the voluntary early retirement plan is being made mandatory for senior faculty.  If these things are true, again, somebody must come out and say it.  If not, I suggest you get yourself another interim vice president.
9. The President’s most recent update has the Deans and Provost putting together the courses for the Spring semester.  Sure, after the faculty decides what courses need to be offered.  And the Board has him, with one whole year under his belt, coming up with a plan to get us through this without consulting the faculty.  Leadership in both of these processes is again, a contractual right of the faculty. Ignoring our role is insulting. 

There are many other issues of importance – the decision to continue the SACS accreditation, a QEP that faculty have not been a part of, hiring a vice president without any faculty input, and on and on.  These things directly affect the faculty.  Faculty input has been ignored.

I will close by saying I have given 25 years – half of my life – to Loyola and I will not let it go down without a fight. I would teach 10 courses a semester if I thought it would help a colleague who has lost everything reestablish her home life, or allow him to keep his small children in a safe, predictable environment.  Many of my colleagues and I have done extra teaching to help each other out, and we have always given extra time and effort to get students graduated on time by teaching extra courses and independent studies. But in those instances we were involved in a process that allowed us to examine options and participate in the decision making process.  We will not settle for less. 

We await your official response.

Sincerely,

Mary Blue