An Ohio judge has refused a request by the University of Toledo chapter of the American Association of University Professors to block a planned reorganization of that institution’s academic colleges. The local AAUP chapter had asked Judge Gary G. Cook, of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, to issue an injunction preventing the university from moving ahead with the reorganization plan while a grievance challenging the restructuring process was pending. In a ruling issued on Monday, Judge Cook said the harm to students, university employees, and the public that would come from blocking the reorganization outweighed any potential harm to the professors who are plaintiffs in the case.
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6 Responses to Judge Refuses to Block Academic Reorganization at U. of Toledo
3345513 - December 14, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Congratulations to the University of Toledo administration, who are moving ahead with much-needed reform. Perhaps the antiquated process of faculty unions having a stranglehold on the operations of Ohio public postsecondary institutions is at an end. With a multi-billion shortfall in state revenues and major cuts to the state budget, this type of academic restructuring must happen across the state.
I’m certain there will be many faculty who cry and scream at the change. Good luck – you need to learn to adapt to the changing economic and institutional realities!
phyllis_stein - December 14, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Dear 3345513,
This case is less about your schadenfreude toward academics than it is about whether or not faculty should have any say (or how much) in how institutions of higher learning are organized. Certainly the academics should have some say over how their fields are taught to students. Who else would know better? You should check on statistics about the relative rise of the number of administrators versus the number of full-time faculty over the last ten years.
Most faculty in America work part-time with no job security from semester to semester, and of the faculty who do have full-time jobs, most of those are on nine month contracts or are “lectureships” that pay not a lot more than what the part-timers get. Most academics in America would make more money working at Wal-Mart.
One big question is whether the public knows that most colleges and universities function with 50% or 60% part-timers on their faculty, and if they think American colleges and universities should function with faculty working with no voice and for piecemeal wages. You get what you pay for.
grhoades - December 14, 2010 at 4:57 pm
The harm is actually to students, who have not even been informed, let alone consulted about, the changes already being made, as well as to faculty, whose relations with the administration have been soured by this experience. As is often the case in these situations, the faculty at the University of Toledo were not opposed to reorganization; rather, they are opposed to a mindless, ill-advised restructuring effort that was put together over the summer without sufficient consultation with the senate, and without consideration of the needs of the students, the academic integrity of the proposed changes, or operationalized plans for how to enhance the education of students and the quality of the institution. The restructuring will not save any money, will take a lot of time, and will do NOTHING to improve the learning of students.
blesstayo - December 15, 2010 at 10:14 am
Wait a minute, aren’t faculty members on the search committee of deans, assistant/associate VPs, VPs and presidents of academic institutions? Isn’t it true that the majority of administrators were faculty members for donkey years prior to aspiring to leadership positions?
Carefully designed reorganization plans do save money, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, provide integrated student experiences, etc.
benbel28 - December 15, 2010 at 11:50 am
Sorry, blesstayo, we wish many of the administrators had real faculty experience. There’s a whole new crop of administrators out there, especially at mid-tier schools and community colleges, emerging from “higher ed leadership” programs. No teaching or research credentials, only a burning desire to tell people what to do without knowing how to do it themselves. It’s a real loss for students– these administrators know nothing about what goes on outside the four walls of their carefully insulated/isolated meeting rooms.
3345513 - December 15, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Sorry, benbel28, we wish many of the faculty had real administrative experience. There’s a whole new crop of faculty out there, especially at mid-tier schools and community colleges, emerging from “specialized discipline” programs. Extensive teaching and research credentials, and no desire to tell people what to do or knowing how to do it themselves. It’s a real loss for students – these faculty know nothing about what goes on outside the four walls of their carefully insulated / isolated classrooms and research assignments.