The University began sending out non-reappointment letters to non-tenure track faculty on Friday.
The non-reappointment letters mean recipients can receive layoff notices effective Jan. 21, 2011, according to a University news release.
The University has 354 full-time and 130 part-time faculty who are non-tenure track employees. And most of the employees are instructors, according to the release.
Reduction of professional and classified staff is being considered, as well.
Chancellor Michael Martin cited impending budget cuts as necessitating the notices to give the University flexibility to deal with the next cut.
‘Budget cuts to LSU leave us no choice,’ Martin said in the release. ‘This action has been taken due to recent and anticipated cuts to higher education for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 fiscal years to give us the budgetary flexibility needed to run LSU.’
The notices will be going out in multiple phases.
‘Considering approximately $43 million in budget impact has already occurred at LSU during the last 12 months, and the anticipated additional cuts and unfunded mandates to come, we have to pursue any options available to us to preserve the mission of the University,’ Martin said. ‘This is one measure available to us to make future adjustments. Unfortunately, personnel reductions have the potential to impact areas in which we have shown recent improvement like retention and graduation rates.’
‘
—- Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at [email protected]