The English Department administered its first round of instructor cutbacks Friday to first- and second-year instructors, as well as some part-time instructors.
The non-renewals are part of the Arts and Sciences’ and Flagship Agenda’s move toward more tenure-track faculty and fewer contracted instructors in the English and math departments.
English chair Malcolm Richardson said the department was required by law to release first- and second-year contracted instructors first, which meant all of those instructors were told their contracts would not be renewed.
“I sent out a letter [to the faculty] that said we had to let about 20 people go,” he said. “I think they knew it was coming.”
Names of instructors not asked for contract renewals cannot be released because of a privacy clause in the Louisiana public records law.
Richardson said those instructors have until May to find new jobs, and the department is taking steps to let them know that their teaching skills are not being questioned.
“We’re telling them that they’re being let go because of a University reduction, not because of poor teaching,” he said. “I’ve sent out e-mails to department chairs letting them know we have some good people coming their way, and I’d be glad to talk to them about anyone.”
He said universities are in a hiring season for teachers, so these instructors should be able to find jobs by the end of their term. The department also is looking into giving some of those instructors summer teaching positions upon request.
As the first round of cutbacks are completed, faculty should expect more reductions within the next few months.
“The next cuts will be those who’ve been here over two years, and they have to be notified by May,” Richardson said. “We have until the end of the semester, but we’ll probably be letting people know by February or so because we want to let people know that their jobs are in jeopardy as soon as we can. We want to be as fair as possible.”
He said the next round of cuts will be under more deliberation and will undergo an internal review to decide who will not be asked for renewal.
“We’re going to review records, and someone who is experienced with instructors will make recommendations to the dean about who will be on the non-renewal list,” he said. “It’s going to be a very difficult time for us.”
Richardson said the 20 or so instructors let go will not get any compensation because their contracts were only for one year, and they will not be losing any promised pay or teaching time.
Renee Major, an English instructor, said the general feelings of faculty, particularly instructors, in the department is unsettlement with future plans.
“There’s general anxiety and unhappiness about instructor ranks and the way they will be handled,” Major said. “It’s important to people that their years of service are recognized and even to those people who’ve just come. It’s disheartening for people to face.”
She said although instructors are getting enough notice to find other jobs, it is not necessarily a welcoming prospective to those who like living here.
“I think it’s very difficult to say, ‘I’ll just get another job,’ for those people who are rooted in the community and don’t want to leave,” Major said.
She said changes are for the general good of the department, and they have always known the influx of instructors would have to be addressed. But planning for these changes would have been better understood and administered if there had been a gradual time-table rather than a quick three years, Major said. Irvin Peckham, an associate English professor, said the issue is a big deal to those instructors who received non-renewal notices, but the announcement was not a main focus in the department that day.
“This is a large department, and that’s not the only thing going on right now,” Peckham said.
He said it is accurate to say the department is uneasy with the way decisions are being made, and changes within the department are going to be significant.
He said his position as a professor is not threatened, but the cutbacks have made his job as director of the the Writing Center much harder.
“It’s more difficult because of the emotional turmoil occasioned by this situation, especially with the non-renewals on such a large scale,” Peckham said.