Ewu Might Lay Off Tenured Teachers Jobs Next Year Depend On Success Of School’s Recruitment And Recovery Strategy

A state education board is expected today to give $1.35 million to Eastern Washington University to recruit more students and expand its academic programs.

But buried in EWU’s 40-page plan for recovery is a threat that tenured teachers - the most protected people on campus - may be laid off if the recruitment strategy fails, according to a faculty union analysis.

“We would prefer to halt the plan and let all members of the university discuss whether this is the direction for Eastern to go,” said Jeff Corkill, bio-analytical chemistry professor and president of the 400-member United Faculty of Eastern union. “People will be surprisingly innovative if their jobs are on the line.”

Because faculty members have agreed to significant cuts, EWU should consider trimming other areas, Corkill said. Athletics, branch campuses, administration bonuses and other items largely have been left out of discussions about cutting the university’s budget, he said.

EWU administrators, who have begun spending money on the plan, will seek approval from the state Higher Education Coordinating Board in Olympia. The board has authority to release the $1.35 million.

EWU’s three-part plan involves recruiting and retaining students and expanding academic programs. Several new programs - including a master of science in occupational therapy and a master of teaching - would be introduced, requiring at least 16 additional full-time teachers.

If the changes don’t attract more students, tenured staff members may be let go to make room for those hired for the new programs.

Niel Zimmerman, EWU provost and co-author of the plan, said he’s confident the university will pull out of its slump and layoffs will be unnecessary.

But Zimmerman said he has asked the teachers union for a “legally defensible” way to lay off tenured faculty members if necessary.

“I don’t want to scare anybody,” Zimmerman said. “The message I’m trying to send is that we have some serious issues and we need to deal with them expeditiously.”

EWU’s troubles surfaced last year when the Cheney-based school enrolled 6,942 students, 797 short of the 7,739 that the Legislature had agreed to fund.

In other words, taxpayers were giving EWU $3.19 million to spend on students who never showed up.

The Legislature called a halt to that practice and withheld the money until EWU struck an agreement to pay teachers for one year, while reducing their numbers, and designed a plan for increasing student enrollment.

Money for the teachers was released by the HEC board in September; the rest is what EWU officials are seeking today.

HEC Board associate director Dan Kellner said his staff is recommending passage of EWU’s recruitment plan and release of the money. However, the nine-person board is free to vote its conscience.

Whether tenured faculty members will lose their jobs next year depends on the success of the plan, he said. But instructors should know their jobs are at risk.

“In essence, they got their notice when the (HEC) board agreed to fund their contracts for just one year,” he said.

Tenure is a designation coveted by professors because it protects their free speech and insulates them from retaliation by university administration.

EWU is planning to reduce full-time faculty positions from 420 to 320 by 1999. The initial cuts affect graduate assistants and adjunct instructors; some cuts will come through attrition.

By the time the school declines to 320 faculty positions, 92 percent either will be tenured or on track to be tenured faculty members.

Such a high percentage of tenured instructors would make it difficult for EWU to adjust its programs without laying off more faculty members, Corkill said. , DataTimes