Carthage College proposal to lay off faculty draws protest
Citing rising costs and changing student interests, Carthage College announced plans to eliminate up to 20% of faculty and restructure 10 academic departments last week, blindsiding some students who said the move “betrays” the institution’s identity as a liberal arts college.
Carthage Provost David Timmerman called the move “difficult but necessary.”
“Student interest is shifting, and they’ve been voting with their feet for the last 10 years,” Timmerman said. “In some cases, some departments have had higher numbers of faculty needed than students.”
Ten standalone departments – biology, classics, English, modern languages, music, philosophy, physics, political science, religion, and sociology/criminal justice – will be combined into a smaller number of departments under the proposal. Between 15 to 30 faculty, including tenured faculty, will face layoffs.
The proposal is part of a broader strategic move to prepare Carthage for what higher education institutions are calling the “demographic cliff” in 2026 when the number of 18-year-olds will reach an all-time low due to declining birth rates since the Great Recession.
With a volatile economy and the cost of higher education greater than ever, colleges and universities have struggled to increase student enrollment revenues. Carthage College, like many other institutions, has increasingly invested in growing pre-professional programs such as nursing, data science and business.
With classes set to start in less than two months, Bradley Morelli, a senior, said students were blindsided by the announcement.
Morelli organized a protest Sunday afternoon calling for administrators to put any layoffs on hold for two years and to include student representatives in future discussions.
A committee of seven faculty and five administrators has been discussing the proposal since May. However, students were not included in the discussions, according to Morelli.
“Since the student base is the one that is getting the education, I think we have a right to say what kind of education we want to have,” Morelli said.
Morelli, studying English and political science who has worked closely with one of his professors on his senior thesis for years, said faculty layoffs would negatively impact students’ education.
“If my professor is gone and I’ve been working with her for three years, clearly my education is going to be greatly affected,” Morelli said.
Any decisions about restructuring academic departments or eliminating tenured faculty positions have to be approved by the college’s board of trustees and department advisory committees, which are meeting in the coming weeks.
If approved, changes will take effect for the 2020-21 academic year.
Administrators emphasized that none of the majors were being eliminated, with only two possible exceptions — classics and philosophy. Even then, the majors would be gradually phased out, administrators said.
Timmerman said the college put together the “most generous” severance packages it could for faculty.
“Our students care deeply about Carthage and the liberal arts tradition,” Timmerman said. “I know why they’re upset. I get it. … We wouldn’t be doing this if we hadn’t concluded it was absolutely necessary.”