LHU staff, students to speak out
PASSHE mandates focus of event
LOCK HAVEN — Faculty retrenchment, a loss of 13 academic majors and a possible integration with Mansfield and Bloomsburg universities.
Lock Haven University’s future seems uncertain as the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) announces mandate after mandate — all in an effort to cut costs and regain financial standings similar to the 2010-2011 academic year.
But how will all of these changes effect LHU and the surrounding community?
University members of the Association of Pennsylvania State College & University Faculties (APSCUF) are planning an event on Wednesday, Sept. 30 to put this into perspective.
“Who Will Fill These Shoes?” is a visual event in solidarity planned in support of faculty and staff at the university’s amphitheater beginning at 12 p.m.
Forty seven pairs of shoes — representing the 47 faculty who may be placed in retrenchment — will be placed in the space. The event will also feature speakers from the university’s faculty, staff and students as well as members of the Lock Haven Community.
According to a release from APSCUF representatives:
“Lock Haven University administration has submitted a plan that proposes to lay off 20% of its workforce in two years, or 100 employees, of whom 47 are faculty. This extreme measure is in response to an inflexible mandate to attain financial sustainability from the Office of the Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). Thirteen academic programs will be put into moratorium. These actions will gut the university’s academic offerings, campus cohesiveness, and community well being.”
It was announced on July 17 that the Board of Governors and Chancellor Daniel Greenstein were considering the integration of LHU with Mansfield University.
Nearly two months later on Sept. 16, Bloomsburg University was added to the proposed plan. If approved the integration would occur as early as 2022.
Coupled with the proposed integration is a mandate, system wide, for universities to reach 2010-2011 academic year’s financial standards in two years.
According to LHU Provost Dr. Ron Darbeau, to achieve this 100 employees — 47 faculty and 43 staff — would be let go over the course of two years and academic programs would be placed in moratorium.
The seven programs that may be placed in moratorium include: art, foreign languages, geology, history, international studies, math, music (both BA and BFA), physics, political science, sociology, M.Ed. Alternative Education and athletic training.
The plan is to shed the 13 programs and backfill most of them into three new programs.
According to Darbeau’s reports new programs to be considered are:
— Civics and social sciences as a place holder for history, political science, sociology and international sciences.
— Computational science and data analytics which would absorb math under computer sciences.
— Historic preservation and conservation which would absorb history, entrepreneurship, business, computer science, art, geography and tourism management.