Catholic U. Trustees Clear Path to Cut the Faculty by 9 Percent

Catholic U. of America

A contentiously debated plan at Catholic University of America, which professors had described as a threat to the institution of tenure, received final approval on Tuesday from the university’s Board of Trustees. But the most controversial aspect of the plan, which involved potentially laying off full-time professors, will no longer be necessary because of voluntary buyouts and retirements, university officials said.

Despite some vociferous opposition, the university’s Academic Senate, which includes professors and administrators, voted in May to send the proposal to trustees for a vote.

John H. Garvey, the university’s president, and Andrew V. Abela, the provost, have said that the “academic renewal” plan will allow the university to sustain academic offerings at a lower cost by increasing the teaching loads of some professors.

“Academic Renewal is about growth and investing in our future, and is vital for a strong Catholic University,” Joseph L. Carlini, chairman of the board, said in a written statement.

The proposal, which the provost had said was designed to close a $3.5-million budget gap, would eliminate the jobs of 34 full-time professors, or about 9 percent of the university’s faculty. By offering buyouts and retirement incentives to longer-serving faculty members, the university says it has made involuntary dismissals unnecessary.

Lawrence J. Morris, chief of staff and counselor to the president, said that voluntary retirements of professors meant that the trustees need not consider the implications of laying off tenured faculty members. “Any dispute over tenure now is really a theoretical one,” Morris said.

More Than Layoffs

But for the proposal’s fiercest critics, the academic-renewal plan became about more than layoffs. Some saw it as a manifestation of deeper problems with the university’s leaders, whom critics describe as autocratic and shortsighted.

Professors recently revived a group called the Faculty Assembly, which organizers said has existed since 1965, to conduct an electronic vote of no confidence in the president and provost. Of the 225 professors who are said to have voted, more than three-quarters expressed no confidence in Catholic’s leaders, according to a letter that was sent on Monday to the university’s trustees.

In what seemed a direct response to the vote, the university said in a news release that the board has “great confidence” in the university’s leadership.

Correction (6/5/2018, 7:40 p.m.): The headline and introduction of this article originally said Catholic University of America had cleared a plan to lay off tenured professors. Although that was a possibility, the university says it has achieved its desired cost savings through buyouts and retirement incentives. The article has been updated to reflect that.

Jack Stripling covers college leadership, particularly presidents and governing boards. Follow him on Twitter @jackstripling, or email him at jack.stripling@chronicle.com.