The University of Montana at Missoula appeared to sever ties with roughly 30 lecturers on Friday, but it retracted that notice within hours, according to The Missoulian.
The U. of Montana has been criticized for informing 30 instructors that they would be laid off, then backtracking.akpakp/iStock
The sudden change, the newspaper reported, resembled a similar flip-flop in August, when the administration tried to trim the number of instructors.
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The University of Montana at Missoula appeared to sever ties with roughly 30 lecturers on Friday, but it retracted that notice within hours, according to The Missoulian.
The U. of Montana has been criticized for informing 30 instructors that they would be laid off, then backtracking.akpakp/iStock
The sudden change, the newspaper reported, resembled a similar flip-flop in August, when the administration tried to trim the number of instructors.
“They have been fired twice and rehired twice within the academic year,” Paul Haber, the faculty-union president, told The Chronicle.“ It’s quite animated on campus. Lecturers around here play a vital role.”
The Missoulian reported that the university had tried to cut the lecturers in response to continuing budget woes.
In an email to the lecturers who would have been affected, a university spokeswoman, Paula Short, didn’t offer a reason for the retraction, writing only, “Good evening, I have been instructed to inform you that the notice of non-reappointment sent to you earlier today has been rescinded until further notice.”
Mr. Haber said the university had retracted Friday’s notice of nonrenewal because it learned the union had planned to file a complaint. The union, in a statement, also questioned the current administration’s leadership — both Sheila Stearns and Beverly Edmond are serving in interim roles as president and provost, respectively — and asked that any future changes wait until the January arrival of a permanent president, Seth Bodnar.
“The interim administration’s inability to deal with lecturers in a way that respects their contributions to the University of Montana and the collective-bargaining agreement has further undermined any confidence we have in their ability to make strategic decisions,” the union’s statement said.
Montana’s spokeswoman responded in an emailed statement that the university has been open about its finances and that it can’t afford a “significant number of temporary faculty.” The university said it tried to fix the problems raised in August but encountered new issues.
“We regret the understandable stress this process has caused,” the university’s statement said. “President Stearns will be reaching out individually to each of the lecturers who received the notice and rescission to arrange one-on-one meetings.”
Update (12/4/2017, 9:01 p.m.): This article has been updated with a response from the university.
Chris Quintana was a breaking-news reporter for The Chronicle. He graduated from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing.
