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USM Forum -- Message Board -> AAUP-USM MESSAGE BOARD -> Tulane's downsizing
Post Info TOPIC: Tulane's downsizing
Historian

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Tulane's downsizing
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I know this is a USM-related board, but the faculty layoffs announced by Tulane today drew me to the Univerisity's website. I notice that they are sharply reducing the scope of their graduate programs. Ph.D. programs in English, French, Spanish, Poli Sci, Sociology, Economics, Enviromental Sciences, and many others seem to have been immediately suspended, and students will no longer be admitted to those programs. I can't help but think that the Tulane will be laying off faculty in those departments. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of the situation down there? What an awful, no-win situation.


Here's the statement of the Tulane provost: [url=http://renewal.tulane.edu/students_graduate.shtml][link to full statement][/url]
"As part of Tulane’s renewal process, Tulane University will suspend admission to some doctoral and master’s level programs administered by the Graduate School. The students in these programs will be notified of these changes individually and advised of their options to continue at Tulane or transfer to other institutions. Based on our evaluation, the remaining programs are strong programs that will help Tulane maintain its position as a major research university rated among the best in the nation."

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Heretic

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Southern Miss is always poor mouthing about its financial state of affairs. If that complaint is legitimate, it would do well to reduce the size of the university and the also number of programs. It will not reach premier status behaving like an academic octopus grabbing everything in its reach.



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Butcher

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Heretic wrote:

Southern Miss is always poor mouthing about its financial state of affairs. If that complaint is legitimate, it would do well to reduce the size of the university and the also number of programs. It will not reach premier status behaving like an academic octopus grabbing everything in its reach.
And it will only continue to develop greasy fat blubber with little firm muscle.

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Historian

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USM will never be "priemier" if the meaning of that is a leading research institution. We shouldn't even try. We serve our state and region well, and do an outstanding job with very limited resources of educating people is a wide variety of disciplines. I'm proud of how much our faculty does with so little.

I raised the Tulane situation mostly because its clear to me the school is in deep, deep trouble. You don't get better by getting smaller, and to say otherwise is to put the best face on a terrible situation. My heart goes out to the students, faculty and staff at Tulane. It is such a fine institution. The South and the nation will be lessened by its troubles.

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Googler

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Has Tulane's University College branch in Biloxi resumed classes? What impact will the downsizing have on this location?

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Aspire to be last

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Historian wrote:

USM will never be "priemier" if the meaning of that is a leading research institution. We shouldn't even try.
My, Historian, you do have a good grasp of history.

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Green Wave on the Coast

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Googler wrote:

Has Tulane's University College branch in Biloxi resumed classes?
Yep.

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greater fool

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Wonder if Tulane's administration is being downsized?  Wonder if any Tulane administrators will start teaching to ease the load?  Might snow in hell tomorrow.

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Coast Ghost

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Googler wrote:

Has Tulane's University College branch in Biloxi resumed classes? What impact will the downsizing have on this location?
Googler, it has been up and running since early October. Tulane-Biloxi offered a relatively full schedule of courses for a six week term at Edgewater Mall. The mall is now fully operational, and Tulane finals are next week. The Tulane "University College" will continue to operate as it has but the "University College" part of the name will change sometime next year.

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Third Witch

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Could this be an opportunity for USM to hire some good faculty (assuming permission to hire ever gets done)? It's too late for some departments like English, who have their national meetings over Christmas -- maybe this will help.

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Reporter

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The Chronicle of Higher Education           Friday, December 9, 2005


Tulane U. to Lay Off 233 Professors and Eliminate 14 Doctoral Programs

By JEFFREY SELINGO


http://chronicle.com/temp/email.php?id=4te99sa4pdvy4kvlntvjz8xcpu4sutmg



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Reporter

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Reporter wrote:

The Chronicle of Higher Education           Friday, December 9, 2005 Tulane U. to Lay Off 233 Professors and Eliminate 14 Doctoral Programs By JEFFREY SELINGO http://chronicle.com/temp/email.php?id=4te99sa4pdvy4kvlntvjz8xcpu4sutmg

Even after Katrina, Tulane has class and follows procedures, something USM is still learning how to do.  From the article:


"Mr. Cowen said an elected faculty advisory committee reviewed the plan and that the university would follow its faculty handbook during the reorganization.


Roger W. Bowen, general secretary of the American Association of University Professors, said Mr. Cowen had called him on Wednesday to discuss Tulane's plans. Mr. Cowen is the only president from a hurricane-affected New Orleans institution to call the AAUP to talk about how the university's plans conformed with the association's guidelines on terminating professors, Mr. Bowen said.


"I'm satisfied that President Cowen is eager to comport with AAUP standards," Mr. Bowen said. "But until we see the final details, it's really difficult to say whether Tulane has adhered to our standards."


Mr. Bowen said the association's standards call for advance notification, discussion with faculty members, and adequate severance pay."



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Wurl' Class Act

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Reporter wrote:

 Even after Katrina, Tulane has class and follows procedures

The Tulane reorganization committee included the presidents and former presidents of some of the most prestigious universities in America. Who was on USM's reroganization committee?
 
Tulane also consulted with the national AAUP and tried to follow AAUP guidelines. USM, on the other hand, tried to fire the head of the local AAUP chapter. Has USM ever recognized the legitimacy of AAUP and its importance to our campus?
 
 

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Far Away Alum

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I hope the local media reports the respect Tulane demonstrated for the AAUP and the importance they gave to their guidelines.

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Reporter

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Wurl' Class Act wrote:




Reporter wrote:  Even after Katrina, Tulane has class and follows procedures


Tulane reorganization committee included the presidents and former presidents of some of the most prestigious universities in America. Who was on USM's reroganization committee?   Tulane also consulted with the national AAUP and tried to follow AAUP guidelines. USM, on the other hand, tried to fire the head of the local AAUP chapter. Has USM ever recognized the legitimacy of AAUP and its importance to our campus?    




I will report on today's Faculty Senate meeting later.  But one interesting part was the Provost asked the Senate to generate a statement on "Shared Governance" for possible inclusion in the Faculty Handbook.   Apparently this is necessary for the next SACS review.  Included in the request were guideline documents from AAUP. 


Slowly this administration is learning, but their learning curve appears very flat.   



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Far Away Alum

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Again, I say that I hope the media picks up on this. So much of the "bashing" that the faculty has taken comes from the way SFT and crew have painted the AAUP. The truth about the status of this organization needs to be front and center.

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Inventor of the Wheel

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Each time USM conducts a reorganization of the university it seems to take an inordinate amount of time. Months and months on end. And even then they never seem to get it right. Tulane conducted their reorganization with appropriate and extensive internal and external consultation and they did it in a relatively brief period of time. Compare also the relative secret manner with which USM's reorganization proceeded with that of Tulane.

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Miles Long

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So, Computer Science and Engineering at Tulane is eliminated.

Filo and Clark, former Tulane students, donated over $60 million to the University; Filo specified that his money be used to create scholarships for Computer Engineering majors.

The only honorable thing to do is to give the money back...

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