CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY
SENDS
LAYOFF NOTICES TO ALL 900 EMPLOYEES
ഷിക്കാഗോ യൂണിവേഴ്‌സിറ്റിയില്‍ ജീവനക്കാര്‍ക്ക്
പിരിച്ചുവിടല്‍ നോട്ടീസ്
Chicago State University sent notices of potential
layoffs to all of its 900 employees Friday, yet another sign of the escalating
budget crisis for the Far South Side public institution that stems from the
state's budget impasse.The university, with about 4,500 students, declared a
financial emergency this month to make it easier to fire tenured faculty,
eliminate academic programs and take other extreme measures.
"This is a very distressing moment for all of
us," Chicago State President Thomas Calhoun Jr. said Friday morning.
"We love this university. We know that for 150 years this university has
done remarkable things with, in some cases, inadequate resources. So to be in a
press conference where we're talking about wide-scale layoffs is not the business
that any of us are even in."The financial problems are a result of the
budget impasse in Springfield, which has left public colleges and universities
without state funding since July. While all public schools are struggling to
some extent, Chicago State is in the most precarious situation. About one-third
of its budget comes from the state, and the school lacks financial reserves to
fall back on.University officials said they are unsure what percentage of staff
and faculty will be laid off, and the layoffs won't be announced for at least
60 days. A committee appointed by the board of trustees is reviewing all
possibilities, Calhoun said. About 300 employees are faculty members, according
to a union representative.A Chicago State spokesman said the university issued the
notices Friday because of a federal law, known as the WARN Act, that requires
many employers with more than 100 employees to give 60 days notice in the case
of possible widespread layoffs. The law, however, does not apply to state
universities, according to an Illinois Department of Labor spokesman.
The earliest the layoffs would be executed would be at
the end of April, toward the end of the semester, officials said.Calhoun said
he is confident that Chicago State will not close entirely and called that a
"worst-case scenario." The university will resume its summer classes
and the fall semester as planned — with fewer faculty members — and has already
received a "robust pool of applicants" for the fall semester, Calhoun
said."We will remain open, even if it's in a pared-down and different
configuration," he said. "We will roll up our sleeves and we will
work as hard as we can. Our university will emerge as a strong university in
spite of indifference and a lack of action on the part of Springfield."Chicago
State also announced this week that it had canceled next month's spring break
and would instead hold classes then to help ensure that students could finish
the semester before the school may be forced to close down.
Declaring financial exigency typically makes it easier
for universities to lay off employees, including tenured professors, who have
the greatest employee protections. An exigency is defined by the American
Association of University Professors as an "imminent financial crisis which
threatens the survival of the institution as a whole" and one that cannot
be alleviated by less drastic means than firing faculty.Colleges and
universities have been operating without money from the state since July 1,
when Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed an out-of-balance spending plan sent
to him by ruling Democrats in the legislature. Much of state government has
received funding through various court orders or legislative and executive
maneuvers to stay afloat, but higher education, for the most part, has had no
relief.The budget impasse is having other effects on the state's colleges and
universities. Credit ratings have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service
and other agencies, and their accreditation could be at risk.
Earlier this month, the Higher Learning Commission, the
accreditation agency that oversees Illinois' public colleges and universities,
asked that they submit emergency plans detailing how they will accommodate
students if the state budget crisis forces them to close.The agency also asked
all the state's 57 public schools to provide basic financial and enrollment
information, including the current cash situation, cuts in faculty and staff,
and expectations for fall enrollment "in light of concerns prospective
students may have about the stability of higher education in the state."A
Chicago State spokesman refused to provide the university's answers to the
Tribune on Friday.Rauner said Wednesday that he's working to find a way to get
money to the schools.He expressed his support for a bill introduced by Rep. Ken
Dunkin, D-Chicago, that would send $160 million to struggling universities such
as Chicago State, Northeastern Illinois University, Eastern Illinois University
and Western Illinois University, and $40 million to community colleges.
ഷിക്കാഗോ: സ്‌റേററ്റ് യൂണിവേഴ്‌സിറ്റിയിലെ തൊള്ളായിരം ജീവനക്കാര്‍ക്കും പിരിച്ചുവിടലിനുള്ള സാധ്യത ചൂണ്ടിക്കാട്ടിയുള്ള നോട്ടീസ് ഫെബ്രുവരി 25നു നല്‍കിയതായി യൂണിവേഴ്‌സിറ്റി അധികൃതരുടെ അറിയിപ്പില്‍ പറയുന്നു. ആകെയുള്ള തൊള്ളായിരം ജീവനക്കാരില്‍ ആദ്യ ബാച്ചിനെ ഏപ്രില്‍ അവസാനം പിരിച്ചു വിടുന്നതിനുള്ള നടപടികളാണ് സ്വീകരിക്കുന്നത്.
150 വര്‍ഷത്തെ പാരമ്പര്യമുള്ള സ്‌റേററ്റ് യൂണിവേഴ്‌സിറ്റിയില്‍ 4500 വിദ്യാര്‍ഥികളാണുള്ളത്. യൂണിവേഴ്‌സിറ്റിയില്‍ സാമ്പത്തിക അടിയന്തരാവസ്ഥ പ്രഖ്യാപിക്കേണ്ടിവന്നത് സംസ്ഥാന ബജറ്റില്‍ ആവശ്യമായ തുക ഉള്‍പ്പെടുത്താത്തതാണെന്ന് ഷിക്കാഗോ സ്‌റേററ്റ് പ്രസിഡന്റ് തോമസ് കല്‍ഹന്‍ പറഞ്ഞു. ജീവനക്കാരെ പിരിച്ചുവിടുവാന്‍ എടുത്ത തീരുമാനം വേദകരമാണെന്നും കഴിഞ്ഞ ജൂലൈ മുതല്‍ യൂണിവേഴ്‌സിറ്റിയില്‍ സാമ്പത്തിക ഞെരുക്കം അനുഭവപ്പെട്ടു തുടങ്ങിയതായും പ്രസിഡന്റ് അറിയിച്ചു.നേരത്തെ തീരുമാനിച്ചതനുസരിച്ച് ചുരുങ്ങിയ ഫാക്കല്‍റ്റി മെംബേഴ്‌സിന്റെ സേവനം പ്രയോജനപ്പെടുത്തി സമ്മര്‍ ക്‌ളാസുകള്‍ ആരംഭിക്കും.
സ്‌റേററ്റ് ലജിസ്‌ളേച്ചറില്‍ ഭൂരിപക്ഷമുള്ള ഡമോക്രാറ്റ് അംഗങ്ങളും റിപ്പബ്‌ളിക്കന്‍ പാര്‍ട്ടിക്കാരനായ ഗവര്‍ണറും തമ്മിലുള്ള ശീതസമരമാണ് കോളജ് ഫണ്ടിംഗിനെ സാരമായി ബാധിച്ചത്.
Prof. John Kurakar
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