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Provost says money not in budget for 60 staffers' paid sabbaticals
By Carol Biliczky
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Sunday, Feb 22, 2009
Kent State has canceled paid sabbaticals — professional leaves of absence — for 60 faculty members in the coming school year.
Provost Robert Frank told faculty in a letter last week that the university wants to be cautious about its budget because it does not know what support it will get from the state in the coming biennium.
Kent received $137 million — about 29 percent — of its $470 million operating budget from the state in the current academic year. With state revenue falling, many tax-supported universities are bracing for bad news.
''All sectors of the university now need to respond to current mandated adjustments from the state and plan for the possibility of future cuts,'' Frank wrote.
''I have decided that financial resources are not available to fund faculty professional improvement leaves for academic year 2009-2010.''
He said other universities in Ohio are implementing hiring freezes, early retirement programs, travel bans and more — all of which are being evaluated at Kent State.
The University of Akron is considering cutting sabbaticals, spokesman Ken Torisky said. He did not know how many faculty have applied for leaves in the coming academic year or how much the university could save by eliminating them.
At universities throughout
the country, faculty members use sabbaticals to upgrade their skills, acquire new ones or develop intellectually and professionally.
Universities shoulder the work of absent faculty members by reassigning their classes to others, increasing class sizes or temporarily dropping the courses that the faculty member taught.
At Kent State, the 60 faculty sabbaticals already scheduled for 2009-2010 would have cost the university $500,000 to $750,000, spokesman Scott Rainone said.
KSU has more than 500 faculty members on its nine campuses with tenure or who are on a tenure track.
Lee Fox, president of Kent State's tenure-track unit of the American Association of University Professors, said the decision to ax the leaves was upsetting.
She questioned why Frank's office hired Tim Chandler, former dean of the KSU College of the Arts, as senior associate provost in January, if it has money troubles.
Rainone said Chandler makes $175,000 a year in the new position, the same salary he had as dean. Rainone said two other open positions in the provost's office will not be filled.
Fox said the AAUP asked Frank to detail how his office decided to cancel the leaves.
''It's curious that we have the money for a number of university initiatives, but not for faculty,'' said Fox, an associate professor of psychology at KSU's Stark County campus.
The decision affects her personally because she'd planned to spend the spring 2010 semester studying abortion activism for possible journal articles. It would have been her first leave in 15 years.
At both UA and Kent State, faculty must be full time, in at least their seventh full year and in a tenure-track — or virtually lifetime — position to qualify for a sabbatical.
Leaves of one semester are fully paid at both universities. Leaves of two semesters are paid at not less than half of the faculty member's pay at Kent and are capped at one-half at UA.
Faculty must wait seven years before applying for a second sabbatical.
At Kent State, Frank allowed faculty to appeal his decision. Three appeals were approved because the sabbaticals were based largely on external funding.
Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com.
Kent State has canceled paid sabbaticals — professional leaves of absence — for 60 faculty members in the coming school year.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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rootstown, oh
Posted 02:52 AM, 02/22/2009
overpaid crybabies.
Anti-Politically Correct & Anti-GOP, OH
Posted 06:44 AM, 02/22/2009
Funny how on the KSU website they have over 100 job postings that they need to hire for. Maybe this is why they are cutting this out?
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 07:12 AM, 02/22/2009
Now if only they would cut the President & his VP's salaries at KSU. That would make a statement about how serious they are about controlling costs.
Front Line, KC
Posted 08:16 AM, 02/22/2009
Time for teachers and college professors to be treated like the rest of the hard working public. Maybe this economy has a silver lining, bringing teachers and other unions back to the working class. That will improve everyone's standard of living. Maybe a year from now the cost of education will be back to normal and I can afford to buy a new "American" made car.
Akron, OH
Posted 08:50 AM, 02/22/2009
Imagine that. College professors upset about a cut in their paid leave because the economy. It jes' goes to show that many of them don't live in the real world with the rest of us.
Posted 10:33 AM, 02/22/2009
It's tru that this is a ridiculous waste of money, but don't leave out the GROSSLY overpaid presidents like Proenza....all the guy did was spend money like it's going out of style on a new stadium, parking decks, dorms, etc.....heck a monkey could do that!
Then all the universities pay bonuses on "increased enrollment" which is a result of the bad economy, not the wonderful job the university is doing.
It's all a complete sham!
Akron, OH
Posted 10:35 AM, 02/22/2009
In defense of faculty -- the vast majority of of them work very long and dedicated hours, but they are not as 'visible' as the whiny lazy ones. I agree, the universities should be unloading the very highly paid upper level VPs and etc - or at least cutting those salaries first.
Posted 11:37 AM, 02/22/2009
if you look at the big picture both schools are almost at full capacity with student enrollment,that says something that we have two positive items in our community and everybody wants to put them down and bad mouth everything they do.....I read these comments from time to time and all that is done is bad mouth anything positive near our cities my god maybe if we were all a little more positive we might be happier and not so bitter..be thankful akron u and KSU employ so many people and help the area out as much as they do....
Posted 11:50 AM, 02/22/2009
Well said Ray !!!
Posted 11:50 AM, 02/22/2009
In defense of professors most are grossly underpaid! Yet they are required to have a certain amount of research/articles published over a given time period. Most are very hardworking individuals who take on a full-course load and get paid very little! I can understand the need for the cuts in their time for profesional growth. Bashing professors and educators, not that I should be surprised on this forum, has nothing to do with the topic at hand.
Akron, OH
Posted 12:25 PM, 02/22/2009
Yes, good idea -- let's make sure that professors are not researching and/or pursuing professional development in their areas of expertise. We don't want our students to be learning the most up to date material under faculty who actually research and write. Heaven forbid that we actually progress forward.
Posted 12:28 PM, 02/22/2009
thanks connelly........look positive attitudes are kind of nice!!
Posted 12:53 PM, 02/22/2009
Perfectly said, KemnoreKid. This forum continues to prove how out of touch with reality some people are. First, good professors should not be consigned to blue-collar standards of income. Professors are professionals with years of extra training and expertise in their field. Most of them don't simply work, but dedicate their lives to their research and development of their students. Without them this country would be Afghanistan. They deserve to be wel-compensated, respected and supported.
Akron, OH
Posted 03:14 PM, 02/22/2009
((chucklin')) Yes of course. Professors shouldn't be held to blue collar income levels while they represent themselves as a blue collar union.
I'm sure the nice professors could still take their sabbaticals. Those true to their research and studies, can go unpaid from the university.
Posted 03:35 PM, 02/22/2009
Universities need to come in line with the rest of the state with respect to salary, benefit and employee cuts. Times are bad, but these folks don't seem to be aware of it. As well as cutting sabbaticals, why not trim back majors like "crafts." Cut out the remedial tutoring and handholding that is so pricey and serves to keep individuals taking classes and loans they can't handle and never will. Trim the ridiculous salaries and duplicity at the top and force the Boards at these universities to quit being nothing more than "yes" men to the university administrations.
Posted 10:45 PM, 02/22/2009
Unions are not exclusively blue collar, Beta.
Second, research itself costs money. It costs money to support your family, pay your bills and live your life while doing research. Research is also work. Incredibly hard, often tedious, and necessary work.
You can chuckle all you want to, but this is all about hard working people getting screwed out of what they deserve. Period.
Lorain, oh
Posted 05:41 AM, 02/23/2009
I would not give anything to be a college professor, I've been taught by a bunch, worked with some, and want no part in that..I always thought the leaves were excessive anyway so oh well, but most profs work their butts off.
akron, oh
Posted 07:59 AM, 02/23/2009
Inquisitive mind: If you'd taken the time to think rather than just whine about how others are getting more than you, you'd realize that keeping the university open between christmas and new years is far more expensive than giving employees a couple days off. how many students are on campus that week? how many of the ones on campus are going to use facilities or services? the results of your well thought out rationalization that they should stay open would then degrade into "why are they paying all these employees to sit around and do nothing?"
Akron, OH
Posted 08:00 AM, 02/23/2009
I am a professor in the School of Communication at The University of Akron who would appreciate your help by taking part in a study I am conducting. If you will help, please go to the following link and fill out a survey, which should take no more than 6 or 7 minutes. Thank your for your assistance.
https://survey2.uakron.edu/Survey.aspx?s=69ada18acfff4ce8a4761df24bc6ad8c
Posted 08:46 AM, 02/23/2009
Good! Its about time.
Posted 08:57 AM, 02/23/2009
What a bunch of whiners!
Akron, OH
Posted 11:29 AM, 02/23/2009
@Inquisitive Mind, the governor cannot not directly demand anything of the university's faculty because he has no control over them. the most he can do is set up a scenario where the university enforce his ideals or lose funding. Also, I am pretty sure both Akron and Kent faculty are unions, so I suspect this article is not the last we will hear of this.
Akron, OH
Posted 11:30 AM, 02/23/2009
@KenmoreKid, exactly!
hudson, oh
Posted 02:07 PM, 02/23/2009
IF THEY REALLY WANT TO STOP WASTING MONEY, ELIMINATE ALL THE ATHLETIC PROGRAMS AND RELATED SCHOLARSHIPS.
OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM IS IN SHAMBLES AND COLLEGE ATHLETICS AND THE MONEY THEY DRAIN FROM EDUCATION ARE A MAJOR PART OF IT.
NO SCHOOL, NOT EVEN OHIO STATE, WHEN DOING AN HONEST AUDIT, TAKES IN MORE MONEY THAN IT LAYS OUT FOR IT'S ATHLETIC PROGRAMS. OHIO STATE SPENT OVER $100 MILLION ALONE JUST RENOVATING THE JOHNS AT THE HORSESHOE.
PUT MONEY IN EDUCATION, NOT SPORTS.
Akron, OH
Posted 08:14 AM, 02/26/2009
@patriot76, you are not being "honest" in your posts. Most if not all the stadium renovation are covered through suite sales or donations. For example the entire $194 million expansion was cover through suite sales and donations.
Many of OSU programs due turn a profit which is to be expected from a program that is so large. With such a large student budget, the alumni number help. See: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119275242417864220-l9FByvUWY7rk_mJXuI_4TwAUy5w_20081018.html?mod=rss_free
