Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 10, 1995 TAG: 9511100106
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
That's two years fewer than they have now.
But it's far more generous than the federal law governing industry layoffs, which requires companies with at least 100 employees, who plan to lay off at least 50, to give two months' notice.
Under normal circumstances, professors who've earned tenure almost always have lifetime job security. But if the state or school ran into a dire financial emergency and had to close down programs, tenured professors could lose their jobs. The Reduction in Force draft policy is designed for such an emergency.
The gap between notice given faculty and notice given industry mirrors the gap between academe and industry, professors say. Professors are dealing with students who will, theoretically, need four years to get through an undergraduate program. Somebody needs to be on hand to teach them.
"What we're talking about is closing down a program in which students may be currently enrolled," explained Tech President Paul Torgersen. "It's not as though you can close the door, lock the door, and throw away the key."
It took a faculty commission more than a year to draft the proposed plan now being circulated through the university for comment. Faculty say the likelihood of ever implementing the policy is remote.
The proposal should come up for discussion at the faculty senate meeting at the end of November, said Paul Metz, vice-president of the senate.
Work on the draft started last year after Richmond attorney Bill Broaddus, then a member of the Board of Visitors, suggested the policy should change. His suggestion came as the board reviewed policies with an eye toward restructuring, and "I had questions concerning several of them," Broaddus said.
"I thought they were ... inhibiting the flexibility I thought the university should have when the institution must be able to respond to the needs of the constituents - in this case, students," Broaddus said.
In other words, can the school close programs to save money if it's paying tenured teachers for five years? The mean salary for a tenured teaching professor at Tech is $64,663.
"I know it's a very thorny issue," said Don Mullin, an entomology professor who worked on the policy. "I think the administration's concerned the Board of Visitors may feel three [years] is still excessive."
But consider the undergraduate students.
"Optimally, you expect them to complete in four years. The three-year notice is primarily in that spirit, as you phase out a program, and accommodate all the students," he said.
"If we put this in perspective, I don't think we're actually going to see many of these situations where we keep people for three years," said Mullins. "A person is going to recognize [the situation] and move on."
Torgersen agreed.
"I doubt very much if the policy would ever be implemented," he said.
The proposal also says that gains made through affirmative action should be considered, said Don Creamer, an education professor who helped develop the policy.
"We don't want to be too prescriptive because if you're talking about the English Department that's so heavily female anyway, your peers might say, 'Are you kidding?' " Mullins said.
"On the other hand, if you're talking about electrical engineering, you might have a different story," he said.
by CNB