Monitoring & Evaluating the Progress of Amherst 250

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="043a45a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Massachusetts Society of Professors</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Massachusetts Society of Professors"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shortage of Faculty at UMass/Amherst Cam"><U>Shortage of Faculty at UMass/Amherst Campaign</U></A>   |   <B>Monitoring & Evaluating the Progress of Amherst 250</B>   |   <A HREF="id114.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Public Higher Education Network of Massa"><U>Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts (PHENOM)</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="044d2b03.jpg"> <div> <IMG SRC="09464640.gif" border=0 width="100" height="100" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Monitoring & Evaluating the Progress of Amherst 250</I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#summary" TITLE="Monitoring Evaluating the Progress of A"><U><B>Summary of 2006 & 2007 Hiring</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#rescue_the_250_plan_petition_text" TITLE="Monitoring Evaluating the Progress of A"><U><B>"Rescue the 250 Plan" Petition Text</B></U></A> (signed by 200+ faculty members)</div> <div> <A HREF="#points" TITLE="Monitoring Evaluating the Progress of A"><U><B>Points for October 26 General Faculty Meeting</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#october_24th_press_release" TITLE="Monitoring Evaluating the Progress of A"><U><B>October 24th Press Release</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#republican_news_article" TITLE="Monitoring Evaluating the Progress of A"><U><B>October 27th Republican News Article</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.umass.edu/budget/250/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.umass.edu/budget/250/"><U><B>Chancellor Website on Amherst 250</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <U> <A NAME="summary"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U><U>SUMMARY of 2006 & 2007 HIRING</U></div> <div> (As of 20 September 2006)</div> <bR> <div> <U>Fall 2006 Hiring</U></div> <div> <B>Amherst 250 Hires</B></div> <div> 48 searches were authorized.  Of these,</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">10 were deferred and 38 searches were undertaken</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">21 people were hired, with 2 more potentially still being hired.</div> <div>      </div> <div> <B>Replacements and Prior Commitments</B></div> <div> 48 searches were authorized.  Of these,</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">38 people were hired, with 3 more potentially still being hired.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Total Hires:  59-64</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Net Growth</B></div> <div> 49 people left, so the net increase was 10-15</div> <bR> <div> There are three reasons why the net gain was so small:</div> <div> 1)  Many searches either failed or were deferred.</div> <div> 2)  The number of departures exceeded expectations.</div> <div> 3)  The administration did not authorize enough searches to generate enough net growth in faculty numbers.</div> <bR> <div> <U>Fall 2007 Hiring</U></div> <div> <B>Amherst 250 Hires</B></div> <div> Of the previous year's 10 deferred searches……………….7</div> <div> Unsuccessful searches to be redone………………………15</div> <div> New authorized searches…………………...………………26</div> <div> If potentials from Fall 2006 are not hired then….…………...2</div> <div> <U>Total Authorized Searches           _______________    48-50</U></div> <bR> <div> <B>Replacements and Prior Commitments</B></div> <div> We don't know how many additional hires have been authorized for Fall 2007 to replace departures.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Under the 250 Plan, 38 new hires were authorized last year, but only 21-23 were actually hired.</B></div> <div> <B>Forty-eight (48) new hires are being authorized for next year.</B></div> <div> <B>How many people will actually be hired?</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="rescue_the_250_plan_petition_text"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#009900" FACE="Arial" ><U>"RESCUE THE 250 PLAN" PETITION TEXT</U></FONT></div> <bR> <div> We believe that rebuilding the faculty must be a top priority for UMass Amherst.  The university has many needs, but increasing the number of tenure-track faculty cannot be deferred.  We are disappointed that the university's budget calls for adding only 16 faculty, in place of the 50 per year that had been proposed last year.</div> <bR> <div> Chancellor Lombardi often says that rhetoric is fine, but an institution's budget demonstrates its true priorities.  Chancellor Lombardi wrote that if the legislature provided at least 10 million dollars per year for three years, the university could hire 80 to 85 faculty per year, and meet the 250 plan goal in three years.  (<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.umass.edu/budget/250/index7.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.umass.edu/budget/250/index7.h"><U><U>http://www.umass.edu/budget/250/index7.html</U></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> This year, after paying the cost of <U>all</U> the raises on campus (including raises for administrators), the state appropriation is still $6.4 million more than last year.  That should permit the addition of 49 faculty, which would meet the 250 plan goal in five years.  (This calculation uses the university's own budgeted amount of $130,000 per new faculty hire, an amount that includes the cost of one new T.A. and additional staff support for each faculty hire.)  </div> <bR> <div> We urge the chancellor to re-examine the university budget and priorities, and to authorize a net addition of 50 faculty, rather than the 16 currently budgeted.</div> <bR> <div> Finally, as Section 8(a)(iv) of the Constitution of the Amherst Faculty Senate allows, we also call for a General Faculty meeting.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U> <A NAME="points"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U><U>POINTS FOR OCTOBER 26 GENERAL FACULTY MEETING</U></div> <bR> <div> <B>Why MSP called for this general faculty meeting:</B></div> <bR> <div> 1. We are very concerned that the 250 Plan -- a once in a generation opportunity -- is, after just one year, disintegrating.  The 250 Plan is -- we hope not “was” -- a visionary plan for rebuilding the faculty.  It is the essential development that can finally propel UMass to the very top ranks of public universities.</div> <bR> <div> 2. We are concerned that the Chancellor has not followed through on his stated intentions and made the 250 Plan the campus' number one priority.  There are many legitimate needs on this campus.  But if the rebuilding of the faculty is at the top of the list of priorities, the budget should reflect it.  </div> <bR> <div> 3. We believe that there is very little debate over the priorities on this campus.  Given the lack of adequate resources, that debate is more important than ever.</div> <bR> <div> 4. We have taken this extraordinary step of a general faculty meeting in order to make clear that the faculty wants the Chancellor to fund more faculty positions.  </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>We assume we all agree that:</B></div> <bR> <div> 1.  Although people have differing viewpoints, we are all people of good will, and all seek to promote the best interests of the university.</div> <bR> <div> 2.   The University of Massachusetts Amherst has many needs, and that among these are to rebuild the faculty, and repair and replace buildings.  </div> <bR> <div> 3.  The university does not receive adequate resources:  not from the legislature or the governor, not from donors and alumni.  We all seek to increase the resources available to the university.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>The discussion we need to have with the administration is very simple:  given the inadequate resources the campus has, what are the top priorities, and does the budget -- in every aspect -- reflect those top priorities?</B></div> <bR> <div> Our goal is not to get into a battle over specific numbers.  Rather, we want to focus the discussion on </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Some key questions:</B></div> <bR> <div> 1. The Chancellor has said that the campus has nearly $1 billion in deferred maintenance and this is the primary reason that he must divert the bulk of the 250 Plan monies into capital expenses.  Why, then, is only a quarter of the capital plan for the next five years dedicated to renovations and deferred maintenance?  </div> <bR> <div> 2. The Chancellor has suggested that there is simply no more money to invest in rebuilding the faculty.  Keeping in mind that the faculty and the Chancellor agreed just a year ago that rebuilding the faculty was the number one priority in the coming years, are these parts of our budget absolutely essential?</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">$800K  increase in salaries paid to administrators (March 2006 to October 2006)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">$2.5 million to buy frat row</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">$1 million for renovations to the Provost's Office</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">a new Recreation Center</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">$300,000 increase to Athletics</div> <bR> <div> 3. Why has the University failed to get adequate funding from the legislature?  If traditional methods of working behind closed doors have not been successful at getting the investment in faculty and capital expenses, then why has the administration not pursued a much more grassroots effort, in concert with the faculty, to get the funding this campus deserves?</div> <bR> <div> 4. Some of the biggest capital projects (the new dorms, the recreation center) are aimed at luring out-of-state students who pay more and whose tuition is retained by the campus.  Is this not changing the character of the institution?  Is that where we should be putting our limited resources?</div> <bR> <div> 5. When the campus takes on $35 million in capital expenditures from its yearly operating budget, does it not essentially “hide” the problem and suggest to the legislature that all is well here?  Shouldn't the campus instead highlight the severe problems rather than try to solve them ourselves (which is impossible)?  And to those who suggest that bad news brings bad budgets, just remember the campaign for more faculty launched by the MSP:  we highlighted a severe problem, but did it in a way (emphasizing the quality of the existing faculty, and the benefits that would come from more faculty) that made the legislature respond: to the tune of a $6.4 million increase to our budget this year - which legislators expected would go to new faculty hiring. </div> <bR> <div> 6. What steps is the administration taking to make the searches that are conducted more effective.  There are complaints across the campus about the inefficiency and capriciousness of the Provost's Office in the hiring process.  A number of searches failed because of these “process” problems. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> We all believe in more resources.  We all believe in more faculty.  We all believe in fixing broken buildings.  We all believe in new buildings.  The whole debate is about what the priorities are and how to spend our limited resources.  Given where we are, what should  happen now? What investments keep us most true to our mission:  research in the service of the Commonwealth and the world, and a high quality, accessible education for Massachusetts' citizens.  </div> <bR> <div> The job of the faculty is to be vigilant about staying true to our principles and priorities.  It is our job, and our obligation, to challenge the administration when it strays from those priorities.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U> <A NAME="october_24th_press_release"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U><U>OCTOBER 24th PRESS RELEASE</U></div> <bR> <div> <U>For immediate release</U></div> <bR> <div> Contact:</div> <div> Max Page (413-545-6940; 413-219-7633; mpage@art.umass.edu)</div> <div> Dan Clawson (413-545-5974; 413-586-6235; clawson@soc.umass.edu)</div> <bR> <div> <B>FACULTY QUESTIONS PRIORITIES AT UMASS</B></div> <div> <B>All-Faculty Meeting to Discuss Pace of Hiring with Chancellor</B></div> <bR> <div> AMHERST - October 24, 2006 -- For the first time in more than a decade, UMass Amherst will convene a meeting of the entire faculty.  Far more than the required 10 percent of the faculty requested the General Faculty Meeting with Chancellor John Lombardi to discuss the slow pace of new faculty hiring.  The Massachusetts Society of Professors (MSP) coordinated the petition for the meeting in response to faculty frustration over the stalled UMass Amherst 250 Plan.</div> <bR> <div> “The campus added only 21 faculty with the 48 searches authorized last year.  We were stunned that the Chancellor would authorize only 26 searches this year,” said Michael Ash, Associate Professor of Economics.  “We must pick up the pace to add 250 professors by 2010.”</div> <bR> <div> The UMass 250 Plan aims to increase the number of faculty on the Amherst campus by 250 over 5 years and received enthusiastic support from the State Legislature.  Compared to 1990, the UMass Amherst campus has 300 fewer professors, and the unveiling of the UMass 250 Plan was welcomed by faculty as an important step in rebuilding the University. However, the Plan failed to meet its first-year targets.  (See http://www.umass.edu/msp/id101.htm for further analysis.)     </div> <bR> <div> “The 250 Plan, a once-in-a-generation opportunity announced last year by the Chancellor, appears to be disintegrating after just one year,” said Max Page, Associate Professor in the Art Department and President of MSP. </div> <bR> <div> The entire faculty will have an opportunity to discuss budget priorities with Chancellor Lombardi at this meeting.  The Chancellor suggested in his budget statement that there is little money available to invest in rebuilding the faculty just one year after he agreed that rebuilding the faculty was the number one priority for the campus. </div> <bR> <div> “Large sums are being spent to acquire and renovate buildings, bring out-of-state students to campus, and pay more in administrative salaries,” said Stephanie Luce, Associate Professor of Labor Studies.  “The Administration is forgetting about what is most important: putting teachers in classrooms to provide a great education for students.”</div> <bR> <div> Summoned by petition under Faculty Senate rules, Chancellor Lombardi will appear before a <B>General Faculty Meeting on Thursday, October 26, at 3:30 PM in Room 227, Herter Hall, UMass</B> <B>Amherst</B>.  The Faculty called the meeting to speak with the Chancellor about the UMass Amherst 250 Plan, the weak performance of the 250 Plan in its first year, and the University's commitment to completing the 250 Plan.</div> <bR> <div> <U>OCTOBER 27th </U><U> <A NAME="republican_news_article"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U><U>REPUBLICAN NEWS ARTICLE</U></div> <bR> <div> From 10-27-06 <U>Republican</U> <U>(</U><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.masslive.com/news/topstories" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.masslive.com/news/topstories"><U><U>http://www.masslive.com/news/topstories</U></U></A></FONT>)</div> <div> Faculty asks questions on UMass hiring</div> <div> Friday, October 27, 2006</div> <div> By DIANE LEDERMAN</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:dlederman@repub.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:dlederman@repub.com"><U><U>dlederman@repub.com</U></U></A></div> <bR> <div> AMHERST More than 100 University of Massachusetts faculty packed the auditorium at Herter Hall yesterday afternoon to find out why more faculty haven't been hired as promised.</div> <bR> <div> The meeting was scheduled by faculty petition.</div> <bR> <div> Chancellor John V. Lombardi unveiled the UMass-Amherst 250 Plan last year following a report by the Massachusetts Society of Professors that there were 259 fewer faculty on campus than in 1990. The plan called for hiring 250 new faculty in five years. The net gain in faculty this year was 12, with three more hires pending.</div> <bR> <div> Some questioned spending priorities, such as the $2.5 million to buy fraternities and $1 million to renovate the provost's office.</div> <bR> <div> Professor Sara Lenox, from Language, Literature and Cultures, talked about yield. When the university wants to ensure a certain number of students attend, officials accept more than that number.</div> <bR> <div> "We need to authorize a lot more searches than 50 to satisfy the 250 plan," she said. Otherwise, UMass won't meet the goal of 50 new hires a year.</div> <bR> <div> English professor Suzanne M. Daly said the administration should "see what's going on with the failed searches."</div> <bR> <div> Dan Clawsen, a sociology professor, said that more than $68 million in additional student fees has been generated since fiscal year 2003. He asked why even half that money isn't being used to pay new professors. And without the additional faculty, students having to "pay so much is an outrage," he said.</div> <bR> <div> Philosophy professor Ann Ferguson said, "Some of our departments are at risk because of shrinking numbers."</div> <bR> <div> After about a dozen spoke, Enoch Page, an anthropology professor, questioned the purpose of the discussion when no one from the administration was responding.</div> <bR> <div> Lombardi then said he tries "to hear people before I respond. I am here to listen."</div> <bR> <div> Lombardi said the Legislature has not provided the necessary funding for the plan. The university can't hire faculty without the physical structures to support them. The university can't hire faculty and assume "God will take care for the rest."</div> <bR> <div> "We believe faculty are the highest priority along with the structures."</div> <bR> <div> Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Society of Professors, the union of faculty and librarians for the Amherst campus, said he wasn't expecting any solutions.</div> <bR> <div> "I think it (the meeting) was valuable," Page said. The turnout, "shows how important the issue is."</div> <bR> <div> "There needs to be a grassroots effort" to secure additional funding from the Legislature, he said. </div> <bR> <div> But Enoch Page (no relation) said faculty let the meeting "just get away. We should have seized the moment" and talked about "anything we need to do to pressure the Legislature."</div> <bR> <div> But he said he thinks some faculty "are also afraid of the administration." He said the faculty is demoralized with the lack of hires, especially with the numbers of faculty of color.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>