MU faculty council unanimously votes to endorse resolution on layoffs of NTT faculty

The MU faculty council unanimously voted to endorse a proposal related to layoffs of non-tenure track-or NTT-faculty at their meeting Thursday.

The resolution from the MU Non-Tenure Track Faculty Committee included additional protections for NTT faculty as they face the possibility of layoffs while the university deals with unprecedented budget cuts from the state.

“What we are faced with at the very least is a potential for non-renewal,” Nicole Monnier, Teaching Professor of Russian, said during the meeting. “The NTTs are afraid and given the reality of our situation we have reason to be afraid.”

The MU Non-Tenure Track Faculty Committee asked the MU Faculty Council to support the following:

that current contracts (presumptive or formal) for ranked NTT faculty be honored for the coming academic year that the campus/UM System come up with appropriate layoff/separation procedures for ranked NTT faculty with 3+ years of service before layoffs begin that campus/UM System come up with an appropriate policy for ranked NTT faculty affected by program closure that ranked NTT faculty with 10+ years of service be included in any early retirement or voluntary “separation” programs offered to faculty or staff that ranked NTT faculty be included in any additional benefits offered to tenture/tenure-track faculty or staff as inducements or compensation for separations or layoffs.

The resolution came in response to an April 3 letter sent to MU faculty and staff. The letter said fiscal challenges will require an overall budget cut between 8% and 12% throughout the University of Missouri System.

It also detailed the campus process for addressing the budget cuts. It said budget cuts will not be across the board and could include “separation of staff and faculty (this may include layoffs of staff and NTT faculty but does not include separation of T/TT faculty).”

Each school or division is responsible for balancing its budget. As a result of the fiscal challenges, some leaders have already started restructuring their departments, including layoffs.

Last week, MU’s Division of Operations informed 20 employees that they will be laid off. MU spokesperson Christian Basi said employees who were laid off will “be provided transition benefits, and they will receive priority consideration to be rehired as positions become available.”