Updates to faculty layoff plan and other stuff

General Campus News, Updates, Discussion
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Western_101
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Neckfansince71 wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 6:27 pm So more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news which means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news which means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment!!!! Its the self fulfilling prophecy. Western Illinois University is a great place to learn! I am so sick and tired of this whirlpool I just want to "scream!" How does WIU get off the "dime?" What in the hell is it going to take? It is truly time to turn the corner! ;) jc
Uh oh. even NFS71 has thrown in the towel.
vatusay
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Neckfansince71 wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 6:27 pm So more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news which means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news which means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment which means more bad financial news means cuts which mean hesitation to enroll which means a lower enrollment!!!! Its the self fulfilling prophecy. Western Illinois University is a great place to learn! I am so sick and tired of this whirlpool I just want to "scream!" How does WIU get off the "dime?" What in the hell is it going to take? It is truly time to turn the corner! ;) jc
Different leadership.
#ALLIN #YOLO
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Neckfansince71
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No, I have not thrown in the towel! :oops: jc
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Tere North
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vatusay wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 7:16 pm
Different leadership.
An absolute MUST. And with the courage to make changes!
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ST_Lawson
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Tere North wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 9:29 pm
vatusay wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 7:16 pm
Different leadership.
An absolute MUST. And with the courage to make changes!
I have heard that changes will be happening fairly soonish in that regard. It's not going to fix things overnight, but should get us back on a positive track.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
wiu712
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Editorial in Friday's Western Courier:

Western will never be the same.
https://westerncourier.com/43143/opinio ... -the-same/
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Neckfansince71
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I am not sure anything is ever the same! Makes me think about the song by Joe South, "Don't it make you wanna go home!" The question becomes, can we make WIU better even though it's not exactly the same? Maybe we were better off having the Wheeler Block Party and being called a party school. At least students were having fun and paying tuition. I will tell you this, I subbed at a school in my former district yesterday and one period the students met with their counselors. I asked one of the counselors about WIU and she said she had 4 students applying to WIU for Law Enforcement. Now there happens to be 8 counselors in this building. So WIU is still out there as a school of choice for LEJA. I also mentioned broadcasting too. ;) jc
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sealhall74
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NFS71, you might be on to something. I do think you can go overboard trying to keep things "too clean". Too clean essentially means sterile. Did Wheeler get out of control because there were too few avenues elsewhere? Maybe. I would love to spend an hour over beers with Tom Carper after he had a few and could really talk about how he has seen things change in Macomb.
Embrace the pace of the race.
wiu712
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Union member discusses Board Of Trustees violation.
From the Western Courier:
https://westerncourier.com/43251/news/u ... violation/
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Neckfansince71
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Okay, seems like the BOT controversy is now under control with a new "lawyer" who understands the term "open!" I have peeled a bit of the banana below and I detect the term positive at the beginning of this part of the article. The reason for the elimination of 20 majors is not discussed here even though these majors do not have enrollment numbers that would suggest continued support. The loss of Cathy Early to the board is a crime. She is a true "patriot" and wears her purple and gold proudly. She has contributed much to the university and I sure hope that continues. Guess Dr. Thompson is happy about the recruiting effort and I hope he finds some time to participate at the next two "Discover Westerns!" WIU/Macomb is about to turn the corner. I think we all are a bit curious as to what JBPritzker has in store for our fine university. Hopefully he has CPA funding is his hip pocket. I think we all could agree just how important that project is to the surrounding area. Just my thoughts! ;) jc

He has also noticed a different tone to the meetings, reflecting positive changes.
“The administration is being much more cooperative with us than they have been in the past,” he said. “It’s sad that it had to come out like this, but it’s important that the public hold officials accountable for what they do and that’s what this act is really all about. Transparency is necessary, so when information is cut off, that’s harmful to the public. Unions are a check and balance, so we feel that we acted accordingly. This was not a personal vendetta.”
Thompson understands the motivation behind the decisions that the Board of Trustees made behind closed doors on June 28. He says that deciding to lay off faculty members before the fiscal year eliminates an additional year of tenured employment for certain faculty members.He also references the financial situation that the state of Illinois is enduring. The university is facing a $14 million deficit next year, coupled with a lack of commitment in higher-education funding; however, Thompson is optimistic that new governor J.B. Pritzker will offer more financial aid than the previous administration.
“We want to know the final proposed number of layoffs now before the governor gives his budget address,” he said. “If the budget isn’t flat and enrollment holds steady next year, then that would seem to suggest that fewer people need to be laid off.”
The state’s budget crisis has forced the university to be aggressive in making cuts during the last couple of years. After unveiling a plan to expand academic degree programs in a 2017 press release, the university now plans to lay off dozens of faculty members and eliminate nearly 20 majors. The board’ surgency and decisions to discuss such matters in private may have been directly impacted by the budget impasse.
One of the domino effects of the incident was the resignation of then-chair Cathy Early. Additionally, five other members have left the board, but it has not been confirmed if they are all directly related to the controversy.
“Our union made board reform our priority. We knew this board was violating this act. We negotiate contracts with these people and we have to be certain that they are following the rules. If they’re willing to break these rules, then what other rules might they be willing to break?” Thompson says. Thompson envisions how the BOT can improve when it comes to the meeting process.
“Their meetings could be set up so that they give people more time for public comment,” he said, “like during different periods of the meeting so that people couldcomment on stuff that’s happening in front of them. I also think that the trustees should be more specific and aggressive in their questioning. There’s still not a lot of discussion that goes on in there about the future of the institution.”
Thompson says that the BOT should consider themselves as the trustees of the students, faculty and people of Illinois, as opposed to an arm of the administration. He thinks the best way to accomplish this would be to get to know the opinions of the faculty and staff.
“I think they were really shocked last year when we had the vote of no confidence. If they went out and talked to the faculty, then they would have known,” Thompson said.
In the bigger picture, Thompson adds that he doesn’t think that the university has ill intentions when it comes to the treatment of the faculty. He is appreciative of the health insurance benefits that the college has to offer, as well as the six-week maternity leave, which he says is rare.
He is also supportive of their recruitment process, which has expanded from the small-town demographic to students from the Chicago suburbs and outside of the United States. This strategy could help get enrollment back on track during a time when rural Illinois is shrinking and the school can no longer rely on students who prioritize proximity. In a town where the university is critical for the local economy, Mayor Mike Inman is often heard saying, “So goes Western, so goes Macomb.”
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