University staff are not expendable.
The University of Washington is facing a budget crisis. To date, the Dean’s office of the College of Arts & Sciences has proposed a mass firing of department-level staff to address the crisis. With no meaningful input from UW staff faculty, or students, this is wrong and unfair.
We have questions about what happens next.
How will staff, students, and faculty be included in decision making about the budget?
When can we expect to see a report about the proposed centralization of staff services with details about (i) projected savings, and (ii) anticipated impacts to student learning and faculty research productivity ?
When can we expect to see a detailed report about plans for budget cuts within the CAS Administration?
Will CAS Administration lead by example? Will administrators be using the same systems of support for HR and IT that they will require faculty to use?
Who are we?
We are concerned members of the University of Washington community who think there is a better way.