Faculty in Times of Financial Distress: Examining Governance, Exigency, Layoffs and Alternatives, is a paper discussing a last resort to alleviate severe financial difficulty for most institutions—the layoff of faculty members. The paper covers the role of faculty in institutional budget matters and the process of terminating faculty positions on grounds of financial need.
The fortunes of colleges and universities cycle through prosperity and hardship. Individual institutions are sensitive to different combinations of economic factors. Their annual budgets reflect upward and downward pressures in, among other elements, investment returns, inflation, student enrollment, labor markets, and government support. American colleges and universities overall may suffer significant financial distress, typically because of major disruption in the national economy. In 2008–09, the United States found itself entering such a period, and the fortunes of many higher education institutions began deteriorating.
This paper discusses a last resort to alleviate severe financial difficulty for most institutions—the layoff of faculty members. It covers the role of faculty in institutional budget matters and the process of terminating faculty positions on grounds of financial need.