Dear members and supporters of UA,
UVM’s faculty union, United Academics, is holding a special meeting—inviting faculty, students and community members—to discuss the layoffs and position reductions in the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the CAS Dean’s announcement that starting next fall the minimum size for nearly all introductory classes will be 60 students. (That means courses doubling and even tripling in size in some instances—and it means that lecturers whose positions and pay have been reduced by 25% to 50% might still teach the same number of students!) The meeting will be on Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. in John Dewey Lounge (Old Mill). Come for any part of the meeting.
Please invite students and colleagues—and please announce in your classes and at club meetings. We want to make sure students and faculty know what is going on. We also want to strategize about responses. Although Arts and Sciences is most directly affected at this moment, other colleges have also been told they must increase their student numbers. These layoffs and curricular changes pose threats to all faculty, and they are a threat to the education and future of students too.
See you on Tuesday.
All best,
Sarah Alexander
President, United Academics