Historiann has a discussion about what is happening in academia with the economic crisis.
So does Notorious PhD.
Someone at one of my schools said, “The admin is using Ike (the hurricane that hit in September) and the economy as an excuse.” The school was already in bad shape. It didn’t get into bad shape because of those two things. But, in fact, those two things have made it worse. And because they can, the admin is slashing anyone who is viewed negatively. (Okay, that’s probably not accurate. I know it’s not accurate.)
They are trying to get rid of adjuncts. Because we’re so expensive? Dang. They pay $60K to the ft people. They pay $24 to me for the same work. Why would they want to get rid of people like me? But they do.
They fired 5 people in one department. Let four others go. (Two of those were for sexual misconduct. Good for them for firing their behinds!) Several staff have been let go. One of the three senior people in my dept has been laid off. This is after the dean and the assoc dean getting canned. There was another round of layoffs somewhere else.
The school is in the midst of a storm and the faculty are being thrown overboard to save the idea of the boat.
I’m pretty sure the boat has hit the rocks and is holed. If it doesn’t get to shore soon….
On the other hand, my CC isn’t having these issues. They replaced people who left. They haven’t cut services. I’ve heard nothing on cutting salaries. The CC in my system with which I interviewed said that he has plenty of money, even for travel.
So it does appear that part of the issue is how much you were spending that you really didn’t have to start with.