Miami Colleagues and Administrators:

The COVID-19 crisis is real and will have far-reaching consequences for all aspects of society, including academia. Faculty at Miami and across the country have stepped up and made sacrifices to meet our students’ needs and we will continue to do what is necessary to adapt to this evolving situation.

But amid the uncertainties generated by this crisis, the need for real shared governance, unfettered academic freedom, and economic security for faculty remains unchanged. Our commitment to our students and Miami’s educational mission leads us to insist on the following four points:

1. Faculty must participate in decisions about our curriculum, how it is delivered, and who teaches it—even during this crisis. Shared governance is more important than ever. It’s the faculty’s responsibility* to devise and deliver the best possible curriculum under changing circumstances. Senate recently confirmed that faculty play an essential role in decisions about faculty composition. A university cannot make educational changes without consulting those that deliver the education.

2. Every effort must be made to retain our VAP colleagues and to increase their economic security. We note that Ohio University has paused,** rather than accelerated, personnel cuts during the pandemic. We should also commit to supporting the well-being of any of our colleagues who are not renewed. Any non-renewals must be timed to allow our colleagues plenty of time to apply for unemployment and state and federal emergency benefits. Assistance should be offered to colleagues losing their Miami health insurance.

3. Faculty must participate in workload decisions. Workload changes affect our capacity to deliver our curriculum effectively.

• Changes to workload policy*** must not be made without faculty consultation and endorsement by Senate.
• Workload policy changes adopted for the crisis must include specific dates of expiration and acknowledgement that shared governance procedures will be followed if they are proposed for renewal or revision.
• Alterations in expectations that accompany workload policy adjustments should be clearly articulated. If tenure-line faculty teach more, that will necessarily cut into time for research and service. How will allowances be made for declines in research productivity? How will service responsibilities be adjusted?

4. Sacrifices must be shared. If faculty numbers are reduced and workloads increase, how will administration be streamlined? Will high-paid administrators take salary reductions? Will leadership look at endeavors peripheral to the academic mission (the $27 million dollars that annually subsidize Intercollegiate Athletics, construction, pet projects...)? Shouldn’t cuts be made there before sacrificing student instruction, faculty research, and success?

*http://www.miamiaaup.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/AAUP-shared-governance-handout.pdf
**https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200326/ohio-university-pauses-personnel-budget-cuts-amid-coronavirus-pandemic
***https://miamioh.edu/academic-affairs/admin-affairs/faculty-workload-norms/index.html