PEORIA, Ill. – Concerns remain over a promised thirteen percent in cuts planned to be made to the operating budget at Bradley University, months after the cuts were first announced amid financial and enrollment shortfalls.
Now, it’s expected those cuts could be announced next week, and that’s leaving professors on edge.
Those professors are represented by the American Association of University Professors Union, of which John Nielsen is the local’s vice president.
“The opportunity to slow down, get things right, allow for more transparency, and allow the faculty to participate based on the model of shared governance, which is the foundation of Bradley and institutions like Bradley,” Nielsen told 25 News. “We need to make these cuts strategically and precisely with a scalpel, not a butcher’s knife.”
Nielsen tells 25 News based on their own math, in order to make the cuts, as many as 100 out of 340 professors would need to be laid off.
“Universities are different from businesses; and without kind of critically understanding the difference, just try to apply a business model to a university model, the outcomes are not going to be what you want,” Nielsen said.
A university spokesperson says the cuts will be made with care, and will be made while meeting the needs of students.
“This process will be conducted using many points of data and with utmost care to preserve the academic integrity of the institution and ensure students’ ability to complete their degrees,” said Libby Derry, Executive Director of Communications, in a statement. “This ongoing academic review process will be complemented by the introduction of new academic programs and the expansion of online programs, all designed to meet the needs and interests of today’s student.”
