DE PERE (NBC 26) — St. Norbert College is laying off 27 faculty members, some of them tenured, and discontinuing 15 majors and 5 minors, as the school battles financial instability.
- We reported on the details of the cuts earlier Thursday — read that story here
- The full announcement from College president Laurie Joyner is available here, under Community Email Updates
- Two students whose programs are being eliminated spoke out against the changes
- Read or watch the story to see administrators explain the decisions
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details and quotes added for web)
The Catholic liberal arts school has been considering laying off tenured faculty for months now — and today it announced that 27 faculty members are losing their jobs — 21 in May of this year, and six after next school year. That's 29% of the current faculty. We spoke with administrators and students about the decisions.
Watch De Pere neighborhood reporter Karl Winter's story here:
St. Norbert College says the decisions are difficult, but necessary to keep the school open and avoid financial disaster, as enrollment declines.
"These decisions are hard, and the administration has felt the weight of them," said Fr. Matthew Dougherty, St. Norbert's special assistant to the president for mission integration. "They aren't made glibly or without sober reflection, and I think it's nothing about who [the faculty members] are."
The school is also eliminating 15 of its 65 majors:
- Studio Art
- Art Education
- General Chemistry
- Geology
- Environmental Geology
- French
- History
- International Studies
- Theoretical Math
- Applied Math
- Physics
- Engineering Physics
- Spanish
- Theatre Studies
- Theology and Religious Studies
Read and watch our previous story for additional details about the majors.
"There is a difference between having a major and having courses that students can have access to as part of their program of study," said Dr. Valerie Martin Conley, the vice president and chief academic officer.
We spoke with two students whose majors are being cut — the school says they'll be able to finish their degrees.
"We're all kind of in this period where we're mourning the loss of the St. Norbert College that was before," junior theology major Scotlyn Roemhild said. "That's how I often refer to, you know, before all these cuts happened, like 'before,' 'the time before.'"
"And there's no acknowledgement of, like, the emotions behind this decision," said Meaghan Dutton, a senior geology major who is also the president of the Student Government Association. "I just think it shows how clinical this entire experience has been for people."
The faculty members being terminated this year are being given 10 months of severance pay.
"How do you maintain the value of communio when losing community members, some of whom have been here for a long time?" we asked.
"Good question. Let me just sort out in my head," Fr. Dougherty said, later saying: "When people come to campus, they experience this, they experience this community, united as one. For those who will be leaving us, those of the talented and esteemed colleagues that will no longer be with us, we're going to make sure that we treat them really well."
Fr. Dougherty later added, in writing, in part: "Communio requires us to look out for the good of the entire community, both now and into the future."
The students we spoke with were critical of the need for the layoffs and program administration.
"I completely disagree with the sentiment that these cuts can occur and the current mission can be upheld, and that we will not see a change in campus culture," Roemhild said. "I think that is completely false."
"I also find it really hard to believe that this dramatic of a cut was so necessary, immediately," Dutton said.
Administrators say the mission of the school is not damaged by eliminating the majors.
"The core of a liberal arts education is not about a major," Fr. Dougherty said. "It's about a broad education that goes beyond one's major."
NBC 26 also asked Fr. Dougherty how the institution maintains a Catholic education when eliminating the Theology major and professors in that department.
This was his response:
"All students at St. Norbert College will be required to take theology courses as part of their of their core curriculum, and that includes an introduction to theology course, but also an upper level Catholic imagination course. And so we will make sure to have those offerings on campus for all the students to complete their core requirements, but also some electives will be available as well, so that students can be engaged in Theological and Religious Studies disciplines."
Thursday's announcement does not necessarily mark the end of retrenchment — the process that allows the school to get rid of tenured faculty. That can continue if the Board of Trustees considers it financially necessary, or if more programs are cut.
One former faculty member who recently left St. Norbert, but did not want to share their name, wrote to NBC 26 on Thursday: "I don't believe this will be the conclusion. Until the board says that the period of retrenchment has ended, they can keep doing this."
