Full Issue, September 22, 2022

The B u ll e ti n

The Hornet 33 Special edition:

AAUP to open case against Emporia State after dismissal of 33 faculty members

Sam Bailey Staff Writer

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) plans to take legal action against Emporia State after receiving nine official complaints following the dismissal of 33 faculty members last Friday, according to an AAUP spokesperson.

“What’s happening at Emporia State University in Kansas is incredibly important,” said Irene Mulvey, AAUP president, in a statement. “By getting rid of tenure, they’ve gutted academic freedom. This is part of a larger attack on education, which is part of the attack on democracy we are witnessing in this country.”

AAUP is a nonprofit association for academic professions that “advocate(s) for faculty, in terms of advancing academic freedom and shared governance,” according to Michael DeCesare, senior program officer in the AAUP department of academic freedom, tenure and governance.

On Sept. 14 the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) approved the Workforce Management Framework that allowed ESU to dis-

miss faculty members regardless of their tenured status.

“Without the protections of tenure, faculty members can

simply be dismissed because of administrative whim, because an administrator or board member or a politician doesn’t like some-

thing they say in class or doesn’t like some topics that they decided to conduct research on,’’ DeCesare said. “When that can hap -

pen, then that degrades the whole purpose of higher education.”

‘Cleaning up a mess that was made years ago:’ Leadership team responds to questions about framework, ESU’s future

ard Pitler, associate professor of school leadership and middle and secondary education. “Who’s going to represent my department in the conversation?”

Keough responded by saying, “I don’t know...and I just chuckle because that’s a lot better than you seeing tears.”

Cameron Burnett Staff Writer

the day after the Framework was approved, ESU dismissed 33 faculty.

Maddie Carr Staff Writer

As part of the next step of the Workforce Management Framework, the university will be identifying programs that will be affected by the framework and notifying department chairs and faculty in the programs, according to Emporia State Faculty Senate President Shawn Keough, who said he got his information from ESU President Ken Hush. Keough did not say what the impacts in regard to programs would be.

“(Hush) did not give a date when that information is going to be disseminated,” Keough said. “...But he did indicate that it would be soon.”

The Workforce Management Framework is a framework approved by the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) on Sept. 14. It

Editor’s Note:

allowed ESU to dismiss 33 faculty and staff members, including tenured faculty, from their positions. The framework comes after KBOR approved a policy allowing state universities to suspend, dismiss, or terminate faculty members due to the financial effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and low enrollment.

Keough noted that Hush was “clear” that no one knows exactly what is going to happen next regarding the framework.

Currently, department chairs are unaware of which programs in their departments will be impacted, but that they “will be part of the conversation,” according to Keough. One senator expressed concern about the matter and how information about program impacts will be communicated in his department.

“My department chair is no longer (here),” said Senator How-

According to one faculty senate member, during a private conversation Interim Provost Brent Thomas, dean for the college of Liberal Arts and Sciences, who was not in attendance at Keough’s request, commented when asked about the framework timeline that current ESU students and faculty will be notified this week if their programs are going to be suspended.

Senators raised concerns on what to tell prospective students whose intended programs may no longer be available when they apply, and how to advise current students given the lack of information. Keough reiterated that current students will still be able to complete their degrees at ESU even if their program is one of those affected and urged faculty senators to communicate that information to students in order to limit any confusion.

Mallory Koci, director of ethnic and gender studies, asked how students who may want to phase out of their programs can get help from their professional advisers when many advisers are new and may not yet be trained.

“I do have some grave concerns on where our students can

SEE SENATE PAGE 3

A smaller portion of the Emporia State leadership team and Gwen Larson, director of media relations, met with The Bulletin Wednesday morning to discuss the recent events following 33 faculty and staff dismissals last Thursday.

The team included:

Nyk Robertson, senior director of diversity, equity and inclusion

Joann Brewer, interim provost and dean of the Teacher’s College

Brent Thomas, dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Gary Wyatt, associate provost and dean of the Honors College

Jerald Spotswood, dean of the Graduate School

The leadership team, a group of about 30 individuals formed by President Ken Hush, consists of students, faculty, administrators and community members who advise Hush in decisions, as described by Shelly Gehrke, vice president for enrollment management and student success.

A portion of the team met with The Bulletin on Wednesday and discussed how they analyzed data on enrollment trends and programs, in order to make decisions based on the framework, according to Robertson.

The Framework, also known as the Workforce Management Framework, is a justification to dismiss employees recently approved by the Kansas Board of Regents by Emporia State University on Sept. 14. On Sept. 15,

• Sarah Spicer advises The Bulletin on stories about Emporia State’s framework to dismiss employees.

• All articles and photos in this edition (except pages 6 and 7) are under Campus Commons. We follow the Creative Commons guidelines: Our stories that are designated as Campus Commons may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.

This Q&A was edited for clarity and length.

Last week the university dismissed 33 faculty and staff. What is the plan going forward?

Larson: That is something that I am hopeful you are going to see very soon, perhaps even this week. What we won’t be able to do for the next phase is put out one communication that says, “This is everything that’s happening.” There are plans to roll out by department programs and it will show how resources will be realigned within that particular department or program. I think that once we have one of those out the door, the entire process might make a little more sense to people.

Will there be more dismissals?

Wyatt: No. That’s a really good question and from everything I understand, that phase is over.

How much money exactly is ESU saving by dismissing these employees?

Brewer: I think part of what you need to understand with this is a much larger picture. This isn’t a budget cut, although it appears that way right now, and I understand that. It’s really about a strategic realignment for Emporia State University.

‘I do have some grave concerns:’ Faculty senate poses questions for next phase of Workforce Management

Sherman Smith | Kansas Reflector

An ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ sign hangs outside the president’s office in Plumb Hall.

Juan Chavarria, an assistant professor of accounting, information systems and finance at Emporia State University, says campus leadership should provide a roadmap in the wake of faculty layoffs.

Emporia State dismisses 33 faculty

know that you’re gonna be terminated,” said Michael Morales, professor of physical sciences, who was dismissed Thursday.

At the Earl Center, employees were read a statement explaining the dismissal and given a packet with their letter of termination, mental health resources and unemployment insurance resources, Morales said.

their justification to do so Sept.

ESU President Ken Hush announced plans to submit the justification to dismiss faculty members to KBOR in a campus-wide email on September 7. KBOR is allowing public universities to create such a justification in an effort they say will help university’s finances in the face of declining enrollments and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emporia State began dismissing employees Sept. 15 after the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) unanimously approved

14. Impacted employees were asked to go to the Earl Center for a mandatory meeting where they were told of their dismissal.

“Once you know you’ve been invited to the Earl Center, you

Student protests continue amid mass faculty dismissals

Students at Emporia State rallied to show their support Friday for the 33 faculty and staff that were dismissed after the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) gave the green light.

KBOR is allowing public universities to create justification to terminate faculty and staff, in an effort they say will help university’s finances in the face of declining enrollments and the COVID-19 pandemic. ESU President Ken Hush announced plans to submit the justification to dismiss faculty members to KBOR in a campus-wide email on September 7. KBOR unanimously approved ESU’s justification, the Workforce Management Framework, Sept. 14.

Emporia State is the only Kansas university to submit a justification.

“We understand that there is a budget that must be maintained,” said Deb Vasquez, junior art major. “But we also believe in communication and transparency and not planning this a whole year in advance without letting faculty or students know.”

On Sept. 15, the day after the justification was approved, ESU began notifying faculty and staff of their terminations. On Friday, students held a peaceful sit-in on the floor directly below Hush’s office in Plumb Hall. They held handmade signs in near silence throughout most of the day.

Douglas Allen, an assistant professor of social sciences, sociology and criminology and one of the terminated faculty, said he

drove from his home in Topeka to “support the students supporting us.” He and his 2.5-year-old daughter Ellie sat with protesters.

“Taking away these majors isn’t just taking away somebody’s future position, it’s taking people away who are interested in this campus, people who love this school,” said Eve Treat, freshman secondary education major.

“Taking away anything is a detriment to us.”

Around 4 p.m., the protest moved outside Plumb Hall as students waited for Hush to leave his office. Hush instead exited a side door and was driven off campus in a police car, according to a Bulletin reporter who was on the scene.

Later that evening, a local indie punk band formed by ESU students called “Apartment 2b” played a concert in support of faculty in Union Square.

“The teachers that I had shaped me into who I am,” said Zulema Renteria, a 2020 graduate. “I cared so much about the teachers at this school, and to know that the school doesn’t care about the heart of the university, why should I care (about the university)?”

Several attendees voiced their support for ESU faculty.

“The staff are the reason I’m here,” said Derek Jesse, freshman music education major. “I could have gone anywhere else, but I chose to come here because of how all the music faculty remembered me by name after one visit and that they were excited to see me, they were excited to work with me.”

Note: This was originally published online Sept. 17.

The “vast majority” of impacted employees will stay with ESU through May 2023, Hush said in an email to campus Wednesday. They will also have the oppor-

tunity to receive three months severance pay and have access to outplacement services, according to the email.

Hush did not clarify what will happen to the employees that are not in the “vast majority.”

All staff who were terminated have been notified, according to director of media relations Gwen Larson, who said that 33 faculty and staff have been dismissed.

The Bulletin has independently confirmed the departments of 30 dismissed faculty. Larson could not confirm the departments of the other three.

Here is the list of affected departments and how many confirmed faculty from that department have been dismissed:

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences - Total: 23

Art - 2*

Biological sciences - 2*

Communication & theater - 2*

English, modern languages and journalism - 5*

Mathematics and Economics -

1 Music - 3 Physical sciences - 3*

Social sciences, sociology and criminology - 5*

Teachers College - Total: 2

Counselor education - 1

Business College - Total: 5

Accounting, information systems, and finance - 2

Business Administration - 3

*These numbers have been confirmed by department chairs.

If you or your professor receive an email letting you know that you are impacted by the new policy approved by KBOR Sept. 14, please reach out to The Bulletin.

Note: This was originally published online Sept 15.

Sociology professors organize candlelight vigil to honor dismissed faculty and staff

Over 100 students, faculty and community members gathered at Emporia State’s Sunken Garden Monday night for a candlelight vigil in support of the 33 faculty and staff who were dismissed last week.

The vigil was planned by members of the sociology department. Five of the faculty and staff who were dismissed have been identified as from social sciences, sociology and criminology.

“I am really, really privileged to work with many amazing staff members,” said Michael Smith, chair of social sciences, sociology and criminology. “Many of them came together in a long series of text messages this weekend to plan this event to honor the 33 folks who were laid off last Thursday, in a decision that shocked all of us.”

The sentiment of the group was unified; people want transparency from ESU’s administration as to why so many faculty and staff were let go.

“We all understand the gravity of the situation,” said Antonina Bauman, associate professor of business administration. “We understand why cuts are necessary. We don’t understand why it was done the way it was done.”

Loren Pennington, professor

emeritus who has been associated with ESU for 62 years, is disappointed in the cuts to the history and English departments. Pennington thinks that without strong history and English departments, ESU is nothing more than a junior college.

“(Students) are the ones who are getting cheated,” Pennington said. “I mean that. You know why you are getting cheated? Because they are making this university so it’s not a university.”

Students also voiced their frustration with losing their professors and the programs for which those professors were an integral part.

“Michael Morales’ program, the paleontology stuff, is one of the big reasons I came to school here,” said Anna Edmonds, senior earth science major. “I’m never going to get the chance to take a single paleontology class with him.”

Michael Morales, associate professor of physical sciences, was one of the faculty and staff who were dismissed. Morales has worked at ESU for 26 years, and during this time he started the paleontology program which could be one of the programs that is cut.

Participants also voiced their distaste with University President Ken Hush, comparing him to the past presidents of ESU.

“This place had a president one time, Visser,” said Bill Hartman, who worked at ESU for 50 years. “If you walked past Visser and he didn’t say ‘hi’ to you, he owed you a dollar. He damn sure didn’t put a fence up in Plumb Hall. That’s got to go!”

Despite the generally negative comments, a fragment of hope was offered by some of the participants.

“Please remember that we (the faculty) are here to talk to,” said Deborah Hann, associate professor of social sciences, sociology and criminology. “We want to communicate with you. We will share information that we have; it’s what we are here for. Please don’t let anyone divide that vital piece of this university.”

Community members also offered hope to the group.

“You (students) have tremendous power,” said Susan Fowler, law librarian and ESU alumna. “You have more of a voice than anyone else on this campus. For the love of god, use it!”

“It’s not over,” Edmonds said. “If you just let them push you down without fighting back or having any sort of hope, they are just going to keep doing it, it will snowball.”

Note: This was originally published online Sept. 20.

A representative from administration spoke to Emporia State’s student government during their meeting on Sept. 15 to answer questions about ESU’s Workforce Management framework, which resulted in the Sept. 15 dismissal of 33 faculty members.

“In the end, this decision is final. We have no one else to go to, the president and KBOR have approved this,” said Abe Lemus, Associated Student Government (ASG) diversity and inclusion chair and senior political science major.

Steven Lovett, associate professor of business administration and ESU’s secondary general counsel, said that ESU was not discontinuing programs, but in-

stead conducting a “review and evaluation of everything.” Lovett also said the dismissals were “not a budget cutting exercise,” and that everything being done at ESU is “with the aim and the goal of getting better.”

Lovett’s presentation left some senator’s confused about what the goal of the dismissals was, if not to deal with budget cuts.

“(Lovett) mentioned that the goal isn’t budget cuts; it’s just a step into a further angle. But, I don’t think…they’ve said what that angle is,” said senator Dallas Nowlin, junior interdisciplinary studies and ethnic, gender, and identity studies major. “It sounds, to me, (that) the goal is to reduce future budget cuts; so the goal is budget cuts, basically.”

The majority of faculty who were dismissed can remain at

ESU through the end of May with full benefits and may also qualify for three months severance pay, unless they are terminated before then, Lovett said.

Senators asked what would occur if professors left before May, and what the university’s plan was to deal with the affected classes and programs without overwhelming other professors.

“Those will all be on a case-bycase basis given what scenario or situation presents itself,” said Shelly Gehrke, vice president for enrollment management and student success and ASG adviser.

2% of students are expected to be affected by the framework, according to an email sent out by President Ken Hush earlier this week. Lovett said students can expect to complete their degrees, even if their program was im-

pacted by the dismissals.

“I don’t think that the only way this is affecting students is in the programs…As we heard here before, if some of the faculty leaves, it’s affecting the students, in the moment, right now,” said senator Camila Viorel Escobar, sophomore crime and delinquency studies major and Spanish translator for The Bulletin. “I don’t believe that 2% is the actual number of students affected right now.”

Several senators called for more transparency from the administration about the dismissals.

“Transparency is necessary,” said senator Sandy Nguyen, junior secondary education and business major. “Do not be contradictory.”

Lemus urged that more people

in the campus and community be involved in this decision making.

“We must stop the ‘students, students, students,’ mantra sponsored by the administration,” Lemus said. “We must accept an inclusive community that includes every single one of our stakeholders, such as students, faculty, staff and alumni.”

Senator Adia Witherspoon, ASG legislative director and senior earth science major, said the framework did not match the core values of excellence, respect, responsibility and service that ESU lists on its website.

“(The framework) lacks integrity,” Witherspoon added. “It lacks collaboration, and it lacks regard for the personal wellbeing of our students and our faculty.”

Note: This was originally published online Sept. 15.

“We must stop the ‘students, students, students’ mantra:” Students raise concerns over faculty dismissals

Sam Bailey, Cameron Burnett, Noah Eppens

Staff Writers

Scott Romeiser, Noah Eppens Staff Writers

Maddie Carr Staff Writer

Scott Romeiser Staff Writer

A“You are not alone” sign sits in from of Plumb Hall.

Sam Bailey | The Bulletin

HORNET LIFE

Emporia city commissioner calls for transparency and accountability from ESU president

commission meeting. Brinkman clarified in an interview that $350,000 had been from the city of Emporia and $600,000 had been from Lyon County.

Brinkman called for transparency and accountability if the community and the university are to “work together for the good of the whole.”

Brinkman made the statement because the commission has remained “largely silent” and as a commissioner she is a steward of taxpayer’s money.

Brinkman served as assistant director of the Center for Great Plains Studies at ESU until her position was eliminated and the center was closed in 2021 because of COVID-19, according to Brinkman.

with the sources that were used in making these decisions.

City Commissioner Susan Brinkman says Emporia State President Ken Hush should release the Workforce Management Framework that led to recent faculty dismissals and the full realignment program details — and provide the community

For a number of years now ESU has been functioning on what’s considered “deficit spending.” We’re at a point where we had to make some decisions that probably should’ve been made a few years ago, and we’re in a situation now.

Moving forward, yes, there will be savings apart of this but a lot of the hope is that we reinvest in Emporia State University’s future to be sustainable at the end of this for our faculty, our staff, our students and our alumni… The last thing that we want to see is Emporia State University just go away.

This was not an easy process for us and it was challenging and it is heartbreaking. But sustainability of ESU was at the forefront of our minds.

Wyatt: I’ve been here 34 years.

“President Hush, you have taken our money and left us in the dark,” Brinkman said in a personal statement at the end of Wednesday’s commission meeting.

ESU dismissed 33 faculty and staff last week after the Kansas

I’ve been immersed in higher education institutions all my life and one of the real concerns I have in my professional life here is the difficulty that administration has, usually…presidents, in making difficult decisions.

Sometimes one of the choices between being right and being liked was too easy to choose being liked. I’m speculating here, but much of this was three or four years ago (and) some serious decisions should have been made. Nobody made those decisions. They should have been.

One of the lessons I get out of this is you never do anybody a favor by not addressing today’s problems today, by hoping they’ll go away, or leaving them for somebody else. Some of this is cleaning up the mess that was made years ago.

Dean Thomas, would you consider this a budget cut?

Thomas: Not like what we’ve done in the past. Yeah, we are cutting on the front end but that money now gets reinvested. In

didn’t quite expect it that way, because I have (masters) students that have not graduated yet. I am directing theses. What is going to happen to those students?”

Board of Regents (KBOR) approved its Workforce Management Framework. University administration says more changes are coming. Emporia’s taxpayers have contributed $950,000 this fiscal year to ESU “in good faith, in partnership and in collaboration,” Brinkman said during Wednesday’s

all the cases in the past, all the budget cuts I’ve ever been a part of before, we eliminate those budget items…and the money’s gone. There’s nothing reinvested and we’re stuck. That’s the distinction.

The professors that just got laid off were given a warning that they could be fired sooner than May 16 and their severance taken away. Is talking to the media on the list of things that could get them terminated early?

Larson: No. Everybody on this campus has rights to free expression. Whether it’s faculty, students, staff like me. And we stand strongly for these rights. If faculty are talking to the media, that’s their privilege and they can do so.

Twenty-three out of the 33 dismissed faculty were from Liberal Arts and Sciences. What’s the plan for those going forward?

Thomas: There will be significant reinvestments in the college

Brinkman said she is concerned the community is only getting “small tidbits” of information over several weeks, but they don’t get to know what the plan is.

“Emporia State is making transformative changes to ensure we are a vibrant part of this community for years to come,” said Gwen Larson, director of media relations. “We understand that there is frustration that we have

of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and unfortunately, it’s not something that I can share, right today, as much as I would like to.

In the email that announced the framework, it said that the framework was prioritizing students. Based on the feedback from students, they disagree. Can you explain how this policy prioritizes students?

Thomas: The best way to explain that is when we can begin sharing with you the reinvestments and how that’s going to improve the quality of those programs, then I think everybody will be able to judge for themselves if that’s truly gonna improve the quality for our students in those programs.

Would it have been possible to announce the framework a week before it had been announced?

Spotswood: Previous budget cuts have been very much college by college…That’s not a strategic process. It doesn’t get out the programs that are performing

not been able to share all the details at one time, but additional information will be forthcoming as we can share that.”

Dan Colson, associate professor of English, modern languages and journalism and one of the faculty who was dismissed, said he appreciates Brinkman’s statement. What is happening at ESU has a direct impact on the community, Colson said.

Colson said the statement will probably not make any impact.

“I think that President Hush seems to have insolated himself from most negative feedback,” Colson said.

Colson senses Hush will probably see Brinkman’s statement as “a little bit of bad PR” as he “weathers the storm.” Colson said he has also been trying personally to get a meeting with Hush and has received no response.

“I think that Commissioner Brinkman’s specific call for release of the documents should just serve as a reminder that even those in the ESU community don’t have those yet,” Colson said. “So I certainly echo her calls for greater transparency.”

poorly. We all sat down together and said, we’ve got to come to some resolution. We eliminated, if you will, the bickering and the backand-forth (and) the turf wars to do this strategically…Would any of us wished for more faculty involvement? I think, yes. Would we have wished for more time? I think, yes.

But for the position of where we’re at, what needed to be done had to happen in the way that it happened. I don’t think any of us are happy about the way things went. That’s not to say we’re not happy about where we see ourselves in the future, but those are different things. This is a time of grief and mourning for many of us. We’ve all been faculty members; we all still teach.

Wyatt: This was horrible. Nobody enjoyed this. I think for most people, we would say, last Thursday was, and we weren’t the ones who were being dismissed, the worst day of my professional career.

The framework was developed from a KBOR policy offered to all six public Kansas universities. In January 2021, AAUP sent a letter to its Kansas branch disapproving of the policy.

ESU is the only Kansas university to follow through with a framework. On Sept. 15, the day after KBOR approved the framework, ESU dismissed 33 faculty members.

At 8:15 on Sept. 15, an unidentified university employee called Christopher Lovett, professor of social sciences, sociology and criminology who has been tenured for 20 years, and asked him to go to the Earl Center. Lovett said he didn’t know where the Earl Center was and asked why he should report there, but the caller refused to elaborate.

Lovett drove nearly an hour from his home in Topeka to the meeting where he correctly suspected that he would receive a notice of dismissal.

“I was extremely angry,” Lovett said. “I can’t tell you how upset I was. I saw my whole career just flash in front of me. I

Since the framework was approved by KBOR, AAUP received “at least nine” faculty complaints, according to Kelly Benjamin with AAUP Media and Communications. Now, Benjamin says “with a great deal of certainty” AAUP will open a legal case against ESU.

Gwen Larson, director of media relations, told The Bulletin via email that the university “does not comment on potential or pending litigation.”

ESU president Ken Hush, announced plans for the Framework and cited the need to “realign resources” and “address the university’s structural deficit” that was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic in a campus-wide email on Sept. 7.

DeCesare said that he and AAUP have seen no evidence to support the claimed need for the Framework. Lovett agreed.

“No one really deserved the way this was done,” Lovett said.

“I still would like to see the financial crisis. Show me, then. Open the books and show me what is actually going on.”

get access to help and knowledge because the email (from the office of the president) makes it seem like the professional advisers would have those answers, but the reality is that I’m not sure that they do,” Koci said. “Not because they don’t care and don’t want to help, they just don’t know enough to be able to serve that role. So, then, who is supposed to

help those students?”

Keough responded by stating that Shelly Gehrke, vice president for enrollment management and student success, said new advisers will be “hardcore trained,” unlike those in the past.

Keough also asked senators to refrain from using “termination” to describe the mass dismissal of 33 faculty members, adding that termination insinuated that dismissed faculty had done something wrong. Keough said he didn’t want “that kind of stigma”

to be attached to any ESU faculty members.

Keough later asked faculty senators to talk to their constituents so they can make informed votes that reflect the thoughts of those they represent.

“Please make sure that we are representing the people that we are supposed to be representing the way they want us to represent them, not particularly the way you personally feel about something,” Keough said.

Emporia State’s official seal hangs near the first floor entrace of Plumb Hall.

Faculty Senators listen to Faculty Senate president, Shawn Keough, speak on Workforce Management on Sept. 20.

Sam Bailey | The Bulletin

Sherman Smith | Kansas Reflector

Noah Eppens

Editor-in-Chief

Leadership continued from page 1

Senate continued from page 1

AAUP continued from page 1

Students rally to support faculty

Students gathered outside of Plumb Hall Sept. 14 to protest a policy that would allow Emporia State to fire tenured faculty.

Alyssa Gharmalker, junior history major, protests Friday on the first floor of Plumb Hall. Students organized a silent sit-in below the president's office to show their support for the 33 faculty who were dismissed at Emporia State.

A handmade sign reading 'students, students, students; LIES, LIES, LIES' sits in Plumb Hall during a student protest Friday. University President Ken Hush said Emporia State's singular focus is "students, students, students" in an email announcing the Workforce Management Framework which allowed the university to dismiss 33 faculty and staff.

Top: Sophia Dawson, junior business administration major, plans an Associated Student Government event with a sign on her laptop that reads "We aren't your excuse" during the silent protest Friday in Plumb Hall. Right: Baylee Hudson, theater major, sits with a "The door does not look open to me!" sign Friday as they sit below the president's office that put up a new chain restricting access.

Photos by sam bailey | The Bulletin

Letters to the Editor

Emporia State alumnus Jack

J. Hutchens wrote the following open letter to his former high school encouraging students not to attend ESU until policies have been reversed:

Dear Students of Mission Valley High School,

My name is Jack Hutchens; I am an alum of MVHS, class of 1992. I am also an alum of Emporia State University, where I received both my BA and MA. As proud as I was to be a Viking, I was equally proud to be a Hornet. I received a top-notch education from ESU, and until a few days ago I would have urged everyone

of you to consider attending college there. Unfortunately, thanks to the rash choices recently made by the current ESU president and the Kansas Board of Regents, that has all changed.

President Hush has enacted a nuclear-option policy at ESU with the blessing of the KBOR that will have terrible consequences for the quality of education you will be able to receive there. I won’t spend the time here to go into details; they are readily available on the Kansas Reflector’s website, as well as other news sources like the ESU Bulletin, The Emporia Gazette, and

Topeka Capitol Journal. I encourage you to read up on it.

As you may know, Emporia State University is best known for the superior quality of its College of Education, producing some of our nation’s best teachers for more than a century. The decisions Hush and the KBOR have made will make that mission an impossibility. Now, if you want to become a teacher in Business, you might not have the possibility to study business from quality professors who could be summarily fired. If you want to become a teacher in English Arts, you very likely won’t

Dear Editor: We write to express deep concern and disappointment in the recently enacted Framework for Workforce Management plan at Emporia State University. As alumni of the ESU economics program, we are analysts, teachers, economists, engineers, and bankers in communities across the world. In addition to our shared study of economics, many of us take great pride in other areas of study we pursued at ESU: history, math, English, communication, and others. Who we are today was shaped by the lessons we learned not just in the economics classroom but in classrooms of many disciplines.

Thus, we were already disheartened by the potential loss of even one faculty member or academic discipline. Our disheartenment grew when we received news that our beloved professor of economics, Rob Catlett, was among the faculty who would be terminated in May. ‘Beloved’ is not a term used carelessly. One would be hard-pressed to find a former student who could not say the following: Rob Catlett changed my life for the better. His gift and passion for education is clear; most recently, he was selected as the prestigious 2021 Roe R.

(Dear editor)

I took ESU’s dismissal of 33 staff members personally.

Especially because 5 of my former professors in the EMLJ department were of that 33. I won’t lie and say I’m not biased, because I am. Plumb Hall is where I spent two years of my undergrad and five semesters of my grad career. I got to know a lot of those professors and was very much a part of the writing community within that sphere.

I distinctly remember the EMLJ department having yearly chili cooking contests and thought that was the most wholesome thing I had seen on campus. Not to mention, when a former alumni passed away back in 2018, everyone that was associated in the creative writing program, graduate program or had any English classes with them felt heavy loss. So, I think it’s utter bullshit that Emporia State thought that was the solu-

tion to “decreased” enrollment.

Not the ever rising costs of general living or the fact anyone with degrees can’t get paid no more than 14 an hour in the state of Kansas, but the 2% decrease in enrollment and tuition being too damn high.

I’m not blind to the fact that when the budget becomes too large to operate, things need to change.

I understand it completely; but those cuts couldn’t have been made else where? Instead of completely uprooting 33 faculties lives in, what they thought, were long term positions? Then to make matters even worse, for the university to give out mental health packets like they KNEW what they did was wrong. Emporia State University Should Be Ashamed. President Ken Hush should be embarrassed by this grotesque decision.

Part of what makes ESU an incredible school is its

faculty. They are not there to just teach a lesson to a room full of students and go home thinking they’ve made a difference. They take time to actually get to know a majority of their students, learn about their lives, actually care about what is going on in the student’s life and in turn share about themselves. This quality makes them extremely human, and it absolutely destroys me knowing this is how low the university is willing to go to treat a person. It makes me incredibly embarrassed to say I’m an alumni. So for those who are current students, my advice is to keep doing sit ins, protest and maybe even do as I am doing; write a letter expressing your feelings. For the professors that remain; I feel your pain and stress, just remember to keep going because the students need you still, but remember to allow yourself to not be okay.

Courtney Evans

have that as a choice at ESU as the English department is being greatly diminished; indeed, the Journalism program has been all but axed. The same is happening in History, Social Sciences, Fine Arts, and other programs across the campus. Every part of the university is up for cuts, except of course the administration.

With all of this in mind, I am encouraging you—with a heavy heart—to not consider attending ESU until the cuts have been reversed and president Hush has been removed from his position. Other similarly sized state universities like Fort Hays State and

Cross Distinguished Professor. Rob Catlett categorically represents the core values and mission of ESU. The termination of his position will undoubtedly have a negative effect on the future of the university and its students. We are economists by training. We understand, perhaps better than most, the difficulties the university is facing due to evolving economic pressures. Yet, we are also adaptive leaders–a trait enshrined in the very mission statement of the university and taught to us by Professor Catlett and countless other faculty being let go. This framework is neither adaptive nor indicative of strong leadership. Leadership is an activity, not a position. Anyone can lead anytime and anywhere. Leadership starts with us. It starts with a letter like this–students and alumni coming together to voice the values ESU once upheld. But it doesn’t end with just us. It ends with all of us coming together for the common good, taking care of one another in such uncertain times, and being brave enough to explore the many ways we can achieve an equilibrium rather than reach for a quick solution that dismantles decades of work and precedent. We as students and alumni commit

Dear editor, Thank you for your attentive coverage about campus firings in the wake of the KBOR decision. I have noticed that there is an obvious political bias at play regarding which programs ESU has chosen to downsize. The majority of layoffs are in the arts, social sciences, and communications. These disciplines are historically associated with more progressive politics and criticism of power and authority. For example, my World Geography teacher was dismissed, and his class emphasizes the exploitative relationship between the imperial core and the global south in the context of a worldwide capitalist economy. Although his class is revelatory and important, it doesn’t fit the dominant worldview here in a deep red state. ESU shows its hand as well in the departments it hasn’t chosen to eviscerate.

The Business College, long rumored to be influenced by Koch donations, is nearly unscathed. As a former business major, I can personally attest that the business curriculum here at ESU has a consevative bent so

Pittsburgh remain fine institutions, which have not taken the same course of action as ESU even though they have faced similar budget issues. Only by refusing to play by the KBOR’s rules can Emporia State University have a future as a place of quality higher education. I wish you the best of luck in your future academic careers, and sincerely hope that Emporia State will once again live up to its past position as a model university.

Sincerely yours, Jack J. Hutchens, PhD Loyola University Chicago

ourselves to doing this challenging work. ESU deserves to have an administration who will do the same.

Sincerely,

Erynn (Dahlke) Kuehl, B.S. 2019, M.S. 2022

Jonathan Norris, B.S. 2020, M.S. 2021

Miranda Veesart, B.S. 2021

Madison Harder B.S. 2021

April Seematter, B.S. 2019, M.S. 2024

Emma Persinger, B.S. 2020, M.S. 2024

Hunter Friend, B.S. 2018, M.S. 2021

Russell Middendorf, B.S. 2021

Nathan Kessler, B.S. 2019, M.S. 2021

Peter Stuchlik, B.S. 2019

Moaz Al Nouri, B.S. 2017

Grant Shell, B.S. 2019, M.S. 2021

Leah Grote, B.S. 2019, M.L.S 2022

Elijah Williams, B.S. 2018, M.A. 2020

Laura Baron-Reyes, B.S. 2020, M.S. 2022

Brexton Madeira, B.S. 2019, M.S. 2024

Anthony Gagliano, B.S. 2019

Dakota Weaver, B.S. 2018

Holly Dossett, B.S. 2021

Patrick Bender, B.S. 2020, G.C. 2021

severe that I have strong moral objections to some of its teachings.

In short, liberal-leaning departments unfairly bear the brunt of these cuts. It is no coincidence that students are being deprived of professors who teach them to understand and criticize unequal systems of power. Instead of well-rounded, thoughtful adults who have an appreciation for the arts, the leadership at ESU would rather its graduates be obedient worker drones who never threaten the status quo because they lack the critical thinking skills to do so.

The KBOR decision was made based on money, but its political implications are also favorable to the owner class. We should all be skeptical about the intentions behind such a decision. Who really benefits from this change? Certainly not our fellow students

Sincerely,

Rachel Gray

Sam Bailey | The Bulle tin

The Together Forward flag hangs outside Plumb Hall.

Emporia State University faculty leaders wait for answers after rapid firing of tenured professors

Editor’s note: Sherman Smith is a 2004 graduate of Emporia State University with a degree in English and a minor in journalism. He took classes from English professor Mel Storm.

EMPORIA — Faculty leaders at Emporia State University are alarmed by their administration’s lack of clear direction following the sudden layoffs of 33 professors last week.

Professors have unanswered questions about which programs will exist beyond the current school year, and what to tell current and prospective students.

“Please wait for more information,” faculty senate president Shawn Keough told colleagues at a meeting Tuesday. “That’s what’s being pushed down at this point.”

The Kansas Board of Regents granted permission to ESU president Ken Hush to rapidly fire nearly three dozen professors, including some with tenure, and staff members in a cost-saving move permitted by a temporary COVID-19 policy that expires at the end of December. No other state university has taken the controversial option.

Most faculty members were allowed to remain through the end of the school year in May. Others were immediately dismissed.

Students responded with protests and a candlelight vigil. Hush’s office is now guarded by a chain, and the student newspaper, the ESU Bulletin, photographed him being driven off campus by police. Some faculty members were weighing legal assistance from the American Association of University Professors and rushing to secure intellectual property from university servers.

The author Joyce Carol Oates questioned the university’s actions through her Twitter account.

“If a university abolishes tenure, how can it expect to hire instructors who could get tenuretrack jobs elsewhere?” Oates wrote. “In both the short & the long run, this is self-sabotage to a university.”

Some of the faculty senate members at Tuesday’s meeting were among those who were laid off, and remained silent. Others had questions that Keough, the senate president and a business administration professor, couldn’t answer.

Howard Pitler, an associate professor of school leadership, said his department chair had been told to clear out his desk when he was laid off. Pitler wondered about the future of the department. Keough stifled a nervous laugh.

“I just chuckled because that’s a lot better than you seeing tears streaming down my face,” Keough said.

Juan Chavarria, an assistant professor of accounting, information systems and finance, said his experience in the corporate world was that layoffs were immediately followed by a talk from leadership about what the organization’s roadmap will be.

“Why can’t we get that roadmap?” Chavarria asked during the faculty senate meeting.

The lack of certainty creates an unhealthy environment, he added.

“It’s not healthy for anybody — not for those who are leaving, not for those who are staying,” Chavarria said.

Mallory Koci, director of the Ethnic and Gender Studies program and the only faculty

member in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, raised concerns about the university’s big “Black and Gold” recruitment event for prospective students, which takes place on campus Saturday.

Campus leadership needs to release information about the university’s plans so that “we are not unduly recruiting students or making promises for programs that will no longer exist,” Koci said.

In an interview, Koci said she wants alumni and community members to know that “despite the turmoil, there are people who are committed to this institution.”

“We can be both critical of the changes in how they’re happening, but also be hopeful that there is a path forward where we can be successful and work collaboratively,” Koci said. “Even though I’ve gone through a whole range

of emotions this past week, I am hopeful that there is a future that we can create and live into if we care enough.”

Mel Storm, an English professor who started teaching at the university in 1971, was among those who were laid off last week.

Storm said he was targeted because he teaches literature. The English department is gone, he said.

“I don’t think individual merit was looked at, or individual dignity, personal concerns,” Storm said. “Obviously at my age, I’d be retiring one of these days. My plan was to teach as long as my health allowed, because I really enjoy what I do.”

One by one, Storm and the others were called into a “mandatory meeting” at a deserted off-campus building. They were told to come alone and arrive no more than five minutes early, Storm said. A woman let him

in the door, and two individuals were present for the meeting: An HR person and an administrator who read a statement about the university’s plans to save money by firing employees.

In the past week, former students have sent emails to the professor to let him know his teaching meant a lot. The remembrances go back to the early 1980s.

“I do seem to have given some direction to a few lives along the way,” Storm said.

“It’s certainly gratifying,” he added. “I suppose in some respects, it makes it harder because I think I’m still affecting people’s lives, and will be until the 16th of May.”

Two days later, he will turn 80.

“I did hope to leave on my own terms when the time came,” Storm said. “It’s kind of a personal affront.”

Professors frustrated by Emporia State University plans to eliminate tenured faculty and programs

TOPEKA — Emporia State University’s proposal for dealing with financial strains identifies reasons the school will use to get rid of tenured professors, including market considerations, enrollment, revenue and employee conduct.

Faculty members say they are concerned by the lack of communication they have received from administration about its plans, and the short notice they were given to respond before the university seeks approval from the Kansas Board of Regents next week.

Some faculty members, including English professor Rachelle Smith, wondered if their jobs or departments will still exist in another year.

“It’s so frustrating,” Smith said. “There’s no communication. Faculty retreating like adversaries. And who loses? The students.”

The university announced Wednesday it was seeking Board of Regents approval for plans to overhaul the campus workforce, but it wouldn’t provide details of those plans. The Board of Regents is scheduled to review the proposal Sept. 14.

Shawn Keough, an associate professor of business administration and the Faculty Senate president, distributed a draft of the university’s plans to faculty members via email Wednesday night.

Keough, who didn’t immediately respond to an interview request for this story, told colleagues in his email that the president had met with him and Kim Simons, an associate professor of physical sciences, shortly before the public announcement. However, Keough said, the public announcement was “misleading” because the university hasn’t actually submitted the plan to regents yet. Hush gave faculty members a 10 a.m. Monday deadline to provide feedback, Keough said.

Keough asked faculty members to review the draft and prepare for an emergency meeting on Friday.

“I know that reviewing the draft will raise a lot of questions,” Keough wrote in the email. “However, be aware that after you have read the draft, your level of information will be the same as Kim Simons and I.”

Under a temporary policy authorized by the Board of Regents, state universities can seek to eliminate tenured staff as a way of responding to “extreme financial pressures.” No other university has taken this step.

The draft of ESU’s “framework for workforce management” says university finances require reorganization or elimination of unspecified programs and curriculum.

Under the draft proposal, the university may eliminate any employee based on factors that include, but are not limited to: low

enrollment, cost of operations, reduction in revenues for specific departments or schools, current or future market considerations, restructuring “as determined to be necessary by the university,” realignment of resources, performance evaluations, teaching and research productivity, low service productivity, and conduct of the employee.

“It’s simply a long list of reasons we can terminate anyone and everyone, including tenured faculty,” said Dan Colson, an associate professor of English who represents the department in the Faculty Senate. “When we are not really told what’s coming in advance, it’s hard not to view that as an aggressive action toward faculty.”

The draft also outlines the way employees will be notified of their dismissal and an appeals process.

Kelly Heine, chief marketing officer for ESU, said the university has been “analyzing everything from one end of campus to the other since early this year,” and began working on the “framework” for eliminating staff and programs in June.

The university established a campus-wide leadership team with “expanded academic representation” to guide those efforts, Heine said.

“We have been talking about change on campus since late last year, always keeping students, students, students and their needs at the forefront,” Heine said.

Faculty have braced for painful changes to the university because of financial problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and decreased enrollment. Still, Colson said many faculty members were caught off-guard by ESU’s announcement Wednesday. He said it wasn’t fair that they were given until Monday to provide feedback on a plan that has been in the works for months.

“It’s devastating. People are angry, but more than angry, people are afraid,” Colson said. “We have very little faculty involvement, very little distribution of information and an administration that does not seem committed to the traditional role of a faculty within the university.”

Michael Smith, a political science professor, said morale is “not the best.”

“I think many of us realize that some changes are inevitable,” he said, “but I think there are a lot of us that would like to see more faculty input.”

He pointed to a faculty-initiated idea to merge history and political science departments as an example of how collaboration between faculty and administration can work.

The issue that “sticks in the craw” of liberal arts and sciences faculty, Michael Smith said, is their role in supporting ESU’s renowned teaching college. He said cuts to liberal arts and sciences need to be minimal to maintain that support.

“I can’t train history teach-

ers without a history program. Period,” he said. “I can’t train government teachers without a political science program. Can’t do it.”

Rachelle Smith, who has taught at the university since 1995, said administration officials have hinted that the school may stop offering an English major. In that scenario, everyone in the English department would be eliminated except those who teach courses required by other majors, such as basic composition.

She said it was “disturbing” that faculty representatives don’t have more information about the university’s long-term plans.

“It’s like, ‘We’re going to get this done, we’re going to tell you as little as we have to, to get this pushed through, and we don’t want to hear anything you have to say about it.’ No. 1, it’s unethical — oh my God! No. 2, it is not what is best for ESU,” she said.

Rachelle Smith and Colson both said they fear retaliation by the university for speaking about the situation for this story.

“I expect my name, if it is not already at the top of the list of those professors who will be fired, it will be after this,” Rachelle Smith said.

Heine, the marketing director, said faculty members should “absolutely not” be concerned about retaliation.

Sherman Smith | Kansas Reflector

Mallory Koci, director of the Ethnic and Gender Studies program at Emporia State University, says it isn’t fair to recruit students for programs that may not exist after the current school year.

Sherman Smith Kansas Reflector

Sherman Smith Kansas Reflector

don’t understand,’ Emporia State art professor gets dismissed with 32 others

Roberta Eichenberg had one more year before she could retire when she got called into a meeting with people she had never seen before to be told of her dismissal from Emporia State.

On Sept. 14 the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) approved the Workforce Management Framework that allowed ESU to dismiss faculty members regardless of their tenured status. The next day, 33 faculty members were summoned to the Earl Center to be notified of their dismissal.

Among these 33 was Eichenberg, professor of art and galleries director.

Eichenberg came to Emporia in 2000, the same year many traditional aged college seniors were born, according to her ESU biography.

She said that before being pulled into her dismissal meeting, she had no warning “at all” about what was happening.

“I think it’s pretty draconian to just not work with the faculty, even though they said that they communicate with the faculty,” Eichenberg said. “I don’t see any communication.”

In addition to feeling blindsided by this decision, Eichenberg was left questioning why she was being dismissed in the first place.

“I put artwork in the president’s office and put artwork in the president’s conference room,” she said. “Makes you wonder about service, loyalties.”

Some of the reasons given to the public to justify the dismissal

of faculty were budgetary reasons.

“When I was chair, we also talked about taking a pay cut in order to save positions,” Eichenberg said. “And they didn’t want to do that. And then they just

Emporia State tenure track professor speaks on being dismissed

gave us a pay raise, I don’t understand.”

Eichenberg’s worry goes beyond personal and faculty concerns, questioning what an education may mean from a university without the needed

professors.

“I used to think pretty highly of Emporia State,” she said. “But recent developments have really put into question, if you don’t have standards, then you’re not producing a good student.”

When Douglas Allen was in Topeka last Friday, Emporia State students were protesting his dismissal at the entrance of Plumb Hall. When he saw their support, he came to show them how much they mean to him and the rest of the 33 faculty members who were laid off the day before.

On Sept. 14 the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) approved the Workforce Management Framework that allowed ESU to dismiss faculty members regardless of their tenured status, including Allen, a tenure track assistant professor of social sciences, sociology and criminology.

When faculty were being called in for their dismissal meeting, they were given little information about the reason for the mandatory meeting.

“We were told to go over to the Earl Center, where we came to

the locked door, and they let us in,” Allen recounted. “And then we were walked to a room which I coined the execution chamber. There were probably three or four other rooms with people in them, some people crying and things. And then a dean came in, read a letter and then left us in there with the HR rep to go through the rest of it.”

Since he got his dismissal notice Sept. 15, Allen has been vocal on Twitter about his disappointment in the university and his support of the students standing behind faculty. He even changed his bio to read, “Betrayed Future Unemployed Asst. Prof of Geography.”

On Sept. 16, 90 students came and went throughout the day to protest the recent dismissal of professors across campus. At midday, Allen joined them with Ellie, his 2-year-old daughter, to “support the students who are supporting us” and let Ellie make

some protest signs.

“I wanted the students to know that whatever happens, just this show means a lot to us,” Allen said.

At the protest he gave his student Mary a hug to show his gratitude and pride in the fight they are leading.

“I think that it shows that they take the motto ‘changing lives for the common good’ truly to heart,” Allen said. “And I think some of the rest of the people who work here could learn from them.”

Sitting with his young daughter among his soon-to-be former students brought up a range of feelings, including anxiety for Ellie’s future.

“I was at least a little thankful that she’s young enough that I didn’t have to break that news to her,” Allen said. “It was hard enough having to break it to my spouse.”

When Christopher Lovett’s phone rang at 8:15 Thursday morning, what followed was a flurry of brushing teeth and throwing on clothes for the hour-long trip from Topeka to Emporia State for a 9:50 a.m. mandatory meeting to announce his dismissal.

“(They) told me it was at the Earl Center, I didn’t know where that was. I set my GPS for it in my car and got here around 9:20, and the building was locked,” Lovett said.

“They came and got me. There was a security guard sitting at one of the front desks and they had separate rooms. So they must have done multiple people all at the same time, and they then presented me with the letter laying me off, effective May 16. I asked for a reason why I was selected. They couldn’t give me a reason.”

Lovett is a professor of social sciences, sociology and criminology who has held a tenured position at ESU for 20 years.

“I said for 26 years, you would think that at least you provide me with the common courtesy of that (a reason), can’t say that I haven’t done enough for the university. My CV is like 26 pages long without talking about my coursework that I’ve taught. I said I’ve done 30 articles and book chapters, nearly 250 book reviews, I’ve taught overloads for the university, without compensation and then this.”

On Sept. 14 the Kansas Board

of Regents (KBOR) approved the Workforce Management Framework that allowed ESU to dismiss faculty members regardless of their tenured status.

Lovett thought he would “deserve better.”

Lovett said he is still processing what happened, saying Sunday was “probably my worst day.”

“I was just drained,” he said.

“I slept a good portion of the day. I couldn’t tell if that was depression or whatever. But you know, I feel sorry for some of the younger faculty that were caught up in this. I still (would) like to see what the numbers are. I still think they owe that not only to the 33 that were terminated, but to the general public. To all the alumni. There’s a lot to answer for.”

Lovett said he has not seen any evidence for the reasons he was laid off.

“There is no trust here,” he said. “Not after this.”

In addition to himself, Lovett has concerns for the students at the university. Asking what will happen to all the master’s students and theses under his lead.

His advice to students right now is to “just hang in there.”

“If you’re concerned about your degree, concerned about being a quality teacher, they may have to think about transferring,” Lovett said. “I mean, that’s the logical thing. I can’t see how this is going to help enrollment at all.”

“Betrayed”

‘I

Tenured professor of 20 years gets dismissed from Emporia State: “They couldn’t give me a reason.”

Douglas Allen, an assistant professor of social sciences, sociology and criminology, and his 2-year-old daughter Ellie sit with student protesters Sept. 16. Allen is one of the 33 faculty and staff who were dismissed.

Mason Hart| The Bulle tin

Sam Bailey Staff Writer

Sam Bailey Staff Writer

Sam Bailey Staff Writer

Roberta Eichenberg cuts mats for artwork in King Hall. Eichenberg was one of the 33 faculty dissmissed Sept. 15

saM Bailey | The Bulle tin