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EMAILS SHOW FORMER SCHOOL OF DRAMA DIRECTOR KNEW OF DONOR’S “INDISCRETIONS” • 2
PRESIDENT GALLOGLY ORDERED OU’S FINANCIAL DATA WITHHELD FROM MEDIA • 3
CUT-OUT MIDTERM ELECTION VOTING GUIDE • 7
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JORDAN MILLER/THE DAILY
Mums on the South Oval. President Gallogly eliminated approximately 50 staff positions on Nov. 1, with the majority of those positions in the landscape department.
OU community left with more questions than answers after President James Gallogly announces layoffs, closures
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U President James Gallogly initiated the first phase of a university cost-savings plan on Thursday, Nov. 1, by eliminating approximately 50 staff positions, an action resulting in the immediate closure of three research offices, sweeping layoffs in the landscaping department and the removal of several long-time administrators. Gallogly announced the reduction in staff in an email to all Norman campus faculty and staff in which he stated the university’s “pattern of increasing debt and reducing cash reserves is unsustainable.” Although various proposals have identified $20 million in savings next year, a reduction in workforce was necessary, according to Gallogly. “Moving toward a balanced budget is essential if we are to control tuition costs for our students, afford employee raises to ensure competitive salaries, and be prudent stewards of taxpayer and donor funds,” Gallogly said in the Nov. 1 email. “We want great students to choose to be Sooners, so we must work hard to make OU as affordable as possible. Even as we navigate these difficult decisions, I am encouraged that I see us continuing to work together to achieve the vision of our university: growing a world-class institution focused on our students and their success.” Gallogly said in the email he does not anticipate further layoffs before the end of the year. Employees whose positions were eliminated were offered a severance package and will remain on paid employee status for 60 days, according to OU Public Affairs. Here are the departments and areas most impacted by layoffs: L O N G - T I M E ADMINISTRATORS JP Audas, a 1987 OU graduate who served in various administrative positions under former OU President David Boren since 1993, was removed from his position as associate vice president for alumni and development. Audas tweeted confirming his termination and called OU an “extraordinary place.” Tripp Hall, a 1986 OU graduate who came to the university as Boren’s special assistant in 1994,
ANNA BAUMAN • @ANNABAUMAN2 was removed from the Office of University Development. Hall formerly served as vice president of the office until he was demoted from that position during Gallogly’s July 2 sweeping overhaul of Boren’s previous administration. LANDSCAPING Most of the layoffs were in OU’s landscaping department, according to OU Public Affairs. A review of the department showed areas where OU could make better use of funds while still maintaining its beautiful campus, according to Public Affairs. “While the university slows new construction projects on campus, landscaping needs change from installing landscaping around new buildings to caring for the grounds that are already here,” Public Affairs said in a statement. “This will naturally allow the university to reduce the cost of keeping OU beautiful.” The landscaping department will keep the appropriate number of employees to accomplish the required work, according to Public Affairs. It is unclear the exact number of landscaping employees that were laid off. RESEARCH The staff reductions also included the closure of three offices housed in the Office of the Vice President for Research, leaving some students concerned about research opportunities. The offices that were elimi nat e d w e re t h e C e nt e r f o r Research Program Development and Enrichment (CRPDE), the Center for Applied Research Development (CARD) and the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), according to Randall Hewes, interim vice president for research. According to OU Public Affairs, Hewes said in emails to staff and faculty on Thursday, Nov. 1, that while these offices have provided research support for many individuals, they have also been “very expensive.” “We are taking a hard look at reorganization and budgets with the sole objective of being able to invest in research,” Hewes said in the email. “By streamlining and re-focusing our operations through the actions today, we can provide quality research support in more coordinated and
efficient ways.” Hewes said some responsibilities are being shifted to other existing staff. Two former CRPDE staff members moved to the Office of Research Services, he said, where they will continue to perform functions similar to their previous roles. “The layoffs and office closures today were very painful, but I also think they were necessary, and they are part of what we need to do as an institution to truly grow graduate education and research,” Hewes said in the statement. Emily Mee, a political science senior working toward a master’s in public administration, said her position as an undergraduate research ambassador through the Office of Undergraduate Research has been terminated as a result of the office’s closure. Mee said she found out about the closure on Thursday through an email from her supervisor in the office. She and other students were supposed to present at a panel on Friday, Nov. 2, but that didn’t happen, and she said they were confused about their role going forward given the sudden closure. “It just came as a really big surprise that we had no notice,” Mee said. “It seems ethically, morally wrong to fire people without notice, especially coming right into the holidays.” The Office of Undergraduate Research included two faculty directors and six student employees, Mee said. The office helped students who might not otherwise have access to research opportunities, including low-income, minority and first-generation students, gain connections, resources and tools to get involved in research. Mee said she was surprised by the decision to end the program given Gallogly’s stated goal of doubling the university’s research. Undergraduate research is a “stepping stone” into graduate research, Mee said. “It was surprising to me that an office that’s dedicated to this mission of helping students get into graduate school by gaining necessary experience in undergraduate research — that he would decide to terminate the program seemed very against the mission that he’s been saying he’s about,” Mee said.
OU ’s Center for Research P ro g ra m D e ve l o p m e nt a n d Enrichment, also shuttered in the layoffs, was created in 2010 to improve OU’s ability to compete for external funding for faculty research programs, build greater awareness of funding opportunities and articulate faculty research goals to potential funding sources. The program’s website was no longer available on Friday. T h e t h i rd o f f i c e t h a t w a s closed, the Center for Applied Research and Development, was focused on bringing new intellectual opportunities to faculty and students, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration and creating new modes of engagement with industry, government and other stakeholders, according to its website. ONE UNIVERSITY STORE OU’s One University Store announced it will close at the end of the semester due to a decline in sales. T h e s t o re, l o c a t e d i n t h e Oklahoma Memorial Union, was launched in September 2013 as part of OU’s digital initiative. The retail space also
offers educational programming, hands-on learning in technology and a service center for technical issues. The operation will shut down effective Dec. 14, according to One University’s Facebook post. “The store has provided an opportunity to showcase technology and encourage innovation, but the growth in online shopping has led to declining sales, compressed margins and an unsustainable business model,” the post said. Students, faculty, staff and campus departments will still be able to access technology at discounted prices either through companies directly or through competitive contracts negotiated by the university, according to the store’s post. “We look forward to sharing sales and promotions with you over the next few months,” the post reads. It is unclear if the closure of this store is included in the overall staff reduction. The Daily has reached out to OU Public Affairs and is waiting for a response. Anna Bauman
Anna.M.Bauman-1@ou.edu
QUICK FACTS • Approximately 50 employees were terminated in Nov. 1. • Most employees laid off were from the landscaping department. • Long-time administrators JP Audas and Tripp Hall were terminated. • OU’s One University Store will close at the end of the semester. • OU’s Office of Undergraduate Research, OU’s Center for Research Program Development and Enrichment, and OU’s Center for Applied Research Development have been closed.