The administration at Wright State University in Ohio has laid off at least six faculty members. On February 17, faculty members from Wright State University's AAUP chapter attended the meeting of the university's board of trustees, where they asked for their colleagues to be rehired and offered persuasive evidence about how essential individual faculty members are to the success of the programs in which they teach. Noeleen McIlvenna of the history department, who referred to student protests following the layoffs of some faculty members, said, "I am here to plead with you to do the right thing for WSU by renewing the contracts for the faculty members let go in the process of budget remediation."
In their testimonies, faculty members blamed the budgetary crisis on massive overspending by the administration in previous years. Gretchen McNamara, a lecturer in the school of music who discussed the importance of two laid-off faculty in the school of music, said, "To say we are disappointed in the faculty cuts as a tool for budget remediation in areas not responsible for the gross over spending that has taken place would be an understatement. Ask our students, who have had the one person who does the most for them in their program stripped away. They are devastated."
You can see a video of their powerful testimony here.