As the long Faculty Senate meeting wound to a close Tuesday,
President Sheri Wells-Jensen reflected on the conversation that had dominated the proceedings."This
discussion was a long time coming," she said.That discussion had Bowling Green State University
President Mary Ellen Mazey, face-to-face, engaging members of the faculty in a courteous, yet contentious
debate.The spark for the conversation was the announcement of the non-renewal of contracts for 30 non-tenure
tract full-time faculty members.But even that number is subject to debate. It does not include faculty
members who have one-year terminal contracts.If those faculty are included, the union maintains, the numbers
increase to 40."Some very productive people have lost their jobs," said Peter Blass, of the
Chemistry Department. "They’re very good teachers … they’re what brings people to BGSU … I can’t
see how this will not affect the quality of education at BGSU.""We’ll work to make sure that
doesn’t happen," Mazey said.Bill Albertini, of the English Department, said that the average salary of
the non-renewed faculty "was less than the bonus" Mazey received last month."What I would
say," Mazey replied, "is I signed a contract prior to my arrival and that was part of the
contract."She repeated the contention that BGSU has a low faculty-student ratio and that in the face of
budget strains the university must make cuts.Money needs to be found to bring faculty salaries up to be on
par with those at similar institutions. Bringing salaries up "to the market" was the top priority
expressed by faculty, she said.That includes, Provost Rodney Rogers announced, a market adjustment pool that
will be distributed to faculty in January. Faculty will see, he said, annual raises ranging from $13 to
$3,000 with some faculty receiving no increase.How that money was distributed was negotiated by the Faculty
Association and the administration, he said.In his report to the senate from the Faculty Association,
Lawrence Coates, of creative writing, said that given faculty salaries represent only 22.9 percent of the
budget, that left other areas where cuts could be made.When asked by Julie Haught, of the English
Department, how many faculty will be employed in fall 2014, Rogers said he couldn’t say. "That number
continues to fluctuate."It depends on enrollment in specific programs, he said. It depends on whether
faculty leave at the last minute for other positions.."It all depends on what our needs will
be."The university has hired an outside consultant, Accenture, to look at possible operating
efficiencies. Mazey said the company will give a report on is findings next Wednesday, but cautioned the
report would not include any specific recommendations.One of the central issues facing the university is
enrollment.Rogers said enrollment was down for spring compared to last year. That’s no surprise given the
freshman class was smaller.However, at this point, it appears more of those freshmen are planning to stay
around for a second semester, Rogers said.Mazey urged faculty to come out for Preview Day to try to entice
prospective students to attend BGSU.But some faculty feared the damage is done.William O’Brien, of the
Psychology Department, said he was afraid the cuts put the university in "a death spiral."He said
his son attended BGSU because of the low class sizes and access to faculty members. The cuts threaten that,
he said.Albertini said he was unsure of the administration’s plan "to make this university strong …
to make people want to send their children here."Mazey said there was a shared responsibility.
"It’s up to us to recruit and retain students."Coates said that the reduction in faculty,
including the more than 70 cuts last year, threaten to increase class sizes and reduce the number of classes
offered. That will make it more difficult for students to register for the courses they need to complete
their majors.Mazey point to figures presented by Rogers a month ago that showed little increase in class
size."If there’s a downward spiral," she said, "we’re not seeing it."O’Brien urged the
university to be bold. He said that he recently served on an accreditation team for a university, which he
couldn’t name for confidentiality reasons, that faced even greater reductions in funding than BGSU.But
instead of hunkering down, the school hired more faculty and expanded programs.Wells-Jensen said she heard
in the discussion was "a cry" for more talk between the faculty and administration, a fear that
budget concerns "are killing hope and innovation.""We fear we’re on the edge," she
said.Union members plan to make their presence known at today’s Board of Trustees meeting.Coates concluded
his report from the union by saying that the disagreement over issues "does not mean we don’t share the
same goal to provide an excellent and affordable education."