4
Early retiremen
considered
CORY BIRDWHISTELL
staff writer
Except for increased workload, perhaps young faculty have noth
ing to fear. The plan to reduce the number of faculty begins with
those 59 and above.
Yet even then, senior faculty may choose whether or not to ac
cept the early retirement offer.
Robyn Parsons, director of Human Resources, says, "We looked
at the early retirement plans of 25 colleges and universities, and
with two exceptions ours was the most generous." She then ex
pressed her opinion that Guilford's plan is more generous than even
these. Guilford's plan, she emphasized, allows a three-year transi
tion for the faculty, while the others do not.
"This makes the transition easier.. .it gives the faculty time to
ease out gradually, to plan for a second career or other opportuni
ties. As well, it gives the college time to plan for replacements or
reallocations."
The offer requires that faculty be 59 years of age by December
1,1997. They must also have taught here for at least 10 years.
The first year, faculty who accept the offer will teach half their
normal course load and receive 80 percent of their salary.
They will receive half their salary the second year for teaching a
third of their normal course load.
The third year, there are two options.
They may either receive 50 percent of their salary and teach no
courses or receive l/52nd of their 1996-97 salary for each year
worked, whichever is greater. Of the 21 faculty members (to in
clude professional librarians with faculty status) who have been
teaching more than 26 years, this second option is more lucrative.
They will continue to receive health and dental insurance ben
efits until thev are 65 vears old.
Professor Charles Almy comments, "It's not a golden parachute,
but a Guilford parachute. For Guilford it's a good deal."
Drafted by the Benefits Committee, which is comprised of fac
ulty, administration and staff, the plan was presented to the Strate
gic and Long Term Planning Committee (SLRP) on Sept. 9,1996.
SLRP approved it to go before the Board of Trustees.
There, it was approved by the Teachers, Officers and Curricu
lum Committee and sent to the full Board. The Board accepted it.
Cyril Harvey, professor and former Academic Dean, says, "I think
it makes a lot of institutional sense. We have a strong young fac
ulty and it doesn't make sense to lose someone who will benefit the
college for 20 more years to save someone who will for two more
years. This will encourage the leadership abilities of mid-range
faculty. There are a lot of reasons to believe this is the best strat
egy."
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The Guilfordian
news
Declining enrollment
forces faculty reduction
CORY BIRDWHISTELL
staff writer
Envision a smaller, younger
core Guilford faculty.
To some in the community, the
prospect elicits grave concern. To
others, it incites opportunity.
President Don McNemar an
nounced his intention to reduce the
number of faculty members at
August's opening faculty meeting.
This announcement, made in light
of declining student enrollment
and an initiative to reform the
college's curriculum, wrought
little surprise.
"It is a hard thing for a new
president to do," McNemar admit
ted, "but people have recognized
we need to make a change."
Last weekend the Board of
Trustees took a major step toward
bringing this change to fruition.
The full Board approved a plan to
offer voluntary early retirement to
the 21 faculty members who are
59 or more years old. They have
until the end of December to de
cide whether to accept the offer.
Trustees envision Guilford's
future during visit
KELLY DAVIS
back page editor
"Big things are happening at
Guilford College," says Gordon
Soenksen, vice-president of insti
tutional advancement, "and there
are more ideas for the future."
That's hopeful news to many
in the Guilford community that
feel similar to Joe Bryan, a mem
ber of the Board of Trustees, when
he said "Guilford has been slow
to move."
This past weekend the
Guilford College Board of Trust
ees met with a heavy agenda. At
the forefront of this agenda were
discussion of Don McNemar's
proposed initiatives for Guilford's
future.
"It's a very important shaping
of the College," stated McNemar
about the initiatives. He added
that, "this meeting will be a
chance to look at a range of is
sues."
Bryan is hopeful about the out
come of the discussions from this
October 4,1996
After that point, the college
will decide what further action, if
any, will need to be taken.
"Part of this effort is to have a
faculty that matches the current
student size and to invest in people
who are here," McNemar ex
plains.
Adele Wayman, the clerk of the
faculty, says, "The guiding idea
behind this is to make sure the
core of the faculty and student en
rollment are in balance."
Once in balance, McNemar
predicts, resources will be avail
able to allocate raises for faculty.
They have not received raises in
two years. In addition, funds for
faculty development will in
crease—a necessary feature of
curriculum revision.
Wayman notes, "Faculty have
been generally positive given the
difficulty of this issue. They are
aware of the institutional perspec
tive."
Cyril Harvey, professor of ge
ology and former academic dean,
believes the college has no better
choice. "We've cut everywhere
we could to try to avoid cutting
weekend. "I think Don has had a
year to look at Guilford," he said.
He feels that McNemar has iden
tified, "the things that he thought
were necessary to move us into the
twenty-first century."
There were eight overall top
ics that the Board discussed. (For
a list of these, please see side-bar).
It's not certain which direction
the Board decided to move with
these inititives, but the feeling go
ing into the weekend was articu
lated here by Bryan. "It's his game
plan and I think it's a good one."
Although few concrete deci
sions were made, the Trustees did
begin a series of discussions about
possible plans for Guilford's fu
ture.
"Students need to start paying
very close attention to details,"
warns Senate Treasurer Molly
Martin. After this weekend she felt
the Trustees had a taste of the new
administration and were more
concerned with their new roles.
She did add that, "Next meeting
the time will have come for stu-
the faculty. Another option is to
wait and see if it (enrollment) gets
better... but we've tried that."
Some faculty members, such as
Jonathan Malino, professor of phi
losophy, question the reasoning
behind and timing of the initiative.
Malino says, "I have grave con
cerns about reducing the number
of faculty. We are trying to revise
the curriculum and no one knows
what the faculty will need to look
like."
Furthermore, he adds, "I would
press for more clarity about rea
soning behind the 10-15 percent
number. The administration thinks
that we can do more with the core
faculty that will be left than we
can."
Wayman assures, "Our primary
concern is to make sure our pro
grams are maintained and student
needs are served." She says part
time or temporary faculty may be
hired in order to do so.
"This is not necessarily a long
term thing," she says. She and
McNemar agree that once the fac
ulty define the curriculum revision,
more faculty may be added.
The initiatives:
I. Academic Program of
Guilford
n. Core Faculty for the
Future
HI. Technological Lead
ership
IV. Community Centers
Enhanced
V. Continuous Improve
ment of Physical Facilities
VI. CCE Recreated as
Adult Learning for the Fu
ture
VH. Programs to Utilize
Campus Facilities and At
tract Students
Vin. Focus and Market
ing of Guilford
dent initiative and suggestions to
be emphasized."