Around here at the Bugeater, we believe in transparency. While we wait interminably for things like the full metrics data, the APC recommendations, or really any crumb at all from the administration, we would like to share the recommendations that the UNL Graduate Council made to the University of Nebraska Executive Graduate Council last week.
The TL;DR: By a unanimous secret ballot, the UNL Grad Council rejected the Chancellor’s plan to eliminate six departments, all of which are graduate-heavy. As the recommendations below state, the UNL Grad Council found that none of the six programs proposed for elimination meet any of the nine criteria for elimination. But you should read the whole report for yourself.
For those who might not live and breathe graduate education like I do, the UNL Graduate Council is an elected body that serves as a governing body on behalf of the UNL Graduate Faculty. Grad Council serves as an advisory body to the UNL Dean for Graduate Studies. Grad Council is subject to the authority of the Graduate Faculty.
While UNL has a Grad Council and a Graduate Dean, graduate education within the NU System is centralized through a single graduate college. The Executive Graduate Council represents graduate faculty at that level.
The UNL AAUP chapter remains committed to shared governance, something that requires transparency. We will continue to call on UNL and NU administrators to demonstrate their commitment to shared governance, not in hollow words, but in transparency and shared decision-making about the future of the university and the allocation of resources.
You can also call on UNL and the NU System leaders for transparency, including writing to the Board of Regents. The BOR will be the ultimate deciders of whatever proposal ends up in front of them in December. If you would like to join us in person for the December 5th meeting (9 am at Varner Hall in Lincoln), you can sign up here.
If you want to do so in a snazzy, union-shop printed One Faculty, One Nebraska shirt, you can purchase one through Raygun. Get one for a friend too, part of the proceeds support our AAUP chapter!
If you would like to submit a letter through our petition, you can use the QRCode below. You can also share that with a friend, relative, student, or concerned citizen.
