Support Diversity, Support Program Autonomy!

Recently you may have seen (what appeared to be) crazy students wandering the park blocks and invading classrooms with messages about Portland State University's proposed budget cuts for next school year (Fall 2009). The fact is, these students probably are a little crazy, but only because unfair, unequal budget cuts and proposed organizational changes are making them feel that way! 

So what is all the buttoning, hollering, and sign posting about? 

Let me do my best to explain... 

Led by Dean Marvin Kaiser, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), recently proposed a plan to consolidate Women's Studies, Black Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies, and Native American Studies by eliminating individual programs and creating a single unit with a single director. As a student you might want to ask how the impending (proposed for Fall 2009) consolidation could affect you? This could possibly mean: 

• Fewer courses
• Less/loss of instructors
• Loss of resources 
• Eventual dissolution of individual majors and/or minor

Important Information for Students!

The fact is, many people do not know about this issue yet. Our first step as concerned students should be to get more of us concerned! It is important to understand that because of complicated university politics faculty members in these four departments are very limited in how vocally they can protest this issue. Therefore, it is important that the movement to save departmental autonomy in these programs is one led by students. Students outnumber faculty, plus we can't be fired! Those facts combined mean, if we all get together, we could really have an impact on changing the dean's mind, and changing Portland State for the better.

We have some great plans in the works but we need your help! Here's a few things you can look forward to and a few steps you can take to get involved: 

• We need to continue to spread the word! Students/faculty can visit the WRC or the Women's Studies Office (NH 469) to grab flyers and buttons to pass out/wear to show your support for this issue. 
• If you want to stay updated on what's going on you can always check this blog and you can email us at autonomy@pdx.edu so that we can put you on the email list. You can also email concerns, ideas, questions, and comments to that address and we will try to get back to you asap. 
  
• We are doing our best to network with as many student organizations (ASPSU included) as possible in order to get more people involved. If you are in a student organization and want to work with us, email us! 
• Next week there will be students in the park blocks again passing out flyers and buttons. If you want to join us, email us! 
• If you would like to make announcements in your classes that would be great, but before you do, make sure to read up on the issue (below), ask for your professors permission, and stop by the Women's Studies Office and pick up sign up sheets so students can get on our email list. 
• Continued support from faculty outside these four departments is crucial. Faculty within the departments have written a letter to other faculty at PSU and would love your help distributing it. If you think your professors would be willing to show their support to these four departments you can email us about getting a copy of that letter, or stop by the Women's Studies office. 
• The Diversity Awards are coming up soon (May 13th) and we are planning to have an event/booth there. Be ready to join us! 
• We are continuing to write to local media to let them know what's going on. If you want to do the same, go for it! You can also continue to write to the dean to explain your concerns, kaiserm@pdx.edu
• We are currently working on a short video which will describe the issue and highlight some student/faculty responses. 
  

Find out more about these four programs! 

Native American Studies: http://www.nas.pdx.edu/

Women's Studies: http://www.ws.pdx.edu/index.php

Black Studies: http://www.blackstudies.pdx.edu/

Chicano/Latino Studies: http://www.chla.pdx.edu/

Read on for More Information: 

So you might be thinking, how did all this start? 

Recently, CLAS halted the search for a senior faculty replacement to be Director of Women's Studies. Women's Studies faculty, who had been interviewing well-known scholars for weeks, were shocked. After everyone tilted their heads and said, huh? The dean explained that there would be no need for hiring a new head for the program because of the plans to consolidate Women's Studies, Black Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies, and Native American Studies. But it is obvious to many faculty members, and should be to CLAS as well, that eliminating dedicated leadership in each program will weaken these units overall. These programs represent disciplinary fields with different (albeit at times overlapping) bodies of knowledge which are not interchangeable. Each field has curricular needs which cannot be collapsed into one another. 

So how can the consolidation be justified? The answer: MONEY!

In March after the search to fill the Women's Studies position was well underway, the department was asked if they could fill the position and, at the same time, come up with an additional $30,000 in budgetary cuts. Why so much, they asked? The response was that CLAS ddi not want to make cuts across the board, opting instead to make strategic cuts to certain programs. This budgetary crisis is being used to whittle away at the budget in Women's studies in favor of other more "valued" Departments. Using a budgetary crisis to redirect resources away from programs like Women's Studies, Black Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies, and Native American Studies is a common, and frankly, thinly veiled strategy often used by universities who want to "advertise" diversity, all while creating bureaucratic frameworks that keep the status quo in place. The fact is that bringing these units together to address a budget crisis will not return significant savings to CLAS unless regular faculty positions are eliminated and budgets for fixed-term and adjunct faculty are slashed-- which is apparently the intention with Women's Studies. 

But you thought Portland State, Oregon's largest urban University supported diversity, right? 

Well it turns out, there is a history at PSU of degrading these programs by not filling faculty positions. Chicano/Latino Studies (CLS) is a case in point. The program was formally established in 1994 and a year later a senior professor was hired to lead the program. When the director died in 1988, two junior, tenure-track professors were hired instead of a senior scholar. One of the assistant professors left after two years and the second one left shortly thereafter. Only one of those two faculty positions was replaced. For the past five years, CLS has been a program with only one faculty member. 

All four of these programs are invaluable to the University. These programs are central to student access for underrepresented populations. They are the curricular focus of the university's mission related to diversity at the undergraduate level. Furthermore, these programs generate support research focused on social justice and equity across all disciplines. And last, but certainly not least, these programs provide support for faculty (and students!) of color and women faculty (and students!) throughout the university. 

How did faculty respond? 

Because, they teach us that words have the power to fight oppression such as this, the faculty of these four departments met together and drafted a letter to the dean of CLAS (much of which has been used to write this blog!). In the letter the faculty stressed that they were willing to collaborate with one another and understood that compromises and sacrifices would need to be made. However, they demanded that their input be included in the plans for next fall and made eight specific demands: 

1. Complete the hire for a Director in Women's Studies

2. In the Creation of the new school, support a transparent process driven by the programs themselves and not by transient budget crises or backroom decisions

3. Retain separate program directors or chairs in each unit

4. As the budget constraints lessen, add faculty lines to each unit until they each have four tenure lines

5. Retain budgetary autonomy for each program

6. Retain program autonomy with respect to faculty hires

7. Retain all existing major, minor, and certificate degrees in each unit

8. Allow the programs to make classified staffing decisions together 

And what about the Women's Studies hire? 

The dean's office says that Women's Studies cannot hire a director because of the budget crisis. However, the facts are: 

• Every other department in CLAS (with the exception of Chicano/Latino Studies) has been allowed to complete their searches for new faculty members this year. There is NOT a hiring freeze at PSU. 
• The Women's Studies program has demonstrated to CLAS that it can complete the hire and still meet all projected budget cuts for next year. 
• This is not a new position but a replacement hire in a department that has only three tenure lines. Not filling this position essentially amounts to cutting one third of the program's tenure line faculty. No other department is being asked to cut that much. 

Last Tuesday many students, faculty, and friends (thanks so much for your support everyone!!) wrote emails to Dean Kaiser asking him to reinstate the Women's Studies hire. While the dean was "overwhelmed" with emails, he did not reinstate the hire and instead sent this response: 

Thanks you for your concerns about Women’s Studies.  We want everyone to understand that the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences wants and needs a strong and productive Women’ Studies Program and we are taking steps to make this happen.  

I would also like to take this opportunity to correct several misunderstandings.  First, we are not halting the Women’s Studies search. Rather, given the very serious budget situation and the reorganization, we are asking them to hire a scholar on a one year basis. Second, we are not singling our Women’s Studies, we have postponed or halted searches in other departments.  Third, we are not taking the tenure line away from Women’s Studies. Women’s Studies will continue to have three tenure track positions.

Our goal is to work with Women’s Studies to create a new organizational structure that will allow the program to thrive and prosper.  We look forward to working with you to accomplish this goal.

Marvin Kaiser

Grant Farr

Well let me "take this opportunity to correct several misunderstandings" as well! First, "given the very serious budget situation and the reorganization," why would a famous scholar ever want to come work for our program, unless they were given a permanent, well-paid, and supported position?! Second, CLAS is clearly "singling out Women's Studies" because, while hirings may have been halted in other departments, these hirings are not crucial leadership positions (except for Chicano/Latino Studies). Again, Women's Studies did not create a new position, we are simply requesting the current empty position be filled, this makes Women's Studies' situation (and CLAS' refusal to hire) unique. Third, our faculty (and students!) need leadership and support. However, we do not just need this support for a year. This just makes us all wonder, well what happens after that? It would be extremely hard for someone who is only visiting us for a year to get involved in our struggles as a program and to get to know our institution, faculty, staff, and students well. Fourth, when interviews began for the hire the position was NOT described as yearlong, nor was the program about to be consolidated with others. These inconsistencies could (understandably!) mean that many scholars would probably turn down the new position, as it is now very different (including less well-paid) than what they originally applied for.

Thanks for your support everyone! Keep checking the blog for updates! 

Peace and love, Electra