Draconian staff cuts could destroy Ohio universities, colleges if senator has way

David J. Jackson is a professor in the Bowling Green State University Department of Political Scienceand president of the BGSU Faculty Association.

In an attempt to promote his highly unpopular comprehensive overhaul of public education in Ohio known as Senate Bill 83, Ohio Sen. Jerry Cirino recently said, “We have faculty who have fallen into this trap over the decades of being so far to the left of center politically that you have a lot of faculty members that dislike the United States of America. They don't understand or promote capitalism."

I certainly understand that politics and government are controversial and hard-fought processes.

However, impugning the character and patriotism of an entire group of people in order to pass an unpopular bill is taking things many steps too far.

Senate Bill 83 cut out students, facility members from start.

Let the bill be judged by its merits, not the alleged lack of patriotism or commitment to capitalism among the faculty.

As president of the Bowling Green State University Faculty Association, the union representing all full-time faculty on our campus, I know my colleagues.

I talk with my colleagues.

I ask them questions, listen to their answers, and care about what they actually do in their work lives. Our leaders in government should do the same.

Given that there has been almost no faculty or student input on writing the language, Senate Bill 83 cannot be said to represent the needs of two of the primary stakeholders in higher education.

More: Admitting “white privilege” shouldn't be required at Ohio universities| Professor

Our view: Anti-American bills will enslave minds of Ohio students

When 'exactly' would professors find time to indoctrinate student?

The bill would require Ohio’s public universities to, “affirm and declare that faculty and staff shall allow and encourage students to reach their own conclusions about all controversial beliefs or policies,” and defines these as, “any belief or policy that is the subject of political controversy, including issues such as climate policies, electoral politics, foreign policy, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, immigration policy, marriage, or abortion.”

What this language would mean in actual practice is far from clear, but professors are too busy encouraging students to do the readings, participate in class, write their papers, and pass their exams to try to influence their political beliefs.

On the academic freedom side, Senate bill 83 is a solution in search of a problem.

Bill would open door for draconian cuts on an administrator’s whim.

But Senate Bill 83 would also drastically limit faculty collective bargaining rights by prohibiting us from bargaining over the processes for evaluation of faculty, post-tenure review, and most of retrenchment, which the bill defines as, “a process by which a state institution of higher education reduces programs or services, thus resulting in a temporary suspension or permanent separation of one or more institution faculty, to account for a reduction in student population or overall funding, a change to institutional missions or programs, or other fiscal pressures or emergencies facing the institution.”

This overly broad definition would allow draconian cuts on an administrator’s whim.

Destroying faculty union rights to bargain over fundamental aspects of our terms and conditions of employment is the worst attack on collective bargaining in Ohio since the ill-fated Senate Bill 5.

What do you think? How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch

Giving administrations nearly total free reign to implement retrenchment ignores the fact that universities both with and without unions have worked out on-going processes for making sure the array of programs and courses offered to students matches their and employers’ needs.

Nearly unlimited retrenchment is worse than a solution in search of a problem; it is a problem in search of a problem.

I respectfully request that Senator Cirino apologize for his baseless condemnation of the hardworking faculty at Ohio’s public universities.

It’s time for all who care about higher education in the legislature to meet regularly with the unions and other organizations that represent faculty and students.

We need to work together to solve the very real problems faced by higher education in Ohio, such as affordability, insufficient state funding, and student debt. The problems we face are important and cannot be solved through baseless personal attacks.

David J. Jackson is a professor in the Bowling Green State University Department of Political Scienceand president of the BGSU Faculty Association.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Senator's attacks on Ohio colleges, universities have gone to extreme.