As some of you may know, it was recently released that Ethnic Studies / Gender and Womyn's Studies / African American Studies Departments are all receiving cuts and restructurings. Here is some more information via the GWS/AFAM/ES undergaduate alliance:
WHAT HAS HAPPENED???
What we know:
It has been released that the Ethnic Studies, African American Studies, and Gender and Womyn’s Studies departments will have their budget’s clustered into one budget bracket with regards to budgets for staff members of the departments. As a result of this clustering, staff members have been cut across the three departments.
What we don’t know:
* What was the logic behind this clustering?
* Why was there not more extensive research done and consultation with faculty of the department to assess the impact of this cut?
* ES is a Family. With previous cuts to the ES department, faculty and staff were always consulted and decisions were reached collectively. Why were faculty and staff not notified prior as to this process?
* What was the process for making this decision? Questions about Transparancy and Accountability to decisions.
* More information on the metrics used to calculate Faculty FTE to Staff ratios.
The departments are affected as follows:
* Ethnic Studies: Four Staff members in Ethnic Studies have been Cut. One Staff position was laid off directly, and three staff members recieved 50% Cuts
* GWS: The Sole Advisor to Gender and Womyn’s Studies was cut to 50%
* AFAM: At least one key member of the department has been cut to 50%
All of these staff positions were notified in late February, the cuts and layoffs to take effect in April, when the budget recycles for the upcoming year. This is less than 2 months away.
Why these cuts, why now??
These cuts to ES/AFAM/GWS are a direct result of the University’s “Operational Excellence” initiative.
* UC Berkeley contracted Bain & Company to consult about how to effectively maximize the efficiency of the UC Berkeley budget. They came up with Operational Excellence.
* “Operational Excellence (OE) is a campuswide program designed to ensure that the excellence of UC Berkeley’s administrative environment matches its research and teaching, and to direct the maximum level of resources to our core mission of teaching, research, and public service. Our aim is to reduce the cost and complexity of administrative operations, creating an environment that allows all members of the campus community to do their best work” oe.berkeley.edu
* Operational Excellence is dedicated “to cutting waste in campus operations, boosting their effectiveness — and reducing administrative costs by at least $75 million a year. http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/09/02/pisano/
* for more information visit oe.berkeley.edu
things to be considered:
1. Ethnic Studies, GWS, and AFAM have been cut before. This is only one iteration in a history of cuts to the departments.
2. These cuts represent about a ⅓ cut to the current Ethnic Studies staff at UC Berkeley.
3. The staff in these departments already work overtime to cover cuts. Who will remain, and what support will they have to pick up work in areas which they may not have formal training or feel comfortable?
4. The metrics used to make these decisions fail to take into account a “diversity index” that accounts for underrepresentation, and the work that these staff do beyond their job descriptions to support students from traditionally marginalized communities--they organize events, workshops, outreaches, etc. to support underrepresented students and student communities. They are the face of diversity at Cal.
5. We view these cuts to ES/GWS/AFAM not only within a historical context, but a present day national and global context. Around the country, these departments have been specifically targeted for removal in Arizona, Florida, Texas, and in certain Cal State programs in California, etc.
Now that GWS, Af. AM and ES are all under same budget, we can take this opportunity to rally together and increase our communication across departments. Much love to the ES, GWS, and AFAM family.
This has been produced by,
the newly (in)formed,
GWS AF. AM and ES Undergraduate Alliance
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