Professors targeted by Manhattan College cite a lack of transparency

Mike Judge has been teaching biology at Manhattan College for going on 31 years, but his time with the school will soon come to an end. Judge is one among an unknown number of faculty who have signed the voluntary separation agreement given out by the college administration last month.

Judge said he was already thinking about joining his wife in retirement as he approaches 65 years of age. He felt that the agreement worked in his favor, although he admits he doesn’t end up with the best deal.

As the current president of the school’s American Association of Unveristy Professors chapter, Judge received a letter from the AAUP. The letter outlines the regulations for higher education as stated by the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure.

Both the Manhattan College employee handbook and the 1940 statement cite that the termination of tenured faculty can be done under “financial exigency.” This term is defined by both as, “a severe financial crisis that fundamentally comprises the academic integrity of the institution as a whole and that cannot be alleviated by less drastic means.”

“There’s a lack of transparency. We don’t know whats driving all of it. We’re being given limited information,” said Judge. “They assert that they have financial issues but we just got an announcement today that we are hiring several new people in the finance portion of the college.”

Manhattan College was not available for comment.

The 1940 statement also states that all employees should receive a portion of their salary or notice prior to termination on the basis of extreme financials. The guidelines state employees in their first year should receive three months of salary, second year faculty should receive six months of salary, and employees in their third year or beyond should expect at least one year of salary. These are not the terms the college is offering the tenured professors.

Judge told The Riverdale Press the college is offering a maximum of 17 weeks of pay, equivalent to about six months of work, to faculty who sign the agreement.

The AAUP’s letter also reminds faculty that protocol requires employees terminated under the guise of extreme financials be offered reinstatement into their original position for the following three years before their position is filled by another.

“We’re following the same playbook that other colleges have used that are now going belly up,” Judge goes on to refer to the College of Saint Rose, which publicly declared they would be closing their campus after its May 2024 graduation. The College of Saint Rose has been undergoing restructuring plans since 2015 that included large scale elimination of faculty positions.

In a letter published by Saint Rose on its website they cite a lack of financial resources as their reasoning for closing.

Over the last several years colleges all over the country have undergone extreme structural changes.

Manhattan College professor of history Adam Arenson concurs with Judge on the lack of transparency throughout this process. Like the rest of Manhattan College’s faculty, Arenson simply wants to help the school and its students to succeed.

Arenson recently created a GoFundMe account that is still gathering funds to cover legal fees in the event that the school does terminate tenured faculty improperly. He believes that what the school is doing breaks the guidelines set forth in the faculty handbook.

“Tenure means faculty have dedicated their professional lives to the college’s success, and we have even been evaluated based on our demonstrated commitment to the college,” said Arenson. “The VSP was a less generous offer than what faculty are guaranteed when their positions are being eliminated.”

Judge believed students are just as scared as teachers, which doesn’t create an ideal learning environment.

According to Judge, the faculty are all frightened for their jobs.“If the faculty don’t feel good about the institution that is not going to make the students feel better,” he said.

Last month several professors and students rallied on the Manhattan College campus to save the tenured professors.