Colleges in Dire Financial Straits

[Ruralguy]

I'll cross check.

[Ruralguy]

Polly-

I cross-checked with IPEDS and with AAUP salary data and maybe things are slightly off (probably just to differing years being used), but not too bad. It does mean my salary is worse than I thought or more likely, just that a handful are making a lot that sets off the averages (not sure why means aren't used).
Ah well....its not like I'm starving, in a crappy house or not collecting retirement bucks...all of that is on track.

[stemer]

<snip>
This line is some baloney: "John Carroll's holistic approach to education is why so many professors wanted to teach there in the first place, she said..."
<snip>

"[put here any second- or third-tier SLAC]  holistic approach to education is why so many professors want to teach here ..."

It is part of our standard administrative pep-talk every time we ask to raise the hiring salary and avoid another failed search.

[mythbuster]

The statement about a holistic approach made me think of Hampshire College, who was dealing with a financial crisis just before the pandemic. They are one of the few places where the statement about a holistic approach might ring mostly true.  I see they are surviving, but is it really viable longer term?

[Mobius]

I'm just not buying someone really wants to work at an underfunded liberal arts college because of the liberal arts aspect. It's a job that was available. I'd buy the argument if it were a selective and well-off LAC, but then it's not the holistic approach, but the resources that made it attractive.

[downer]

I'm seeing at least one full professor in Ohio saying they got fired today, on Twitter. Guess that's from John Carroll.

Though I'm guessing that they are still working until the end of the semester.

[stemer]

I'm seeing at least one full professor in Ohio saying they got fired today, on Twitter. Guess that's from John Carroll.

Though I'm guessing that they are still working until the end of the semester.

Nope. Otterbein University.

[TreadingLife]

I'm seeing at least one full professor in Ohio saying they got fired today, on Twitter. Guess that's from John Carroll.

Though I'm guessing that they are still working until the end of the semester.

Nope. Otterbein University.

Was this a "dire fire" or something else? I couldn't find any press on layoffs.

[stemer]

I'm seeing at least one full professor in Ohio saying they got fired today, on Twitter. Guess that's from John Carroll.
Though I'm guessing that they are still working until the end of the semester.

Nope. Otterbein University.

Was this a "dire fire" or something else? I couldn't find any press on layoffs.

From the Tweet of the faculty that was laid off (https://twitter.com/NathanielProf), the administration removed a degree from their program...He was tenured for eight years and promoted to full two years ago. His line: "No one hires 50-year-old teaching professors." struck a chord...

[downer]

I'm seeing at least one full professor in Ohio saying they got fired today, on Twitter. Guess that's from John Carroll.
Though I'm guessing that they are still working until the end of the semester.

Nope. Otterbein University.

Was this a "dire fire" or something else? I couldn't find any press on layoffs.

From the Tweet of the faculty that was laid off (https://twitter.com/NathanielProf), the administration removed a degree from their program...He was tenured for eight years and promoted to full two years ago. His line: "No one hires 50-year-old teaching professors." struck a chord...

I saw that. I get that he is feeling bad, but he is actually wrong. I've seen people older than that get teaching jobs. Of course, they may have to move somewhere even more obscure than they were before.

[stemer]

I saw that. I get that he is feeling bad, but he is actually wrong. I've seen people older than that get teaching jobs. Of course, they may have to move somewhere even more obscure than they were before.

He is not wrong, he knows the Physics market and he is a realist. Most job openings for Physics in higher-ed are for postdocs and/or TT in R1s.  A 50-year old Physics full professor from a LAC trying to find another teaching job in a comparable teaching-focused institution these days is a non-trivial exercise. Getting a job at an R1 without having a history of grants and by competing against young folks eager to get a permanent position after they did numerous postdocs, is close to impossible. All that notwithstanding geographical preference.

[Mobius]

I'm seeing at least one full professor in Ohio saying they got fired today, on Twitter. Guess that's from John Carroll.
Though I'm guessing that they are still working until the end of the semester.

Nope. Otterbein University.

Was this a "dire fire" or something else? I couldn't find any press on layoffs.

From the Tweet of the faculty that was laid off (https://twitter.com/NathanielProf), the administration removed a degree from their program...He was tenured for eight years and promoted to full two years ago. His line: "No one hires 50-year-old teaching professors." struck a chord...

I saw that. I get that he is feeling bad, but he is actually wrong. I've seen people older than that get teaching jobs. Of course, they may have to move somewhere even more obscure than they were before.

My current place often hires people in their late 40s. Too bad we aren't hiring for physics this cycle. He'd be awfully competitive and while the city isn't that great, the region is.

[FishProf]

I saw that. I get that he is feeling bad, but he is actually wrong. I've seen people older than that get teaching jobs. Of course, they may have to move somewhere even more obscure than they were before.

He is not wrong, he knows the Physics market and he is a realist. Most job openings for Physics in higher-ed are for postdocs and/or TT in R1s.  A 50-year old Physics full professor from a LAC trying to find another teaching job in a comparable teaching-focused institution these days is a non-trivial exercise. Getting a job at an R1 without having a history of grants and by competing against young folks eager to get a permanent position after they did numerous postdocs, is close to impossible. All that notwithstanding geographical preference.

We have 2 openings....

[stemer]

I saw that. I get that he is feeling bad, but he is actually wrong. I've seen people older than that get teaching jobs. Of course, they may have to move somewhere even more obscure than they were before.

He is not wrong, he knows the Physics market and he is a realist. Most job openings for Physics in higher-ed are for postdocs and/or TT in R1s.  A 50-year old Physics full professor from a LAC trying to find another teaching job in a comparable teaching-focused institution these days is a non-trivial exercise. Getting a job at an R1 without having a history of grants and by competing against young folks eager to get a permanent position after they did numerous postdocs, is close to impossible. All that notwithstanding geographical preference.

We have 2 openings....

If so, be kind and contact him, don't tell me! I provided the Tweet.

[Ruralguy]

He'd probably be somewhat competitive for similar jobs if he was good and not just trudging through the system. But he wouldn't necessarily look a lot better than some of the other top candidates. The problem is that not that many similar schools are hiring in physics just now. There will probably be more retirements in a few years, but then he'd be close to retirement himself and enrollments might not be high enough to support hiring replacement physicists.