The Jan. 16 Board of Regents Annual Governance Report on Faculty Tenure clearly tells the sad story of the long-term loss of faculty at Iowa State University. Since 1985-86 the number of tenured faculty at Iowa State has declined by 17.5 percent, or 225 faculty.

During this same period, the number of tenured faculty at the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa increased by 12.7 percent (149 faculty) and 9.1 percent (36 faculty) respectively.

The fundamental question is, why has the number of tenured faculty at our sister institutions significantly increased while during the same period the number of tenured faculty at Iowa State has drastically declined?

The answer is quite simple; the administration at Iowa State has continually chosen to meet budget reductions by cutting faculty, while our sister institutions have not. Given the fact that enrollment at Iowa State has increased by 1,382 students since 1986 this policy of continually cutting faculty would seem ill-conceived. The inevitable consequences of this policy are larger classes, longer times to graduation, increased workload for faculty and lower morale for both students and faculty.

President Geoffroy has repeatedly and publicly stated that the top priority for his administration is to increase the number of tenured faculty by recruiting outstanding faculty to the university. The crucial question is whether this stated priority will indeed become university policy, or will the policy of cutting tenured faculty positions to meet budget reductions continue?

Unfortunately, the 15-year track record of past administrations offers little hope for the president’s priority. In fact, the university’s system of meeting budget reductions is seriously flawed, in that when past budget reductions have been needed the administration has simply cut open faculty positions. This is not only poor policy, it is also poor management in that most open faculty positions are the result of a random process and not the product of a well planned personnel management process. This flawed policy must be reversed; if it is not, the consequences for the university are clear.

It is time for the faculty and students at Iowa State to stand up and tell the administration to stop this 15-year long trend of decline in the number of faculty. The heart of the university is its faculty. Through their teaching, research and engagement they serve our students and the people of Iowa. Without them, there is no university.

Let us all watch closely as our new administration addresses the next round of budget reductions.

Max Wortman

Distinguished professor Management President-elect, Faculty Senate Task Force on Response to them MGT-America Report