Citing California State University officials' desire to dispose of senior
faculty, California Faculty Association members vehemently opposed a proposal
today to reduce an early retirement program to two years, down from its
present five-year term.
According to Gerie Bledsoe, general manager of CFA, reducing the program would not only affect faculty, but students as well.
"[Reducing the program] ultimately means larger classes for students," Bledsoe said. "It means having a lecturer in the classroom who's not as knowledgeable as a tenured professor."
The Faculty Early Retirement Program allows tenured faculty who are 55 and over to teach one semester and take the following semester off - with full retirement benefits - for a five-year period.
During a professor's absence, part-time instructors are hired to teach, said Hamdi Bilici, Cal State Long Beach chapter president of CFA.
According to a CFA newsletter, if the proposal - which was introduced by CSU in a bargaining session last month with CFA - is approved, faculty applying to the program on or after July 1, and whose participation would begin with the 1999-2000 academic year, would remain in FERP for only two years.
"The CSU is forcing faculty members to retire or remain as faculty."
Those currently in the program or entering the program in the fall would not be affected.
Bilici said he does not understand why the CSU wants to cut back on FERP.
"The CSU is forcing faculty members to retire or remain as faculty," Bilici said. "Why do you want to force professors to get out if they are still willing to serve the university? It doesn't make sense."
"It's a win-win situation," Bilici said of the program. "We don't lose senior faculty members. Some can't be replaced that easily because of their years of experience."
According to Bilici, the proposed reduction has an added drawback.
"Our professors are not highly paid. By hiring younger professors, we aren't necessarily going to save money," Bilici said. "Hiring, training and interviews are additional costs."
Sam Strafaci, senior director of human resources for the CSU, said the university is not trying to dispose of aging faculty.
"Our proposal will not prohibit faculty members who have been here for a while to enter the program.
"If they want to enter at 70, that's fine," Strafaci said. "We're saying that once they decide to enter the program, they'll be in it for two years."
According to Strafaci, hiring younger faculty is beneficial to the CSU.
"It makes sense to have new faculty. They offer new ideas and perspectives," Strafaci said. "New professors are engaged in research; they're current in their disciplines."
Reducing the program would benefit students because there would be more faculty available during the academic year to advise them, Strafaci said.
Dr. Daniel Garvey, a journalism professor at CSULB who will be entering the program in June, said the proposed two-year limitation may not be all that terrible for faculty.
"It would depend on the person's age and financial status when retiring," Garvey said.
Getting someone to retire is a plus for the CSU because new faculty will be hired at lower wages, Garvey said.
According to Gary Reichard, vice president of academic affairs at CSULB, as of last fall, 46 Cal State Long Beach faculty members were in FERP.
If a compromise between CSU and CFA bargaining teams is not reached by May 8, CFA will wait until the fall to sign any agreement, Bilici said.