Word: fas
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Just talked @harvardclubnewyork about FAS finances. Hope my speech inspired them enough...
News that the administration is considering offering professors an early retirement incentive is worrying, especially in conjunction with the ongoing hiring freeze FAS implemented last November. The faculty buyout has the potential to harm Harvard’s educational mission if it is carried out with the hiring freeze still in place. The early retirement incentive is similar to one offered to staff two months ago and is part of a series of measures intended to pare down the faculty’s budget, which is expected to run a $220 million deficit over the next two years...
While cost-cutting measures are certainly necessary given the FAS financial situation, trimming the faculty to decrease costs harms a central mission of the University to maintain the highest standard of education possible. Measures that directly threaten Harvard’s quality of education should be a true last resort...
...retirement incentive does make it easier for professors who wish to retire to do so and allows younger professors to rise in their fields. In fact, in many ways this is a better cost-cutting method than the hiring freeze, which prevents any new talent from being hired. If FAS is faced with the choice between a buyout and a hiring freeze, the buyout is the clear best choice...
With the potential to harm Harvard’s academic mission, FAS should not implement this buyout, and if they find it necessary to do so, the hiring freeze should first be lifted. We appreciate the need for cost-cutting measures in these difficult economic times, but the University’s mission is to provide education of the highest caliber. Intentionally decreasing the size of the faculty is inconsistent with that mission and should only be seen as a last resort...