Jack Freer
Contributing Writer
I love The College of Wooster, and like many students, I am heavily involved on campus. I am an active member in four organizations and work two student jobs in fundraising and departmental assistance. In the last week, there has been an outcry of frustration and discontent across the College from students, staff, faculty and administration. At the Feb. 5 meeting, President McCall received criticism from staff and faculty about the lack of communication and mutual understanding of impending personnel cuts. These cuts, as President McCall mentioned, mark a shift in higher education towards lower student enrollment rates, faculty and staff retention rates and continued scholarship instability. Kenyon underwent a similar process in November, and continues to suffer from deep financial struggles and lowering rankings in college reviews.
I spoke personally with Vice President Lin Hillis following the meeting; when she stated that these things “…happen all the time in the corporate world,” my understanding of the administrative position immediately shifted. To apply an idea from my business consulting course, this mindset reflects a break in top-down communication, one in which ‘senior leadership’ didn’t maintain dialogue with ‘junior employees.’ Staff were not given advance notice of these cuts or informed of what the restructuring would require of them. Staff are the core of this institution, working many of the most student-facing roles and representing an enormous factor in the student experience. Incoming students are entering an institution that has chosen to cut roles in career services, enrollment management and positions for student affairs and support. None of the cuts made support current students’ health or futures, nor do they seem likely to encourage an increase in enrollment. Even from a corporate perspective, this is a failure, one that may reverberate through this institution for years to come.
As in any time of struggle, this situation should encourage questions about effectively building trust and methods to avoid future layoffs. Given 20% of cuts remain, it is critical that departments are informed in advance of impending changes and movements of staff. It’s been made clear that employees’ livelihoods are held at the end of an email and that’s not a position of care. Caring will require rebuilding trust with staff and faculty. That is going to mean top-down communication that is deliberate, consistent and transparent. The board of trustees needs to be a regular presence in student, staff and faculty’s lives. This access is needed to healthily navigate periods of change and also enable relationships to materially form. The president’s office needs to stand in solidarity with staff and faculty. Sarah Bolton, former president of the College, took a 20% pay cut during instability in the early pandemic to both literally and symbolically stake claim to the idea that members of this institution stand together. President McCall is not willing to do the same, and in a time of anticipated continued instability in higher education, it is critical that the administration undertakes a policy of radical care and reconciliation.
Financial transparency is a critical need as the school moves forward. Working in the alumni office, I’ve had insight into the challenges of securing funding and stipulations that come from many streams of funding, such as endowments. Through this process, I’ve come to appreciate the complexity of financially evaluating the College. I’ve also become aware of the realities of the demographic cliff and the ongoing projected decline in the numbers of students applying to college as a whole. Those in positions of leadership need to expect not only continued instability, but a new world of higher education. Faculty on funding boards are left in the dark about expenditures. An assemblage of students also take issue with the ethical implications of institutional investments. Both of these groups recognize the need for transparency, and the institution as a whole should receive increased education on how finances are managed. We are a nonprofit, not a corporation, and it is time for the administration to begin treating us as a community.