Penn State seeks voluntary faculty, staff buyouts
Angling to reconcile budgetary constraints with a high payroll, Pennsylvania State University is offering voluntary retirement packages or buyouts to more than 1,200 faculty and staff members.
Angling to reconcile budgetary constraints with a high payroll, Pennsylvania State University is offering voluntary retirement packages or buyouts to more than 1,200 faculty and staff members.
The university said 340 of the targeted employees work on campuses other than University Park and 590 are academic faculty. Those choosing to accept the buyout must do so by Sept. 30.
The plan, outlined in a letter sent to staff last week, will help the school community become "active in addressing budgetary and ongoing workforce challenges," president Eric Barron said in a statement.
The university did not disclose a specific financial goal with the buyouts, but said the move was based on "the business needs of the University," as well as avoiding any stoppage in normal proceedings.
Penn State cited similar buyouts at other universities, including Pitt and Ohio University, that it said resulted in millions of dollars in savings.
Brian Curran, an art history professor and the president of the university's American Association of University Professors chapter, said reaction to the plan has been fairly muted.
"There has been a healthy amount of skepticism," Curran said. "It seems to me to be to encourage higher-paid staff to retire early. To save money - that's their motivation," he said, adding that it would track with an overall push to rely more heavily on adjuncts and lower-paid instructors.
In his letter to faculty and staff, Barron said the university would offer question-and answer sessions before the deadline.
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