Official Statement to the Faculty Senate

This statement was presented at the Faculty Senate meeting on December 8:

"On behalf of the Foreign Language XIV, I express our sincerest thanks for the efforts of the LSU Chapter and the National Office of the AAUP. It was the right thing to do. I also thank the members of the Faculty Senate for their unanimous vote in favor of Resolution 10-14.1. It was the right thing to do. In fact, this vote has been your finest moment this semester. A special thanks to Dr. Homberger, who worked so hard to draft the resolution and who argued passionately and effectively in favor of the resolution. You are an inspiration to all who take academia seriously. It was the right thing to do. In my book, you receive an A+.

I leave you with the following meditation by Marcus Aurelius….

Very often an unjust act is done by not doing something, 
not only by doing something.

Good luck to all of you."

Chancellor's Response to Faculty Senate Resolution 10-14.1

Update:  LSU General Counsel confirmed in an email dated 12/9 that the Board of Supervisors has never approved action involving foreign language instructors at LSU, calling the veracity of the Chancellor's statement below into question.

Rally Day - FLXIV Interactive

The Rally for Higher Education should be a great way to exchange ideas. Here are some of the ideas we've heard for stopping faculty cuts at LSU.

Add your own in the comments!

1. Administrators could take a voluntary 11 month salary spread out over 12 months. This would generate enough money for to keep foreign language instructors employed through the spring semester (the chancellor said that he would double whatever cut his colleagues agreed to).

2. Each one of the colleges at LSU-BR could adopt a foreign language faculty member for one semester so that the instructors could finish out a full year of service.

3. Other colleges with extra money from vacant faculty lines and other sources could voluntarily contribute to Humanities and Social Sciences (or be directed by the administration to do so) to keep faculty cuts from becoming a reality.

4. Increase out-of-state tuition. LSU could double the amount of out-of-state tuition and it would still be cheaper than in-state tuition in Texas.

5. The Athletic Department which is financially separate from the University could play the hero off the football field and contribute $270,000 to keep faculty from absorbing the budget cuts this year.

6.  The Chancellor could voluntarily act on the recommendations of the AAUP and the Faculty Senate to reinstate the Foreign Language Fourteen until alternatives to faculty cuts can be explored with full faculty representation.

Faculty Senate Resolution 10-14.1 passes unanimously!

Our sincere thanks to the LSU Chapter of the AAUP for drafting the Resolution, Dominique Homberger who sponsored it, and all the faculty senators who attended the meeting and voted.  See related article here.