hammekea@lopers.unk.edu

During finals week, UNK Administration announced that six faculty positions would be eliminated through a reduction in force, commonly known as RIF. Four positions will be eliminated, with two unfilled positions being eliminated as well.

Chancellor Doug Kristensen informed faculty about the final result in an email.

“UNK has for decades prioritized academic quality, and that begins with our faculty,” Kristensen said.

The College of Arts and Sciences is where all six positions are being cut. Two tenured geography positions will be eliminated, alongside one lecturer position in both the geography and philosophy departments. The art and theatre departments have one open position apiece that will go unfilled.

The geography and philosophy departments have had the smallest number of graduates in the College of Arts and Sciences. According to the UNK Factbook, geography had two graduates and philosophy had one graduate.

Three years ago, a faculty advisory committee was formed to evaluate staffing, which included factors such as credit hour production, department majors and graduates. Two campuswide meetings were held to discuss staffing loads and campus feedback was reviewed in the process. 

Another RIF is something that Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Kristin Majocha hopes to avoid in the future through careful and intentional use of resources. However, in an email response stated that she and the administration will annually review academic programs and their viability, including the importance to the mission of the University of Nebraska system and UNK. 

“This stewardship of resources will allow us to adjust as needed and hopefully avoid a future RIF process,” Majocha said.

Positions for the four affected faculty members will be eliminated in May 2024. Tenured faculty will have two years of recall rights.