Support Letters

Click here for a google doc version of the below letter.

Dear UO leadership,

As an elected [role] of [constituency], I am writing to you to express my extreme concern about the UO’s rushed and undemocratic plan to lay off 25+ tenure-track faculty in Religious Studies, Judaic Studies, Arabic Studies, Holocaust Studies, German and Scandinavian Studies, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Oregon Hazards Lab, and Classics, as well as to make significant program reductions in WGSS, IRES, Libraries, and more. 

Many of my constituents have contacted me regarding these cuts, expressing their feeling that they would cause irreparable harm to Oregon students and the quality of public research and education at the UO. My constituents strongly oppose this rash course of action, which would undermine UO’s public mission.

Importantly, these cuts would erase critical expertise at a time when these specific fields are necessary to help understand global events and contemporary issues—and at the same time that many of these same fields are under fire on a national scale by the federal administration. Students at Oregon’s public flagship university should have access to basic knowledge of world languages and cultures to prepare them to face today’s pressing global challenges.

As an elected Oregon leader, I am concerned that UO leaders’ actions will tarnish the national reputation of the University of Oregon by setting a dangerous precedent that even tenured faculty can be fired at the whims of administrators. 

Major changes to the university’s curriculum require substantial discussion and planning, but these drastic cuts are being imposed from above, suddenly and undemocratically, by a handful of administrators. These plans are in full swing without any meaningful consultation with faculty about better ways to address the projected deficit, though consultation and collaboration with faculty in such circumstances is mandated both by University policy and by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the UO and United Academics.

Such collaborative efforts have successfully averted drastic harm to the UO in the past. For example, when administrators projected much more dramatic budget shortfalls at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a collaborative process resulted in a concrete plan to redress those shortfalls should they materialize, which would have required graduated financial sacrifices from faculty and administrators. The process was transparent, and everyone knew what would be necessary to salvage (not wreck) the academic mission of the University.

As a leader, you have the power to advocate for other solutions—such as the above processes for transparent collaboration, as well as options like early retirement incentives, targeted pay cuts, or cuts to every program’s budget by a small margin, rather than fully eliminating programs.I ask that you immediately drop the plan to eliminate whole programs and lay off tenured faculty, and instead pursue solutions that put Oregon’s students and public education first

I also ask that you will engage in a collaborative process of shared financial governance, decision-making, and transparency with faculty and other members of the UO community who have the practical knowledge and expertise to ensure cuts can be made without irreversible harm to the University of Oregon.

Sincerely,

Elected Official Name

Click here for a google doc version of the below letter.

Dear UO leadership,

As leaders of [Union/Organization], we are writing to you to express our outrage by the UO’s rushed and undemocratic plan to lay off 25+ tenure-track faculty in Religious Studies, Judaic Studies, Arabic Studies, Holocaust Studies, German and Scandinavian Studies, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Oregon Hazards Lab, and Classics, as well as to make significant program reductions in WGSS, IRES, Libraries, and more. In total, these cuts would cause irreparable harm to workers, tenure, and the quality of research and education at the UO.

In addition to being an attack on workers, these cuts represent an attack on the entire tenure system. We strongly oppose this rash course of action, which would set a dangerous precedent that even tenured faculty can be fired at the whims of administrators. Such an action would tarnish the national reputation of the University.

Moreover, these cuts would undermine UO’s core academic mission by erasing critical expertise at a time when these fields are necessary to help understand global events and contemporary issues. Students at Oregon’s public flagship university should have access to basic knowledge of world languages and cultures to prepare them to face today’s pressing global challenges.

Major changes to the university’s curriculum require substantial discussion and planning, but these drastic cuts are being imposed from above, suddenly and undemocratically, by a handful of administrators. These plans are in full swing without any meaningful consultation with faculty about better ways to address the projected deficit, though consultation and collaboration with faculty in such circumstances is mandated both by University policy and by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the UO and United Academics.

Such collaborative efforts have successfully averted drastic harm to the UO in the past. For example, when administrators projected much more dramatic budget shortfalls at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a collaborative process resulted in a concrete plan to redress those shortfalls should they materialize, which would have required graduated financial sacrifices from faculty and administrators. The process was transparent, and everyone knew what would be necessary to salvage (not wreck) the academic mission of the University.

As a leader, you have the power to advocate for other solutions—such as the above processes for transparent collaboration, as well as options like early retirement incentives, targeted pay cuts, or cuts to every program’s budget by a small margin, rather than fully eliminating programs.I ask that you immediately drop the plan to eliminate whole programs and lay off tenured faculty, and instead pursue solutions that put Oregon’s students and public education first

We collectively demand that you immediately drop the plan to eliminate whole programs and lay off tenured faculty, and instead pursue solutions that put students, faculty, and education first.  We hope that you will instead engage in a collaborative process of shared financial governance, decision-making, and transparency with faculty and other members of the UO community,  who have the practical knowledge and expertise to ensure cuts can be made without irreversible harm to the University of Oregon.

Faculty workers deserve better from UO’s leadership. We hope that you will live up to your commitments to workers, students, and the public.

Sincerely,

Local Leader Names, Positions

Professional organizations can emphasize the value and importance of the fields of study under fire at the university. How will these attacks on tenure and entire programs undermine public research and education in the long-term? How do you see these cuts as fitting into a broader national context of attacks on education?

You are welcome to adapt information from this website or from our autofilled email campaign as a base for your customized letter of support. See our Cuts Tracker for an updated list of existing and expected cuts.

Donors can emphasize to leaders how existing and proposed cuts undermine their confidence in UO leaders’ ability to effectively steward their donated funds. How will these cuts impact the likelihood you donate again in the future? If you have a special attachment to one of the programs under fire, you can also speak to the importance of this kind of education to the UO’s overall mission and public role in society.

You are welcome to adapt information from this website or from our autofilled email campaign as a base for your customized letter of support. See our Cuts Tracker for an updated list of existing and expected cuts.

Students can emphasize how much the existing and proposed cuts will negatively impact tell leaders how these cuts harm your educational experience. How will it impact you, personally, if these programs no longer exist? Or, if you have lost faculty mentors and instructors already, how has that layoff impacted you?

Parents can emphasize how these cuts undermine the value of the tuition you pay for your student’s education at the UO. How will it impact your student if these programs and faculty are cut?

You are welcome to adapt information from this website or from our auto-filled email campaign as a base for your customized letter of support. See our Cuts Tracker for an updated list of existing and expected cuts.

Alumni can emphasize how valuable the programs and faculty being cut were to their educational and research experience at the UO. What will future UO students lose out on if these cuts are allowed to continue?

Retired Faculty can emphasize the value and importance of the fields of study under fire at the university. How will these attacks on tenure and entire programs undermine the UO’s mission and long-term wellbeing?

You are welcome to adapt information from this website or from our auto-filled email campaign as a base for your customized letter of support. See our Cuts Tracker for an updated list of existing and expected cuts.