Recent Coverage: Cuts in Courses Cause Concerns

George-Anne Daily, Feb. 25, 2010, by Charles Minishew: 

A number of Georgia Southern students went to the Student Government Association Wednesday night with concerns that the number of upper division courses offered would decrease as a result of an increasing freshman population and budget cuts.

Kelsey Ryan, Veronika Urbina and Kelly Corallo created a group on Facebook to protest cuts of upper division courses at GSU on Friday, Feb. 19. By Wednesday, the group had nearly 1,000 members.

(more at GA-Daily)

Financial Crisis FAQs

From AAUP: Most colleges and universities, and their faculties, are facing challenging financial situations. In a few cases the challenges are extraordinary. But in too many cases, administrations invoke the broader fiscal collapse in ways that exaggerate institutional conditions that are considerably less extreme. And in too many cases administrations invoke such conditions as justifications for implementing, without sufficient or any meaningful faculty participation in the decision making, a variety of measures that threaten the working conditions of faculty, academic professionals, and graduate employees. Such measures include hiring and salary freezes, furloughs, salary cuts, layoffs, nonrenewals, reduction and elimination of academic programs and colleges, revision of curricula, changes in academic policy, elimination of tenure, substantial changes in workload, and more.

Recent Coverage About Changes at GSU

"Too Many Students, Not Enough Faculty?" George-Anne Daily, 2/4/10

From the article: "GSU has experienced rising enrollment numbers over the past 10 years. Since 2000, enrollment has increased by nearly 5,000 students. The fall semester of 2009 saw a large increase in the student to faculty ratio. The number of faculty decreased by nearly 70 between fall 2008 and fall 2009. The University experienced a big jump in enrollment during this period, however. There were 19,086 students enrolled in fall 2009, an increase of over 1,300 students from the previous fall semester.

The student to faculty ratio increased from 19 to one in fall 2007 to 21 to one in fall 2008.

Michael Moore, Moderator of the Faculty Senate and a professor at Georgia Southern, said that increases in class sizes make it difficult to maintain teaching ability. Moore said he has seen an increase of about five to seven more students in each of his classes than in past semesters.

“It is hard to expect the same teaching results with increased class sizes,” said Moore.

Moore also said that due to rising enrollment many classes have had to add more sections, creating a need for more faculty members to cover them. Due to the budget cuts, however, many departments are experiencing a shortage of faculty needed to teach these courses, he added."

Event: George Shriver to Speak on Academic Freedom

Thursday, 3/25/2010, 4 pm: George Shriver, professor emeritus of History at Georgia Southern University, will speak on Academic Freedom in COBA Room 1124. This event is cosponsored by AAUP and the Student Government Association of GSU.
Shriver, GSU Professor Emeritus of History, will provide a history of the AAUP and will offer a perspective on the definition and history of academic freedom, its importance for students and faculty, and its role in protecting expression on campus from interference by church, state, and campus authorities.He will also discuss AAUP President Cary Nelson’s book, No University is an Island, which offers the latest interpretation of academic freedom and its importance for society.
Born in Jacksonville, George Shriver is a graduate of Stetson University, where he received a BA in English and history. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity from Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, and the Ph.D. degree in Religious Historical Studies from Duke University. He has served as a professor of church history at Southeastern Seminary and as a visiting professor at Duke University and Meredith College. He was a professor at GSU from 1973 to 1999. He is the author of numerous books and publications, including Philip Schaff: Christian Scholar and Ecumenical Prophet, Contemporary Reflections on the Medieval Christian Tradition, The Humanness of John Calvin, From Science to Theology, American Religious Heretic, and Oh, To Be an Educator: Reflections on the Pilgrimage. Dr. Shriver is the recipient of several awards, including being elected Professor of the Year in 1975, received the Award for Excellence in Research in 1987, and receiving the Ruffin Cup in 1997 from Georgia Southern University. In 2000, Stetson University awarded Dr. Shriver the Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr. Shriver also received a fellowship to study for one year at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.

Afterward, we will have a reception with food and a chance to talk with fellow faculty and students. See the facebook page for the event and invite your friends! We hope to see you there!