In the past few weeks, the WashU community has become aware of widespread firings across the University. On Sept. 30, Chancellor Martin sent a University-wide email on WashU’s financial situation, including an update that since March, they have eliminated 316 staff positions and closed 198 open and vacant positions on both the Danforth and Medical campuses. The chancellor cited grant and funding cuts, “restructuring,” and “budget reductions” as the cause of these firings.

On Sept. 29, the Office of University Advancement fired 38 people. One employee alleged that they were given under an hour’s notice before the meetings where they were informed of their layoffs. Two subject librarians, Rudolph Clay and Clara McLeod, were also let go over the summer. They were longtime staff members and widely respected for their commitment to the library and students, yet they were fired with six days notice. In addition to the loss of these positions, the Post-Dispatch reported that “Arts & Sciences at WashU announced cuts of 12% [of positions] to each of its academic departments in recent months,” and that the McKelvey School of Engineering eliminated 25 positions earlier this summer.

These mass layoffs are a part of the many changes to campus amid large-scale University budget cuts and financial restructuring considerations. While we are all feeling the impacts of seemingly constant changes to our campus, these firings require us to take a step back and consider how we can support the faculty and staff who face serious instability in their careers at WashU and personal lives.

Letting these faculty and staff go is not aligned with WashU’s mission to cultivate an environment that supports the pursuit of knowledge and truth. The lack of transparency around the University’s financial state and resulting decisions has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, heightening stress for educators and staff. Meanwhile, the widespread changes to higher education under the Trump Administration further threaten the future of careers in academia. 

There has been a lot of discussion among students about the impacts of funding cuts on our daily lives, such as the lack of toilet paper and printers in some residential buildings. While these changes are significant, we must acknowledge that most of our places at WashU are secure. We must take actions to support those in our campus community who face a more uncertain future. 

As we undergo so many changes to campus, we urge all WashU community members to respect and support faculty and staff facing severe job insecurity, especially for the large portion who are not tenured.

When given the opportunity, advocate on behalf of faculty and staff and ask them how they’d like to be supported. When you speak to them, do not be afraid to acknowledge the instability of things on campus right now and check in with them. 

We can take these steps with faculty and staff from all realms of the University: While professors have not yet faced layoffs, they are still under threat. Attend your professors’ office hours to ask questions and also to ask how they are doing.  Utilize and talk to the subject librarians; using them as a resource will not only benefit your academics but also signal to administrators that we value their work. Respect the staff members that we interact with, especially those that we interact with on a day-to-day basis, like dining workers. Learn their names when you can, and do your part to make sure they know that they contribute meaningfully to the University community, because they do.

Give back to your teachers and staff members whenever you get the opportunity. When the time comes for course evaluations, fill them out thoughtfully and thoroughly. When the University sends out a survey asking about student perception of dining, respond with intention. What you say in your evaluations greatly impacts how faculty are perceived and if they will advance in their jobs.

If you care or are confused about these changes to the University, keep talking about them. Many faculty, staff, and other University employees do work that you may never see or know about; even if you are not personally affected by terminations or University changes, having discussions with your peers is an important way of keeping everyone aware of important changes. 

Students should support efforts by faculty and staff to advocate for their wellbeing and fair treatment. For example, the WashU branch of American Association of University Professors (AAUP) recently launched a petition claiming that the University’s financial actions do not align with its core mission. They called for greater transparency about WashU’s financial state, specifically, a special session of the Faculty Senate with the University’s Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance and Chief Financial Officer David Gray and the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Chief Administrative Officer Nichol Luoma. While this petition was only available for faculty, students should discuss AAUP with their peers and professors, and keep an eye out for opportunities to support the organization.

Ultimately, on-campus discussions and awareness will make their way to the people affected by and affecting these changes. Making sure that University officials know students care about these layoffs is a vital form of advocacy for what we value in our education and for more widespread respect for all University workers. 

Staff editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of our editorial board members. The editorial board operates independently of our newsroom and includes members of the senior staff.

Astrid Burns | Special Issues Editor

Sylvie Richards | Managing Forum Editor

Amelia Raden | Senior Forum Editor

David Ciorba | Senior Forum Editor 

Kate Theerman Rodriguez | Senior Forum Editor

Dion Hines | Senior Forum Editor

Lyn Wilkins | Junior Forum Editor

Riley Herron | Editor-in-Chief

Sydney Tran | Editor-in-Chief

Matt Eisner | Managing Sports Editor

Hannah Much | Junior Sports Editor

Will Rosenblum | Managing Scene Editor

Sara Gelrud | Junior Scene Editor

Sophie Schwartz | Junior Scene Editor

Sophia Hellman | Senior Scene Editor

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Bri Nitsberg | Managing Photo Editor

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