University of Akron eyes potential cuts in polymer science, engineering

Akron, Ohio — As the University of Akron begins a retrenchment process that proposes the elimination of 35 full-time faculty positions, the school's College of Engineering and Polymer Science could see some of the most drastic changes.

"The mood is somber right now," Toni Bisconti, president of the Akron chapter of the American Association of University Professors, told Rubber News Nov. 26. "Faculty members are frustrated, confused, demoralized ... especially those of us who went through the rift in 2020, thinking that would be the last tenured downsizing and having full-time faculty members eliminated. But this is a scary time.

"That being said, I am trying to ensure our members that this is the beginning of a process, not the end of a process."

University of Akron President R.J. Nemer said the retrenchment process, which officially began Nov. 19, is necessary to combat declining enrollment and tuition revenue.

"Demographic shifts will continue to put pressure on our institution," Nemer said in a Nov. 19 letter to John Wiencek, executive vice president and provost. "Lower enrollment has resulted in significantly reduced state subsidies that substantially impacted the [fiscal year] 2025 budget.

"This will unfortunately involve the reduction of bargaining unit faculty positions at the university. We will be adjusting the number of the faculty to meet current student demand within our various degree offerings."

About 10 full-time positions are proposed for elimination in the School of Polymer Science and Engineering, within the College of Engineering and Polymer Science, one of the flagship departments at UA.

Another five positions would be eliminated in the Chemical, Biomolecular and Corrosion Engineering Department.

And the retrenchment proposes to combine the School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering; the Chemical, Biomolecular and Corrosion Engineering Department; and the Department of Chemistry into one entity.

Mark Soucek, interim director of the School of Polymer Science and Engineering, did not return calls seeking comment.

"When this was initially put out, they wanted 15 positions out of that new merger," Bisconti said, adding that three positions are from corrosion engineering, which is set to close permanently. "We have known that there have been concerns about some of the departments decreasing in enrollment, and others not operating as efficiently as they can be running, since beginning of semester ... but no specifics have been put out there until now."

Besides the College of Engineering and Polymer Science, the retrenchment will affect faculty within the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences.

In aggregate, seven departments between two colleges could be affected, Bisconti said.

The anthropology and physics departments are set to be eliminated entirely.

"The proposal is just that. ... It does not mean that's the final decision," Bisconti said. "Physics had already suspended their enrollment, so perhaps that was a low-hanging fruit for them.

"But the numbers they are starting with are not the numbers we will end with. .... My hope is this will all be negotiated in good faith."

Both the administration and union have left the door open to early separations, taking the place of full-time faculty cuts.

"The university is exploring strategies to reduce the fiscal year 2025-26 structural budget deficit," Tammy Ewin, vice president and chief communications and marketing officer, told Crain's Cleveland Business Nov. 26, a Rubber News sister publication. "We have just recently started to work closely with the faculty union to begin the process of retrenchment. Although recommendations have been made to release faculty positions in some academic areas through this process, these numbers have the capacity to be adjusted in some areas if individuals from these departments agree to the voluntary separations offered by the university, or other avenues are identified as the university and the AAUP work together during these discussions."

Bisconti said human resource departments are working hard to recognize the strengths of each faculty member, and whether their elimination is a good cost-cutting measure.

Upwards of 20 early retirements and separations have been proposed so far, she said.

If a full-time faculty member is a year from retirement, the early separation package probably makes sense, Bisconti said.

"If that is the situation, it is probably a good decision, a no-brainer," she said. "They could even get some perks by electing to do it.

"But it's tougher for those who are three to four years out. This forces their hand. We do not have a firm answer on whether we have a certain amount of retirees yet, to know whether we can remove someone else from the list."

The current collective bargaining agreement between the AAUP, which represents more than 400 full-time UA faculty members, and the university expires in mid-2026.

From a funding perspective, the University of Akron said it will meet its responsibilities to the Polymer Industry Cluster, EDA Tech Hubs award and the Ohio Department of Development Innovation Hub, regardless of the retrenchment plan.

"The university will meet its commitments ... to these areas of work force development and research and development efforts," Ewin said.

Brian Anderson, vice president of the Polymer Industry Cluster for the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, has spearheaded efforts to gain more than $80 million in state and federal funding for the sustainability efforts of the polymer cluster.

"They have given us every indication that they are committed to strengthening UA's polymer program even while they address enrollment declines," Anderson said. "They've also indicated that the results of the current process will not impede their ability to meet their obligations to the Polymer Industry Cluster, including with the Tech Hub and Innovation Hub awards."

Retrenchment follows a specific process, as dictated by the collective bargaining agreement between the university and AAUP.

A retrenchment can be triggered, among other parameters detailed in the CBA, by falling enrollment for five straight semesters.

And UA enrollment has cascaded in the last decade, from 25,177 students in 2015 to 14,813 in 2024, according to the university website.

"The beginning of retrenchment Nov. 19 triggered two clocks," Bisconti said. "One is that a joint committee must formed within five days."

The AAUP will name three members to the committee on retrenchment, Bisconti said, while Nemer has named Senior Vice Provost Gwen Price, Dean Dan Friesner and Dean Emily Janoski-Haehlen to the group, according to the president's letter.

The second clock that is ticking, Bisconti said, is for department heads to submit alternative suggestions to retrenchment. That deadline now is set for Jan. 13.

Other circumstances that may require retrenchment are enumerated in the CBA and include:

• "Modification, elimination or suspension leading to elimination of an academic program that require the reduction or replacement of bargaining unit faculty.
• "Reorganization of departments, schools or colleges that reduces the need for bargaining unit faculty by improving efficiency.
• "Action by the Ohio Department of Higher Education or Ohio General Assembly which requires the University to implement a retrenchment."

"I have determined that, pursuant to Article 15, Section 1 of the CBA, retrenchment is necessary, as one or more of the circumstances listed above currently exists or could exist in some academic units or the University as a whole," Nemer writes.

The university also has taken "austerity measures" to reduce costs, Nemer writes, part of its due diligence before retrenchment is enacted.

Nemers said the university will:

• Reduce athletic expenditures by approximately $1.7 million for fiscal year 2025.
• Privatize parking on campus through UAkronPark.
• "(Explore) opportunities to similarly privatize residence hall operations for similar reasons."
• Reduce the president's office budget through reduced spending and reducing the number of positions. According to a local news report, Nemer already has cut $800,000 from the Office of the President.
• Transfer university police dispatch duties to UAPD dispatch operations downtown.
• Revise its scholarship modeling to "significantly increase tuition revenue."

The committee's advisory recommendations must be submitted to Nemer within 30 days, according to the UA president's letter.

Nemer will suggest his own cuts during that time, which will be submitted along with the AAAU's recommendations to the Board of Trustees for a final determination, according to Nemer's letter.

The deadline for the joint committee to submit recommendations to the Board of Trustees is by the beginning of February 2025, while the board is expected to make a final decision on the proposed cuts in March 2025.

Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, contributed to this report.