WINONA, Minn. – The statewide MinnState college faculty union accused the president of St. Cloud State as high-handed with faculty layoffs and program suspensions. The Inter-Faculty Organization said the layoff decision was made without consultation. A 10-minute Zoom announcement to deans and faculty was out of line, said state IFO President Jenna Chernega. The first the union heard of the plan was “anguished messages” from retrenched faculty, Chernega said.

Earlier: St. Cloud State retrenches: 24 profs shown door

Verbatim

Chernega: “Every retrenchment is devastating and erodes both academic freedom and the importance of tenure. The way this played out at St. Cloud State was especially cruel because of how the administration undermined shared governance. Wacker even branded the five-year employee reduction plan as “It’s Time.” We all know what it is time for: It’s time for the secrecy to end and for faculty voices to be heard. SCSU faculty, like all of us, deserve transparency, accountability, data accuracy, and shared governance, and we will stand with them.”

Chernega. State faculty union president. A sociology prof at Winona State.