Students and faculty are invited to join a large discussion on the challenges universities face today with budget balancing and blunders on Sept. 26 and 27. “This is what we should be doing and this is what we should’ve been doing for a long time,” said Michael Mullins, a UMD professor who will be in attendance.
A keynote lecture by Benjamin Ginsberg, author of “The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of The All-Administrative University and Why it Matters,” will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in UMD Marshall Performing Arts Center (MPAC).
The title of Ginsberg’s book speaks to the main topic of conversation: the concerns of administrative bloat and how universities can reverse trends of laying off faculty and raising tuition to combat administration expenses.
The lecture will be followed by breakout sessions all day on Friday in the Kirby Rafters. Sessions include ways to combat the high cost of college, effective lobbying and legislative action, empowering faculty governance and much more.
On the surface, this event may seem to be in response to program prioritization, but the UMD History Department, UEA and Education Minnesota have been organizing this since last semester.
“We’ve been looking for an event that would bring various stakeholders on campus together, specifically students and faculty,” Mullins said. “Students should come in large numbers. If they hear things they like, they should comment on it, and if they hear things they don’t like, they should question it.”
Those interested in attending the two-day open discussion should register online at: http://events.SignUp4.com/FalloftheFaculty.
BY KIM HYATT
hyatt045@d.umn.edu