Ithaca College

A panel discussion featuring Dr. Michele Hardesty, of Hampshire College, and IC faculty and students. The event will explore how other institutions of higher education have managed to navigate the Covid-19 crises without relying on mass layoffs. 

Layoffs at IC Are Not Inevitable! - 

Learning from Hampshire College

A Public Forum Hosted by The IC Open the Books Coalition

Monday, December 7, 7:00pm

Featuring

Michele Hardesty

Associate Professor of U.S. Literatures and Cultural Studies, Hampshire College. President of the Hampshire College AAUP Chapter and member of the Spring 2020 Faculty Negotiating Team that prevented layoffs. 

Tali Abraham

Students for Labor Action organizer, Ithaca College student

Patricia Rodriguez

Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Politics, Ithaca College

Sebastian Chavez

Students of Color Coalition Senator, Student Governance Council, Ithaca College

Moderated By

Sara Stohl

Students for Labor Action Organizer, Ithaca College Student

Ithaca College administrators claim that they must lay off 130+ faculty members and an additional 15-20 staff following the 167+ staff layoffs since April because of the pandemic and due to financial mismanagement prior to their appointment. Despite official commitments to transparency, however, these administrators have yet to open the books to share the college’s financial situation with those who will be affected. 

Recently, students, staff, and faculty at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA faced a similar situation. However, by pushing for financial transparency and demanding genuine shared governance, they made it possible to avoid layoffs. Students, staff, and faculty at Ithaca College must learn from this experience and declare that layoffs are not inevitable!

To access the public forum, register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrcuCpqTMqE9OWedBsYo31kOI7VwDFEK26

Sponsored by: The IC Open the Books Coalition, The Ithaca College Department of Politics, The Ithaca College Department of English, SEIU Local 200, Ithaca College Students for Labor Action,

Community endorsements: The Tompkins County Workers Center, Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America, Tompkins County Showing Up for Racial Justice, Ithaca PSL

Hosted by: The IC Open the Books Coalition. We are committed to preventing layoffs at Ithaca College. We demand that the IC administration open the books and commit to genuine shared governance. We demand that faculty and staff who were never responsible for institutional mismanagement not be forced to pay with their jobs. No layoffs!