The clock’s ticking at Cleveland State University. July 31 is the last work day for an unknown number of staff members who took a buyout deal offered by the cash-strapped university. A day later, full-time faculty members must indicate if they, too, want to take the voluntary buyout. It’s all unfolding just before the fall semester begins Aug. 26.
University officials declined to give any updates or specifics to Signal Cleveland, pointing out that the process is still ongoing.
A university source, though, said that the campus seems to be “roiling with uncertainty at the moment.” That certainly seemed to be the case for portions of a town hall meeting with faculty and staff last week. One staffer told a panel of university administrators that some recent moves show “an institutional lack of understanding.” The crowd applauded in response.
President Laura Bloomberg defended the need to make tough choices: “We have evidence, not from our employees, but from the outcomes of our students that suggest to us we can do many things better.”
