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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWestern Illinois University to lay off over 100 workers.
Both faculty and staff are impacted. This is just the beginning of the impact of the republican war on higher education. Illinois now has a new governor, a Democrat, but they will be paying for that crazy Republican governor for years to come.
Our university is also facing more layoff according to the rumor mill. We have already had some, no faculty yet, but some wonderful staff members who have given years to our school.
Sorry, as long as I have been here I still can't get a link to work, but it was in most of the Illinois papers.
dalton99a
(81,490 posts)WIU lays off 132 employees
Posted Mar 1, 2019 at 5:55 PM Updated Mar 1, 2019 at 5:55 PM
MACOMB Western Illinois University sent out 132 layoff notices Friday.
Of those 132 positions, 29 are faculty, two administrative, 89 civil service and 12 academic personnel; 12 are from WIUs Quad Cities campus.
The university has 8,502 students enrolled (Macomb, 7,235; Quad Cities, 1,267), according to its fall 2018 numbers. The WIU Fact Book for 2018-19 lists 1,802 full-time employees, 499 of whom are faculty.
Those notified in civil service have 30 days left at the university, according to Darcie Shinberger, director of university relations. Tenure and tenure track faculty receive a full-year of notice. They will teach the 2019-20 academic year. Non-tenure faculty will finish May 14. About 10 employees in security sensitive positions who received notices were asked to vacate their positions effective today, she said. They will continue to receive pay and benefits for 30 days per the Civil Service/benefits policies.
redstatebluegirl
(12,265 posts)I heard about it from a friend who works at Illinois State.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)People are so used to the idea that their kids will go to college that I dont think that this is happening and its implications For their childrens futures have even begun to sink in.
CanonRay
(14,101 posts)what a shame, great place. We had about 14000 when I was there.
mantis49
(813 posts)I went there and lived many years in that area. One dorm was imploded about 2 years ago. Another one will be completely closed down for the next school year. There was another big layoff about a year ago. Enrollment has taken a nose-dive in the last few years.
It breaks my heart. The university is the life-blood of the town, Macomb.
https://wqad.com/2019/03/01/wiu-announces-more-than-100-staff-to-lose-their-jobs-due-to-budget-and-low-enrollment/
https://www.facebook.com/WesternCourier/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARDl9jbLv2Vq3TV_J8t3rxbClsYVRjkqDUPxQaWTrg8BAQ912pl8iyV4shF5RGJl8oCnbYvpnhbC82jY&hc_ref=ARRQnFJ30v5yMmzob52mXQlfPcGTc2zesNZwnkMxQzTFg0rYxMOGYZACwCYqRzN9CBM&fref=nf
JaneQPublic
(7,113 posts)A couple of years ago, a cousin shared a video of my old dorm, the 21-story Higgins Hall, being imploded.
Many other dorms there have met the same fate.
Despite being deep in the cornfields of west-central Illinois, WIU's student population has traditionally been majority Chicagoans, thanks to AmTrak.
So no doubt WIU's downfall is largely due to the abundance of choices in online college courses.
AwakeAtLast
(14,125 posts)It's not just Illinois.