Message from President Birx and Provost Bowditch

Dear PSU Community:

On Wednesday afternoon, we had the opportunity to discuss concerns raised by some faculty, staff and students at the Faculty Senate Meeting. The passion and love that we all share for Plymouth State University is inspiring, and it was on full display as many of you added your voice to this ongoing conversation. We heard many questions and concerns that we are not yet prepared to address with specifics, but we want you all to know that the University is committed to ensuring your voices are heard.

For those of you who were not able to attend Wednesday's meeting, we invite you to send any questions or concerns you might have to the provost at psu-academic-affairs@plymouth.edu.

First, we’d like to take a moment to make sure everyone has the most up-to-date and factual information. To reiterate what we said at the meeting, some information has been circulating regarding the University’s “plans” to cut all the humanities departments and faculty positions. These claims have been overstated and incorrectly attributed to the president’s monthly report to faculty and staff in February. In fact, no announcements about specific cuts were made in that report. To clarify: yes, there have been discussions, but PSU Humanities and faculty have not been cut.

As noted in the president’s report, each of the university presidents and the chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire (USNH), of which PSU is a member, have been meeting regularly about the goals the trustees have set for USNH and to plan for the long-term sustainability of the system – and our University. Like our fellow USNH institutions, PSU is facing some challenging budget decisions in the coming months, but no final decisions have been made, and we agreed to work with faculty and the unions on developing a plan to present to the trustees. The reality is, some changes will be necessary to meet the University’s financial needs. This is an evolving process that will involve ongoing evaluation and conversations. Any statements about what the University will do at this point are premature.

While changes to how we package and deliver certain programs/course offerings in the future are likely, and programs will be impacted, it is premature to say what that will look like. In fact, we would not be having these discussions if final decisions had already been made. The faculty and administration have agreed to work together to come up with a plan to reconstruct certain programs, including those in the humanities in such a way that they increase engagement, translate more effectively into careers and ultimately stay sustainable in the long run. During this process, you might hear about specific ideas being floated by faculty or by administration, but until we’ve developed a final plan and agreed to execute it, these ideas are only misshapen lumps of clay, such is the process of adapting and innovating to meet the moment.

We believe PSU has a distinct advantage in responding to the pressures of the changing landscape of higher education based on our interdisciplinary and cluster learning pedagogy. One of the most challenging areas in this higher-ed environment is the humanities, and our unique approach and culture of innovation gives us the opportunity to be creative about how we bring these disciplines together to offer integrated liberal arts with a holistic vision of what students need to apply the multifaceted skills of the humanities. Ultimately, our goal is to preserve as much of our humanities offerings as we can, in a form that benefits every student and recognizes its critical role in every discipline and profession.

Thank you again for the opportunity to hear your concerns. We appreciate the passion and love for PSU that was expressed. We want to assure you that we feel the same passion and commitment, and we look forward to constructive, fact-based discussions to help us move forward together.

Sincerely,

Donald L. Birx
President

and

Nathaniel Bowditch
Provost