X

Petition to reverse SUNY Potsdam theater department job cuts reaches nearly 2,500 signatures

Posted 5/9/23

BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI North Country This We e k POTSDAM — Following an announcement by SUNY Potsdam leadership that five instructors in the school’s Department of Theatre, Dance and Arts Management …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Petition to reverse SUNY Potsdam theater department job cuts reaches nearly 2,500 signatures

Posted

BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

POTSDAM — Following an announcement by SUNY Potsdam leadership that five instructors in the school’s Department of Theatre, Dance and Arts Management would not see their contracts renewed, an online petition has begun to circulate to encourage campus leaders to reverse course.

The announcement of the job cuts came nearly a week ago, after five faculty members said they had received emails from the SUNY provost’s office notifying them that their contracts would not be renewed.

“SUNY Potsdam has a long history of providing a high quality education to students, and we look forward to continuing that tradition well into our third century. With the passage of the New York State budget and more clear information on state support for the coming year, our leadership will continue to analyze data and work on proposals to close our budget gap through expense reductions and increased revenue. When we have more information, we will share it with both the campus and the community,” SUNY Potsdam President Suzanne Smith said.

Current and retired faculty alike told 7 News in a previous report that many positions have been eliminated through attrition and retirements of long term faculty in recent years. Those faculty members also said that no plans have been announced to fill those recently vacated positions.

“We know that there is a lot of speculation, but we are still working with SUNY System Administration to finalize our financial stability plan. It’s important to know that no announcements have been made about these or any other programs at this point. Nothing is final, and we cannot share any details of work in progress. We also cannot discuss individual personnel decisions. The renewal process is still in progress, and final decisions have not yet been made on any positions,” Interim Provost Dr. Alan Hersker said.

The change.org petition is calling on campus leadership to maintain the five positions, saying “we maintain that the faculty members in question have demonstrated exceptional dedication and performance and are integral to the department’s ongoing success.”

The petition goes on further, saying the signers express “our firm endorsement for the renewal of faculty contracts within the esteemed department.”

As of May 8 at 3:30 p.m. the petition obtained 2,426 signatures of a 2,500 signature goal.

SUNY Potsdam has seen a severe drop in enrollment in recent years, declining from a peak for 4,500 students to just 2,500 last year. While other area colleges saw a decline in enrollment of 6.5-8% due to COVID restrictions and online course offerings, SUNY Potsdam saw the largest decline of 27% over the same time period, according to a previous North Country This Week report.

A request for comment from Theatre Department chair Jay Pecora was not immediately returned as of press time.