A queen sacrifice at Saint Leo University

One way colleges and universities can respond to rising financial pressure is to cut personnel. Sometimes they fire tenure-track faculty, either by removing their academic programs or by declaring financial emergency.

This is a policy I’ve dubbed “the queen sacrifice,” based on the chess gambit of giving up one’s most powerful piece. In this analogy tenure-track and especially tenured faculty have the queen’s role, being often enough the most powerful pieces on the campus chessboard, given their governance powers and protections of tenure. I’ve blogged many examples of this. Far too many.

Today’s example comes from Saint Leo University, which just announced a series of cuts. Their vice president for Strategic Enrollment Management described it as “[r]educing our university’s footprint and programs.”

The cuts include ending teaching at eight sites beyond the main campus: “Charleston, SC; Joint Base Charleston-Naval Weapons Station, SC; Columbus, MS; Corpus Christi, TX; and Jacksonville, Lake City, Ocala, and Mayport, FL.” (Students can finish their programs online.). SLU is also shutting down some degrees: “Bachelor of Arts in international hospitality, Bachelor of Arts in human services, and the Master of Science in human services.” Further, “all degree programs in the College of Education and Social Services will become a part of other colleges”; I don’t know if that sets the stage for further reductions.