Several Lincoln University faculty members to lose jobs

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Lincoln University in Jefferson City said several faculty members will be out of jobs by the end of the school year.

University president Kevin Rome said the layoffs are a part of program eliminations. It is unclear how many teachers are being laid off and who the teachers are, the Jefferson City News-Tribune reported.

Lincoln University officials decided in July to decertify the school's history degree and cancel two music degrees as well as a two-year early-childhood education degree.

That decision was based on low graduation numbers over the last five years, prospective students' low demand for a program and low regional or national career demands for the program. Rome said the program removals are "a difficult situation to be in, but as we move forward, I think it's important for everyone to know that we are focusing on the future of Lincoln University."

The university president also said faculty should focus more on tracking their graduates' success.

"They shouldn't graduate and have the same job they could have gotten without going to college," he told the Faculty-Staff Institute in August.

Some faculty members challenged the statistics behind those program eliminations, saying the LU curators were given inaccurate numbers.

The changes also were recommended by Said Sewell in September, who is currently on-leave from his positions as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. Sewell's support for the decertification was one of the reasons Faculty Senate overwhelmingly voted "no confidence" in September for Sewell's work.

"By repeating his unsupported claims concerning the above listed majors, the VPAA has done lasting damage to those programs even if they are reactivated or revived," the "no confidence" document stated.

Curators have not talked about changing or rescinding their vote to eliminate the programs.

Information from: Jefferson City News Tribune, http://www.newstribune.com