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CSUB faculty question administrator numbers

BY JEFF NACHTIGAL, Californian staff writer
jnachtigal@bakersfield.com | Monday, Oct 12 2009 09:00 PM

Last Updated Tuesday, Oct 13 2009 10:47 AM

Cal State Bakersfield has added 18 management positions in the past five years while faculty membership has declined and student enrollment has only grown slightly, drawing criticism that budget pain is not being spread proportionately.

"I understand that if we were growing by 50 percent, we need 50 more administrators. But after that, shouldn't it be proportional?" said Javier Trigos-Arrieta, chair of the math department, which has taken a 20 percent cut this year.

This year CSUB employs 71 administrators, compared to 57 in 2002, according to the university. That's a 25 percent jump.

Faculty numbers have decreased from 550 to 465, or 15 percent, in that time.

Over seven years, full-time student enrollment has grown slowly, by about 400 students, to 6,948 in 2008.

In a good year, a few more administrators might not stand out. But this year, CSUB faces an $8.3 million budget cut and all faculty and administrators are taking a10 percent pay cut in the form of furloughs. Tuition went up 32 percent, and the university is expected to reduce student enrollment by 6 percent next year.

CSUB administrators point out that three administrators were laid off this year and one post remains vacant, for a total of 71 currently filled management positions.

"We do not have an excess of administration for the work that needs to be done on the campus, in fact we are underfunded," said CSUB President Horace Mitchell.

Mitchell highlights the fact CSUB has fewer administrators than four other similar-sized California state universities.

Due to a funding structure that penalizes CSUB because a disproportionate number of its students attend part-time, the university hasn't been able to fund all the positions necessary to run a university, so the work gets spread around, Mitchell said.

For example, the vice president who manages CSUB's extension at Antelope Valley Center also handles a technical initiative, and serves as the interim vice president for student affairs, Mitchell said.

Some management areas are impossible to cut without putting the university at risk in terms of its responsibilities to students, said Mitchell.

"Even with that, we anticipate further reductions in management," said Mitchell, who has the ultimate say about administration positions each year.

There is validity to the fact certain positions must be filled, said Bruce Hartsell, chapter president of the California Faculty Association and a professor in CSUB's Department of Social Work.

But the the discrepancy between administration cuts and faculty cuts remains a big concern for faculty.

"It leaves faculty members feeling there is an overemphasis on administration compared to faculty members who are interacting with students," Hartsell said.

Administration growth is going on at all California state universities but the Bakersfield numbers are particularly striking, said Lillian Taiz, president of the California Faculty Association, and professor of history at Cal State Los Angeles.

"It shows questionable judgment. If you're shrinking your faculty, why on earth do you need to grow your administration staff?" Taiz said.

Joseph Fiedler, professor of mathematics and academic senate chair for the university Budget and Planning Committee, said the increase in administration numbers was a "red flag," and warranted a closer look.

"The thing we need to keep in mind is we are charged with a shared government, not a shared administration. The management is in the hands of the president," Fiedler said.

Also worrisome for Fiedler are the cuts yet to come.

In August, three non-tenured lecturers in the math department with a combined 50 years of experience were non-renewed, or in effect laid off.

Cuts to tenured faculty could come next.

"We have every reason to believe we will see notices to tenured faculty in January," Fiedler said.

After the 2006-07 school year, CSUB dropped to 64 administrators after six managers left, and the positions were left open, according to CSUB spokesperson Kathy Miller.

Those positions were filled, and five more positions were re-classified or added last year. Only one -- associate dean, undergraduate studies -- was a newly created position, said Miller.

Senior Vanessa Rojas, a student organizer for the group Students for Quality Education, collected 80 "dirty laundry" letters in two days to send to the governor's office in Sacramento outlining problems that run from students sitting on the floors of classrooms to canceled classes to faculty workload issues.

"As a student I hope the administration is allocating the money wisely, and have the positions available to run the university, and the students have the resources to attend school," Rojas said.