Response from UMass Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences John Hird
Dear ---: Thank you for contacting me regarding the status of the Labor Center at UMass Amherst. I have received numerous messages expressing distress over reports that the UMass Amherst administration “has been cutting the Labor Center’s budget for many years” and plans “to eliminate funding for the Labor Center and Master’s degree program in Labor Studies.” I am writing to assure you of the administration’s support for the Labor Center. The narrative that the Center and its faculty are under attack is simply untrue.
As we begin a new academic year, the Labor Center’s future is bright. The program’s faculty have developed a plan to grow enrollments in its programs, and Dr. Tom Juravich has agreed to serve as the Center’s Interim Director.
Although the residential MS program has struggled in recent years with falling enrollments, the limited-residency Master’s program (Union Leadership and Administration, taught winter and summer terms through CPE) has been thriving. Last spring, the faculty collaborated with the Sociology Department Chair and me to develop a plan for rebuilding the residential program. Among other elements, that plan includes the hiring of a half-time staff member devoted to recruitment to the program, which we accomplished in May. The plan also includes bridge funding to support the residential program until enrollments rebound. The instructional support for the program is intact and now undergirded by the robust revenue from the limited residency program.
The Labor Center has a long, distinguished history and has graduated many students who have gone on to admirable careers. The UMass Amherst administration is honoring that history, the Center’s dedicated faculty, and its many proud alumni by working with the faculty to restore the success of all the Center’s programs.
Best regards,
John
Dear ---: Thank you for contacting me regarding the status of the Labor Center at UMass Amherst. I have received numerous messages expressing distress over reports that the UMass Amherst administration “has been cutting the Labor Center’s budget for many years” and plans “to eliminate funding for the Labor Center and Master’s degree program in Labor Studies.” I am writing to assure you of the administration’s support for the Labor Center. The narrative that the Center and its faculty are under attack is simply untrue.
As we begin a new academic year, the Labor Center’s future is bright. The program’s faculty have developed a plan to grow enrollments in its programs, and Dr. Tom Juravich has agreed to serve as the Center’s Interim Director.
Although the residential MS program has struggled in recent years with falling enrollments, the limited-residency Master’s program (Union Leadership and Administration, taught winter and summer terms through CPE) has been thriving. Last spring, the faculty collaborated with the Sociology Department Chair and me to develop a plan for rebuilding the residential program. Among other elements, that plan includes the hiring of a half-time staff member devoted to recruitment to the program, which we accomplished in May. The plan also includes bridge funding to support the residential program until enrollments rebound. The instructional support for the program is intact and now undergirded by the robust revenue from the limited residency program.
The Labor Center has a long, distinguished history and has graduated many students who have gone on to admirable careers. The UMass Amherst administration is honoring that history, the Center’s dedicated faculty, and its many proud alumni by working with the faculty to restore the success of all the Center’s programs.
Best regards,
John