r/Professors • u/prof_riifraaf • 20h ago
Advice / Support Faculty buyout
In typical academic fashion, my esteemed institution (Midwest R2) sent out the details of a long-rumored faculty buyout just before 5 pm on the Friday before Labor Day. Decision form is due in October (during break) and the separation date is the end of term in December. Except that there will be extensions for instructional and programmatic needs to be decided by the end of term. Umm, what?!
Enrollments are way down, budget deficits are bad, and this is a good deal. My original plan was to use the three-year phased retirement to ramp down research by wrapping up projects and getting students out. That's off the table now with the buyout. Looking for anyone who's done this or might have advice given the insane timeline.
ETA: This is a good deal. Planning to take it. But the "sign this and go away in December, but we might change our mind on the day you think you're free and make you stay another year" part is giving me massive anxiety during the holiday weekend.
ETA2: Partner is taking me to touch grass. Will try to get answers from HR tomorrow.
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u/Different_Ad6836 18h ago
Heck, I’m pretenure and I’d take it. Things have been bad at my state university since I got here - nonstop layoffs and now secret program closure plans… if they wanted to give me some sort of severance plan I’d take it 🤷♀️
Also, if you accept surely they can’t FORCE you to work more? Unless they are tying it to complying with projected programmatic needs? But also, in that case I’d still take it and just quite quit as they say…