ABOVE: The union representing faculty members at the City University of New York held a protest in response to announced layoffs.
NINA WESTERVELT
On May 15, Mark Lucas received a phone call that left him numb. After 21 years as a physics professor at Ohio University, he received notice that after the next school year, his contract would no longer be renewed. “I’m within 10 years of retiring,” Lucas says. “Given the current situation, I have no idea what the job market will be like.”
Lucas was not alone. Citing ongoing budget challenges that were heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the university sent out non-renewal notices to 53 members of its faculty.
We expect the situation for the next one or two fiscal years to be very challenging.
The pandemic has bored holes in budgets at universities and colleges across the US and beyond. To stem the spread of the coronavirus, ...
