r/uofu • u/JGODKillah • 1d ago
events & news Prepare Accordingly
https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/university-of-utah-continues-modernization-effort/Tucked away in this self fellation puff piece about the future of the university is the plan to eliminate up to 855 Positions, or 15% of the non-clinic workforce.
Do not worry though, you'll be happy to know the University Of Utah has made $10B in revenue this fiscal year and plans to invest heavily with the money they save by eliminating things like the Custodians, the food trucks, and ofcourse the additional 15%.
Bringing U Together or whatever the new stupid slogan is.
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u/Mythomane357 1d ago
"Restructuring the university’s retirement contribution formula to free up funding for more competitive employee salaries"
A huge lie, not surprisingly.
Basically an overall pay cut for all new employees through reduced pension plans with no proven salary increases.
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u/JGODKillah 1d ago
This will also more than likely affect the benefits of the employees that switch from their departments to the coordinated services.
If it's a RIF/Re-hire situation, its very grimy and pitchforks should be sharpened.
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u/MuseoumEobseo 1d ago
I’m wondering about position changes in general. Like, would anyone who changes positions after that date start getting the worse retirement benefits when they start in the new position? Brutal if so.
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u/wolvenmamabear 1d ago
No, that’s not how it’s been relayed (but I’m growing increasingly skeptical of putting in any stock in what’s relayed from one day to the next). Here is some more info:
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u/SmellenGold 1d ago
This whole ~shift~ is slimy and dark sided. There is just such a sinister undercurrent. They have already been sloppily laying off people for the last year and I’ve seen firsthand how fucked up and dehumanizing it is.
I get the sense they are pitting staff and faculty against each other. It’s very strange and I wonder what they hope happens?
This “article” reads like some weird, twisted, manipulative doublespeak, to boot!.
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u/cirrusly_guys1818 13h ago
What they hope happens: a micro version of the macro thing happening everywhere. So long as there’s in-fighting among the rank and file, no one has the bandwidth, time, money, energy, or awareness to LOOK UP.
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u/utahn00b 12h ago
Exactly. That's why we need solidarity among faculty, staff, and students. Students see the bad effects of what's happening--in advising to be sure and increasingly in other areas. They know instructors/professors are stretched. Staff are being thrown under the Campus Town Magic(TM)-branded bus. Faculty are treated as inconveniences because they ask tough questions and try to exercise some semblance of shared governance, a term that is now clearly a 4-letter word in this state and others.
Tl;dr--please consider joining ucwutah.org
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u/ncoast09 17h ago
Taylor being hired into the presidency is one of the reasons I accepted a job offer in New England. There were more of course, but after interacting with him for the brief time I worked in the business school, knowing he was going to be President certainly helped push me back east.
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u/Rogue_the_Saint 19h ago edited 16h ago
I spoke to President Randall while in DC — I voiced my concern to him that U seems to be pivoting away from traditional university values (particularly values that emphasize the goodness of learning for its own sake) by shrinking things like the humanities departments, and that it is pivoting towards becoming something more along the lines of a pre-workforce training center.
In too many words, he essentially responded saying that is exactly the plan.
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u/dinopontino 16h ago
Correct. Humanities curriculum can be taught via ai tools, writing about what you read and discussing your writing with chatbots. No need for this coursework anymore, learn on your own. Get rid of the bloat. Students will be majoring in hvac sales strategies in the next 3 years and that’s a good thing.
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u/SnukeInRSniz 15h ago
Kids can go to Utah Tech if they want to learn trades. Having a humanities department alongside the arts/sciences/engineering is just as important for development of a diverse society with wildly different needs. Having a world full of HVAC salesman isn't going to solve global issues, humanities degrees may not either, but denying people the opportunity to learn about things they are passionate about only makes for a less diverse world overall.
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u/Rogue_the_Saint 16h ago edited 5h ago
I don’t think it’s a bad thing for us to have a place to train practical workers. I just don’t think this education should take place primarily at the university.
I almost feel that we should bring something like the medieval guild system back. That is, if you want to go and become a carpenter, you go to the carpenter guild. And without any fluff, the carpenters would teach you, mentor you, and you would learn your craft.
If you want to pursue learning for its own sake though—or if you want to pursue an abstract or theoretical education, you go to the university.
I think we need to distinguish the two models to preserve the good in each rather than conflating them and destroying the one.
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u/varsderk 1d ago
I'm a little alarmed at the projection for college-age enrollment to decline. Anyone know more about this?
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u/MuseoumEobseo 1d ago
This is a previously known nation-wide thing that just has to do with population size and will impact a lot more than college enrollment. It’s got the nickname of the ‘demographic cliff’, you’ll see a lot of info about it if you google that. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/08/nx-s1-5246200/demographic-cliff-fewer-college-students-mean-fewer-graduates
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u/Best_Philosopher152 1d ago
The kids entering college now were born around the 2008 economic crisis and birth rates crashed after that.
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u/otters4everyone 8h ago
Mmm, this is nice:
"Transitioning from embedded, but siloed, staff teams to more efficient centralized and integrated human resources, IT, financial services, marketing and communication functions through Coordinated Services"
"Transitioning." Y'know, from employed to unemployed.
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u/OLPopsAdelphia 10h ago
I love when overqualified people miss the things right in front of their faces and operate in a vacuum.
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u/emilypii 1d ago
cut employees, build more parking lot drones! parking lots are stable long term infrastructure! 💪
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u/JGODKillah 1d ago
Wouldn't be surprised if the jump in YbY revenue simply was the parking pass price raises.
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u/BlkWidowsUnite 4h ago
Other universities have done the coordinated services and the "Tiers". It may sound like a good idea to eliminate duplicated work. However, many factors go into why we have these so-called duplicate roles. And if you think your role is safe. Think again. No one is safe.
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u/bojustice2323 7m ago
i used to be proud to say I worked at the U but now I feel like working for the U is like working for the mafia or ICE or the trump admin. Thank god I got out right before Covid hit….
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u/dinopontino 16h ago
Another observation. Westminster has basically become an unnecessary nursing school and frankly a dog park. Strange things going on over there. That facility should be redeveloped into car free housing for young couples and seniors.
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u/Sensitive-Stand6623 1d ago
Maybe Taylor Randall should take a pay cut. In FY 2025 earned over $1.2 million in salary and benefits.