C&EN: "University of Akron proposes cuts to polymer program"

Via C&EN, this grim news (article by Krystal Vasquez): 

Faced with a budget shortfall, the University of Akron (UA) is proposing to merge its department of chemistry; department of chemical, biomolecular, and corrosion engineering; and School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering and to cut up to 15 faculty positions across these disciplines.

If the the Ohio public research institution moves forward with the proposal as is, 10 of the cuts are slated to come from the polymer school, says Toni Bisconti, president of the Akron chapter of the American Association of University Professors, the union that represents the university’s full-time faculty. The school currently has 19 full-time faculty members.

The planned cuts, first reported by Signal Akron in November, are being proposed through a process known as retrenchment, which allows the university administration to eliminate faculty positions in the event of a significant financial crisis. The retrenchment follows several other cost-cutting and revenue-generating measures that the university recently implemented to reduce the $27 million deficit it expects to carry into 2025.

The chemistry department chair in the C&EN piece indicates that there are no cuts forthcoming, which is good, but cold comfort to the polymer program. It strikes me that the polymer program at Akron is prominent, and therefore, it is surprising to me that the UAkron administration is participating in seemingly destroying a world-class program. Best wishes to all of those affected, especially the graduate students and postdocs.