The University of Akron in Ohio, US, has decided for the time being not to move forward with a controversial proposal to merge several chemistry-related programmes and dramatically eliminate faculty. The plan had originally been put forward as a way to address the institution’s large financial deficit and declining numbers of students pursuing degrees in these areas.
Under the so-called ‘retrenchment proposition’ that the university had mulled since November 2024, three of its entities– the school of polymer science and polymer engineering (SPSPE); the chemical, biomolecular and corrosion engineering department (CBCE); and the chemistry department – would have combined into a single unit. Of particular concern was an estimate that roughly half of the SPSPE faculty would be laid off.
In addition to the job losses, the move would have left several PhD students having to relocate with their advisor to another institution, find a different faculty member to advise them, or try to complete their degree remotely with their original advisor.
Following a counterproposal put forward by faculty members, and recommendations made by the university’s president Robert Nemer, the university’s board of trustees has now agreed to measures that should avoid the proposed retrenchment.
SPSPE had faced losing half of its 20 faculty members under the original proposals. However, after four faculty members left their positions voluntarily, the university has determined that the current staffing level can be maintained. Nemer had previously noted that further cuts to the department would ‘trigger the loss of research and a diminished academic reputation’.
Instead of retrenchment, the decision has been made to focus ‘on workload and reducing the strain on the general fund expenditures’, the university explains. SPSPE has been urged to transition over a two- to three-year period to operate like an R1 top-tier research university by fully funding its graduate students on federal research grants and ‘buying out’ teaching loads.
For CBCE, the university’s provost had originally recommended that five full-time faculty positions be eliminated through retrenchment and other means. Following the voluntary departure of three staff members, the university says it has now determined that CBCE ‘was moving appropriately’ toward ‘alignment of resources with student demand’ and that the department should be able to meet goals through ‘growth and natural attrition, and elimination of positions was not deemed necessary at this time.’
These approved solutions ‘will likely eliminate the need for the proposed retrenchment and allow us to move forward with additional individual voluntary separations,’ said Nemer in a letter to the university community.
Relieved but still worried
One PhD candidate currently enrolled in SPSPE, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, has a mixed reaction to the outcome. ‘They largely walked back the worst suggestions, but uncertainty remains,’ the student tells Chemistry World. ‘I am relieved that they decided not to proceed with a retrenchment, but it is likely that some professors may decide to leave UA, and the whole fiasco probably makes the school less appealing to prospective grad students.’
The doctoral student calls the movement toward R1 workload and graduate assistant policies ‘significant language’ that could be used by the university’s administration to pressure SPSPE down the road. ‘It still doesn’t feel like the process is completely over – it hasn’t fully been finalised,’ the PhD candidate states. ‘There won’t be anything called “retrenchment,” at least at this time, but the long-term path forward is unclear.’
The same student notes that they will now most likely stay in the programme, adding that transferring mid-PhD is complicated since all credits might not transfer. ‘You will certainly be set back one to two semesters in research, and you will most likely have to start a new research project,’ they add. ‘But if I could magically transfer my project and group to another more competently administered university I would do it in a heartbeat.’
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