By Chelsea Zhao
Concordia University Chicago dismisses faculty and closes academic programs as the alliances with Dominican University (DU) are at a precarious point.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Concordia University lets go of 51 faculty and staff members and closes 15 programs, citing budget issues exasperated by the pandemic and a re-evaluation of the university’s priorities.
Among the programs facing closures are graphic arts, theater, chemistry, women’s and gender studies, etc. Karen Snow, vice president of DU’s Chapter of American Association of University Professors (AAUP), says the decision to eliminate certain programs comes from a prioritization of the university’s missions.
AAUP is a nonprofit organization that ensures rights of academic freedom, shared governance, and defines fundamental values of higher education institutions.
Snow says that the Illinois Chapter of AAUP is writing a letter of support to Concordia faculty who were dismissed and proceed with legal actions depending on the results of their investigations.
“I do know that the programs that were targeted for elimination were not so much due to financial issues but more of a mismatch in mission and identity with Concordia,” Snow said.
Snow stated that members of Dominican AAUP have expressed concerns over the situations and might re-examine in their previous agreements with Concordia.
Current Concordia students will finish their programs through adjunct faculty and courses at nearby universities, but future students will not enroll in these programs. According to Snow, Dominican could also expect an increase of incoming Concordia students this semester.
Dominican University had partnered with Concordia University in Gender and Women Studies (W&G) Conference. However, with Concordia’s reassessment of its institutional precedences, this will spell out a break in the partnership.
Christina Perez, program director of W&G Conference, sees DU’s expanded initiative and role in the conference.
The Conference was originally co-funded by Concordia and Dominican University and had 200 to 300 participants and attends annually from 2009 to 2019. The Spring 2020 conference was cancelled after Concordia eliminates the budget for the conference last year.
“And it wasn’t because Concordia was in the red. It wasn’t because they didn’t have the money. It was because ideologically, they did not want a gender studies conference,” Perez said.
This isn’t the first time Concordia has cut down funding for its programs. According to Perez, the university had invited a queer feminist spoken word group in the fall that later was turned away in spring, due to the group’s rhetoric on homophobia and heterosexuality.
“So, the space for this kind of intellectual pursuit dialogue has been closing at Concordia for a while,” Perez said.
“Concordia can be whoever they want to be, but it’s sad to see all the work we did together. All the kinds of potentials we could have going forward; really, they are deciding to be something quite different,” Perez said.