All Over Albany

Discontent at RPI

RPI president Shirley Jackson at the EMPAC opening last fall.

The frustration and resentment stoked by the layoffs at RPI appears to be prompting organization. A couple of Facebook groups have popped up to protest the cuts. The biggest (that we've come across) is Students Against Financial Mismanagement at RPI, which is pushing for greater transparency in how the institute manages its budget. From the group's page:

The layoffs are not just harmful to those who now no longer have an income and face a barren job market. They are also harmful for the students of RPI, since they have removed support staff directly involved in the educational process. They increase the workload on a support team that was already understaffed to begin with, which will inherently lead to reduced quality of education at the Institute. Any further reductions in workforce will serve to devalue the education that the undergraduate students of the Institute are investing 4 years and $36,950 in tuition per year to attain. Furthermore, the layoffs were conducted in a callous and unprofessional manner, just days before the holidays and effective immediately without prior warning. The morale drop among the RPI community from such an underhanded maneuver alone, combined with the fear that more will follow, is enough to harm the educational process.

The group, which had more than 750 members this morning, is calling on Shirley Jackson "to publicly and significantly reduce her compensation so that by reducing her luxuries, other members of the RPI community the school's spending on projects such as EMPAC and its donation to the Clinton Foundation.

The other, smaller group is a little more pointed. Its name? Lay off Shirley Ann.

Of course, both of these groups still trail the "I go to RPI, not 'Rensselaer'" group for membership.

And while we're on the topic of RPI, there's a new blog about it: RPInsider.