During the week of Nov. 16, it was announced that multiple staff members in the University would be laid off due to Fairfield’s bleak economic position. As one solution in part of an attempt to fix the $4.3 million deficit, the University chose to lay off different staff members on campus.
When President Jeffrey von Arx S.J.’s office and the Marketing & Communications Department were asked for an update on how the situation has been dealt with, they evaded answering any questions or commenting on the subject whatsoever. Instead, they suggested that The Mirror not publish a story this week, encouraging the newspaper to wait until the University could provide more answers and updates, avoiding responding to reporters altogether.
Why the silence? No one wants to talk about the issue, seemingly hoping it will be forgotten from the campus conscience.
This response follows the University’s initial handling of informing the public of the layoffs, when President von Arx sent out a vaguely explanatory email message only to faculty and staff members, not to students or other members of the campus community. The cuts also came soon before Thanksgiving break, limiting the time that campus media had to inform community members and respond to the layoffs, and discussion of the cuts since then has been limited if occurring at all.
Although the decision to lay off some University staff members may seem logical to some, the staff members that were let go only created a small dent in the total of University expenses compared to other positions with much higher salaries that also had the potential to be cut – but were instead kept protected from layoffs.
When a student chooses Fairfield University, they are led to believe that they will receive a Jesuit experience. According to the Jesuit values on Fairfield’s website, their Jesuit experience will be one “dedicated to the service of the common good…and has as an overarching goal of the promotion of justice and the defense of human dignity.” However, with the recent job cuts, students and staff have experienced quite the opposite experience.
As stated in the University’s mission statement, “Fairfield University… primary objectives are to develop the creative intellectual potential of its students and to foster in them ethical and religious values and a sense of social responsibility.”
For a school that prides itself on ethical and religious values, as well as social responsibility, it becomes confusing as to why they chose to let go some of the people who most needed the jobs they once held. It appears to go against many of the core Jesuit values students at the University are taught from first semester freshman year until graduation day.
The University wouldn’t respond to questions regarding the recent cuts, but would rather wait and come up with answers that look the best for them.
Apparently the lingering questions will be answered when the University finally decides the time is right, but until then the rest of the community will have to wait.
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