The Griffin’s primary duty is to inform our student body on campus happenings, whether celebratory or pernicious. It would be difficult to, nor does The Griffin want to, ignore the discontent and palpable tension between Canisius’ senior administration and faculty that has bubbled to the surface over the last few weeks. The Griffin makes note of the grievances from the Canisius chapter of the AAUP-AFT – the American Association of University Professors, combined with the American Federation of Teachers – that were posted in the elevators in Churchill Tower this week, and aims to provide student-centered commentary.
The Griffin wants our student readers to first understand that the fate of faculty directly impacts the quality of our student experience. By virtue of the classroom relationship we share with faculty, our interests are inevitably intertwined.
As such, The Griffin does not support a proposal to have full-time faculty teach four courses instead of three beginning next semester. Our scruples with this proposal do not arise from the 30% workload increase per se, as it is not unheard of; full-time faculty at other higher education institutions are required to teach four courses. The Griffin rejects the prospect on three grounds. First, the proposal would not coincide with additional compensation. In light of faculty not receiving a cost-of-living adjustment to salaries in over a decade, per the AAUP-AFT document, this is especially egregious. Second, the short notice of such a drastic change to professor lifestyle and university culture is likewise unseemly. Third – and most significantly for The Griffin – the proposal will negatively impact students.
To understand why, one ought to look at the professor’s position generally. Professorships – from the perspective of the entire working population – are not vocations chosen as an infallible way to earn a living and provide for one’s self and family. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Obtaining the qualifications to first become a university professor requires years of intensive research and hardship. Almost every professor across all disciplines has stories of barely scraping by in graduate school, being a teacher assistant and holding other dead-end jobs just to stay afloat. All this to say, the desire to become a professor arises out of a sincere desire to study and research for the enrichment of society and to bestow such knowledge for posterity. That is a valuable objective that ought to be preserved and respected.
Once a professorship begins, the job is not merely teaching. It is incumbent upon professors to continuously cultivate knowledge, publish books or be published in peer-reviewed journals. This expectation elevates the reputation of the professor in particular, but also the university in general. The Griffin has no desire to alter such established expectations.
Yet, the proposed requirements to teach an extra course with these contemporaneous necessities in conducting research and participating in various university committees will result in a strained, spread-thin faculty. Professors will have more students, but less time to devote to them. The Griffin fears the implications of this shift on one of the most attractive, boastful elements of our university: its low faculty to student ratio. Canisius professors are responsive, devoted academics and The Griffin does not want that to change.
At The Griffin, our apprehensions regarding this so-called 4/4 proposal are not unfounded. Not a single editorial board member has gone without an administrative change that negatively impacted their academic experience at Canisius: a departing professor or adviser, eliminated concentration, canceled educational trip, etc. It is frustrating to say the least.
Our displeasure with these and other changes ought not to be construed to mean The Griffin advocates full, utter continuity in our college experience. On the contrary, we are in fervent support of changes that fulfill the Jesuit value of magis – meaningfully providing more to our educational experiences. But The Griffin has perceived the aforementioned changes to student life and the proposed 4/4 plan to only hinder or erode our personal strivings in becoming well-versed students and citizens.
The Griffin cannot help but support our faculty: the sine qua non of a university. Canisius faculty care about us – as humans first, scholars second. Entire newspaper editions could be filled by our editorial board with odes to these devoted employees. It is an utter, appalling shame that The Griffin must refrain from acknowledging any specific person individually for fear of reprimand.
Amidst this ostensible tumult, The Griffin wants to remind our fellow students that we cannot lose sight of our one job: study. It is difficult not to feel as though our education hangs in the balance as a sacrificial third party in a labor dispute, especially given the report that faculty senate resolution urged faculty to withhold Spring 2025 schedules until discussions occurred (The Griffin does not support our academic prospects being used as leverage in any way). But it is important to keep one thing in mind: both the faculty and administration, fundamentally, have the same goal: to educate us. Their current disagreements hinge on the propriety of the means to achieve the ends we all desire. Thus, our path as students holds firm.
Most of what The Griffin and fellow students have heard is the faculty’s side. As critically-thinking, college-educated individuals, however, we do know that it is not in the administration’s interest to agitate faculty and increase their workload; jobs on both sides are at stake. But that is all the defense The Griffin can currently provide the administration, as their loud silence prevails. We believe this persistent lack of administrative transparency has only augmented current tensions. Thus we look forward to the lunch that President Stoute invited our staff to and hope that our discussion can bring increased transparency to campus.
The Griffin is cognizant that the Canisius administration cannot fall victim to a myopia by only serving the needs of current faculty and students. The inverse, however, is just as damaging. Being too future-focused alienates the current student body and faculty alike. Canisius is supposedly the best school in the 716, but a lot of our collegiate community doesn’t share the sentiment. If the current campus does not have faith in the institution, admissions cannot expect an increased enrollment.
The Griffin understands that Canisius is a business; and currently, there is no way to sugarcoat that the business is in dire straits. It truly may be that the only way to keep Canisius’ head above water is to impose these demands on professors. Yet, if the decisions to financially salvage this institution harm its raison d’être with an agitated faculty, demoralized student body and fewer opportunities, The Griffin is left with no choice but to question: what is it, exactly, that we are saving? If to save a business our institutional values accumulated over 150 years are lost, will only a place unrecognizable in all but name remain?
It is unfortunate that students are currently buzzing about the state of their faculty. The Griffin does not wish for any faculty to be retaliated against for any comments made. For us, the faculty’s disclosure of such information to students is not an indication of professorial impropriety, but a testament to a valued group feeling neither seen nor heard by administrators.
With that, we encourage you to attend the State of the University to be held on Wednesday, Oct. 9 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Regis Room. The Griffin would like to specifically note that, as of printing, there was no direct communication to students in regard to this event.
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