Rutgers May Lay Off 38 Faculty Members

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ —Potential lay-off notices were given to 38 Rutgers adjunct faculty members on March 6, according to the professors' union, and confirmed by the university.

The school is required to let professors know by a contractual deadline if their position may not be renewed for next year, according to the terms of an agreement Rutgers has with one of its faculty unions, the AAUP-AFT.

All 38 teachers are defined as "lectures" in the School of Arts and Sciences; they received notices last Friday they may not be re-appointed to their jobs next year. The university said there is a chance some could be re-hired.

The 38 faculty members teach about 100 classes, and this will have a direct impact on students, said Hank Kalet, vice president of the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union.

The faculty union said Rutgers continues to pour money into its athletics program (currently operating at a $516-million deficit), and the school looks to academics any time it wants to save money.

The compensation for adjunct professors accounts for less than one percent of the university’s budget.

"The money 'saved' by these cuts is minimal and could easily have been found in wasteful spending rather than in essential teachers’ salaries," said Heather Pierce, president of the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union. "Rutgers needs to reexamine its priorities. Its focus must be on the quality education and cutting-edge research that have propelled Rutgers into the ranks of the nation’s finest public universities, making it a draw for students around the world."

The two Rutgers faculty unions say Rutgers finances should be in very good shape: Rutgers has tuition hikes every year (tuition increased four percent in 2025, and another tuition hike is coming in fall 2026). Rutgers total enrollment is up by more than three percent. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the university's unrestricted reserves have grown by more than 50 percent, as has its endowment, which now exceeds $2 billion.

The only place Rutgers runs at a loss is its athletic department, according to accounting data the university previously made public to the media. Rutgers Athletics has famously rung up a $516.9 million deficit since the school joined the Big Ten athletic conference in 2014.

Non-tenure-track lecturers teach about a third of all classes across the university. They are the most vulnerable members of the faculty; they teach on short-term contracts, are paid per class and seldom qualify for health benefits.

The Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union represents roughly 3,000 lecturers overall. Rutgers AAUP-AFT represents more than 5,000 full-time faculty, graduate workers, postdocs and more at Rutgers.

Rutgers has dug a $500 million hole since joining the Big Ten. Where did the money go? (NJ.com)