Displaying items by tag: UA Press

The University of Akron is trying to clear up more of the budget fallout that they didn't make clear the first time.

Layoffs at the university's multicultural center and at University Press do not mean those entities are closing. That's according to the vice president of advancement, Larry Burns, who says the multicultural center will consolidate with the Office of Inclusion and Equity.

He says University Press is being merged into the university library system. The university made the clarification after some media reported that both facets were being closed.

The same thing happened before ... the university fired the staff at E.J. Thomas Hall, media reports suggested that E.J. was being closed down, then the university said that was incorrect.

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(Statement from Lawrence Burns, Vice President of Advancement, The University of Akron) Media reports that The University of Akron plans to close its Multicultural Center and University Press are incorrect. Neither entity will close and UA's commitment to both diversity and the support of the humanities is resolute.

The Multicultural Center's operations are being consolidated with the university's Office of Inclusion & Equity. This consolidated unit is being elevated and will report directly to the president.

University Press operations are being transferred to UA's Division of Libraries.

Working in close consultation with faculty leadership – including the head of the Faculty Senate and the president of the AAUP-Akron chapter – there was an in-depth and comprehensive nine-month review of university finances that led up to the development of the University's budget. Unfortunately, position eliminations were a necessary part of the budget-balancing work to strengthen UA's financial health. As part of that process, it was determined that there would be no faculty layoffs to ensure the academic mission of the University was protected.

(Earlier coverage) A second day of layoffs at the University of Akron have hit other full departments.

Northeast Ohio Media Group reports that all staffers at UA's Multicultural Center and the UA Press have been released.

That comes after the staff of E.J. Thomas Hall was laid off on Monday.

213 positions are affected over all, with 161 employees in filled positions losing their jobs.

The University of Akron is trying to close a 60-million dollar budget gap, and administrators also eliminated the university's baseball program.

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On the Web: Northeast Ohio Media Group, www.cleveland.com