According to an all-campus email sent out by Dean of the College Chris Roellke at 5 p.m. this afternoon, the “hunger strikers have decided to end their protest.”  Three students had been hunger striking since late Tuesday night, Dec. 8, stating that they would continue their protest until the eliminated positions of 13 staff members were reinstated.

The three students had planned to continue their strike despite statements from Senior Officers that the positions would not be re-instated. Though the positions were not reinstated, Roellke’s e-mail included information from Human resources about 10 of the staff members whose positions were eliminated. According to Roellke, three of the employees whose positions had been eliminated will take other positions at the College,  “three have decided not to bid on other available positions at  this time for which they would have been eligible; two have accepted  retirement incentive packages; one was recently informed that the  layoff was withdrawn due to a voluntary transfer of another employee  in the same department to another opening at the College, and at least one has accepted a job elswhere.” 

 The email also states, “All those who have lost jobs have had access to career counseling and employment services as well as funds for professional development.  The College continues to work closely with those administrators and staff members who have had positions eliminated this fall to help them secure employment.”

Roellke and President Catharine Bond Hill will hold a debriefing meeting with the students involved in the strike on Sunday morning, Dec. 13. “Personally, I have found my own  conversations with the students engaged in this protest to be  fruitful, despite my serious concerns about their choice to conduct a  hunger strike,” wroted Roellke. ”I wish to thank all members of our community who have  expressed concern about the hunger strike.”

 The full text of the e-mail is below:

 Dear Members of the Vassar College Community,

Based on information from Human Resources, I am providing an update for the community on the 13 administrators and staff who received layoff notices this fall. Three are moving to other positions at the College; three have decided not to bid on other available positions at this time for which they would have been eligible; two have accepted retirement incentive packages; one was recently informed that the layoff was withdrawn due to a voluntary transfer of another employee in the same department to another opening at the College; and at least one has accepted a job elsewhere. All those who have lost jobs have had access to career counseling and employment services as well as funds for professional development. The College continues to work closely with those administrators and staff members who have had positions eliminated this fall to help them secure employment.

 I am both relieved and pleased to report that the hunger strikers have decided to end their protest. President Hill and I will have a debriefing meeting with the students on Sunday morning and look forward to additional opportunities for our community to reflect on this exceptionally difficult period. Student engagement in these issues is both an opportunity for powerful learning and allows for divergent perspectives to emerge. Personally, I have found my own conversations with the students engaged in this protest to be fruitful, despite my serious concerns about their choice to conduct a hunger strike. I wish to thank all members of our community who have expressed concern about the hunger strike. While the College’s employment policies could not be amended, the strikers highlight the empathy we all feel with those affected by the economic downturn. I want to assure the community that the College is acting in every way possible to find appropriate employment for those whose positions could not be continued, through no fault of their own.

 Sincerely and with appreciation,

Chris Roellke

Dean of the College

Professor of Education

• Tags: Economy, Hunger Strikers, Student Organizations

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 12th, 2009 at 5:42 pm and is filed under From the Newsroom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.