Protest from Culture Studies Scholars: ‘Give Our Sector Plan Colleagues Permanent Contracts’
Two assistant professors in the Department of Culture Studies, hired last year under the sector plans, are facing great uncertainty about their future due to the government’s budget cuts. According to their colleagues, this situation is unacceptable. In an open letter, they call on the Faculty Board to grant permanent contracts.
The two assistant professors, Irem Bezcioğlu-Göktolga and Kate Huber, are not alone. Several academics within Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences (TSHD) find themselves in similar positions.
The authors and signatories of the letter find this situation odd, especially since the government recently decided to spare the sector plans from its budget cuts. “To our surprise, however, the Faculty Board still decided to postpone the decision regarding these staff members’ contracts until November and December.”
The letter, written by several faculty members, criticizes the Faculty Board’s decision and emphasizes the significant impact the uncertainty has on the mental well-being of the affected assistant professors. According to the letter’s authors, this is at odds with the theme of Tilburg University’s opening of the academic year, “mental health and well-being.”
Providing Security
In contact with other universities, it appears that Tilburg University stands alone in this decision. At universities in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht, newly hired assistant professors under the sector plans are “just as likely to receive a permanent contract as they were before the announcement of the new government plan.”
The authors of the letter make an urgent appeal to the Faculty Board to reconsider its decision and offer security to the affected staff members. “Our university provides excellent teaching and research thanks to the people who work here,” the letter states. “Our colleagues are our top priority as we collectively face the challenges of the upcoming budget cuts.”
Reaction faculty board TSHD
‘We are aware of the situation in which these two highly valued Assistant Professors (UDs) find themselves and the great uncertainty that comes with it. The budget cuts and the phased manner in which the accompanying measures are becoming clear mean that we must carefully and step-by-step make all considerations.
We have already been in personal contact with these colleagues, and it goes without saying that we will continue these conversations and we will do our best to help them. We share the sympathy that our colleagues have for the personal situation of these UDs, and we are fully committed to supporting and informing them to the best of our ability.’
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