Faculty worry buyout program could gut some departments

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)   University of Missouri faculty members are raising concerns that the system’s move to offer buyouts to its senior professors could leave some academic departments gutted.

The Kansas City Star reports the university system recently notified full-time and tenured faculty members over 62 of an option to receive a payout of 1.5 times their annual salary, up to $200,000, beginning Sept. 1, 2019. Eligible faculty at the Kansas City, Columbia, Rolla and St. Louis campuses must have worked in the system at least five years.

University system spokesman Christian Basi says the buyout program will save money, allow for more raises and serve as a way to “thank senior faculty for their contributions to the university.”

But history professor Gary Ebersole says past buyout programs led to the entire math and statistics department taking an early retirement.

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