By ABBY BRAVO
Editor-In-Chief
When the closure of the College of Saint Rose was originally announced, faculty had heard that they will not be receiving severance packages for their time at the school as well as their health benefits after June 30. As the end of the semester quickly approaches, faculty and staff are still unsure about whether they will be receiving health benefits past the June 30 deadline given by the college.
With a little under 7 months notice and job windows closing months prior, many are stuck in a rut when trying to figure out what is next for them, while also trying to provide for their families. “A severance would be great but my bigger concern is keeping my family healthy,” said Ryane Straus, chair of the history and political science department at Saint Rose.
Due to the deadline on coverage, employees are forced to look at outside, more expensive, alternatives such as COBRA, a government insurance program for those out of work who are looking for insurance.
“COBRA is exorbitantly expensive and impractical for most families,” said Liz Richards, communications chair and co-chair of the Representative Committee at Saint Rose. This leaves many with limited options after the end of June with little outlooks on continuing their academic careers.
John Dion, a marketing professor at the college, like many others, had concerns with the amount of time given to find work after the closure. “Our hiring season is very limited… it begins at the end of summer and ends around Thanksgiving,” he said. After this, organizations move on to the next phase of interviews for potential new hires, which is not ideal for Saint Rose employees as the news of the school closing came just a week after the Thanksgiving holiday.
On top of all of the unknowns of the college shutting down, now information has come out about the college paying administrators more for staying on to complete closing duties. “I think the thing that really hurt emotionally, beyond the college closing, is when I heard that not only are some high paid administrators staying on through the end of the year… they’re also getting a bonus,” said Straus. While it is understandable to most that select administration needs to stay longer in order to wrap up college processes effectively, there is a lot of anger when it comes to the bonus as an “incentive.”
“All we are asking for is healthcare… this is like rubbing salt into the wound,” said Straus in regard to the incentives.
Denise Dagnino, director of communications for the college sent a statement to The Chronicle in lieu of an interview with administration which read; “The Board of Trustees and President White have determined that the College must maintain fewer than 10 administrative positions after June 30, 2024 to meet legal and regulatory requirements of an orderly wind-down of operations.” While who these administrators are is still unknown, as well as the amount of the bonus incentives.
“It seems as though the continued culture of the lack of transparency and secrecy remains,” said Richards in reference to the secrecy of the bonuses.
With all of these concerns whirring around campus, social work professor and Representative Committee co-chair Maureen Rotondi took matters into her own hands and wrote a statement for the Board and administrators which she read at their March meeting.
The statement was raw and represented what most of the campus community has been feeling throughout this closure when it comes to a lack of transparency from administration. “The little communication we have had from you has been defensive and dismissive, suggesting we are not owed any explanations and treating questions from faculty as an annoyance rather than recognizing the grief, righteous anger, and fear that drives our questions,” wrote Rotondi.
Many employees feel stranded as they try to get answers from the Board, Rotondi stressing the importance of continued benefits in her statement. “The June 30th end of salary and benefits date poses additional problems as people are struggling to find employment and are not having success. Faculty are faced with having to try to support their families at the unemployment rate of $507 per week without insurance coverage,” said Rotondi, then posing the question “Would you be able to support your families at the unemployment rate?”
From this, came reconsideration from higher-ups as the college wrote to The Chronicle stating “The College’s Board of Trustees is reviewing the potential costs of severance and continuation of health insurance for the College’s employees. Due to the complexity of the issues involved with the continuation of health insurance, the Board requested further analysis and whether there are options to provide additional compensation or some continuation of health benefits.”
“If they really respected and cared about us like every email claims… they would find a way to keep our health insurance,” said Straus.
Many believe this kind of behavior from administration does not reflect the Saint Rose mission of “serve the Dear Neighbor.” Rotondi added to her statement to the Board “We ask you to honestly reflect on the ways in which your actions have made this process more difficult and to find ways to demonstrate the Saint Rose value of service to the Dear Neighbor.”
Dion shares this sentiment stating, “when it comes to serving the Dear Neighbor, I hope the definition of neighbor includes the employees.”
While the decision has yet to be made, faculty and staff are eagerly awaiting the next board meeting set for April 4 where the Board is planning to vote on this issue.
