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Akron Layoffs Include Everyone at University Press

By

July 29, 2015

The University of Akron announced a few weeks ago that it would eliminate more than 200 jobs to deal with a budget deficit. As employees losing their jobs were notified this week, it has become clear that the university is eliminating its university press. All employees of the press are among those having their jobs killed, Northeast Ohio Media Group reported. "We have essentially been shut down," said Thomas Bacher, director of the press. "Another blow against culture by a short-sighted administration. It's sad that the university values beans over brains." The press is a small one with a focus on Ohio-related topics, and it also publishes some poetry.

The university layoffs also include all employees of Akron's multicultural center, although the university says that other offices will support the programming offered by the center.

Faculty members have been complaining that the university is refusing to consider cuts to the football program, which loses money and attracts few fans to watch its games.

Scott Jaschik

Scott Jaschik, Editor, is one of the three founders of Inside Higher Ed. With Doug Lederman, he leads the editorial operations of Inside Higher Ed, overseeing news content, opinion pieces, career advice, blogs and other features. Scott is a leading voice on higher education issues, quoted regularly in publications nationwide, and publishing articles on colleges in publications such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Salon, and elsewhere. He has been a judge or screener for the National Magazine Awards, the Online Journalism Awards, the Folio Editorial Excellence Awards, and the Education Writers Association Awards. Scott served as a mentor in the community college fellowship program of the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, of Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a member of the board of the Education Writers Association. From 1999-2003, Scott was editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Scott grew up in Rochester, N.Y., and graduated from Cornell University in 1985. He lives in Washington.