Editor’s Note: The following letter was sent to the Board of Trustees by the Faculty Senate.
Dear Board Members:
On January 16, 2005, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution stating, “Retirement benefits, once promised, should not be reduced.”
On February 22, the vice pres­ident of human resources confirmed the Institute’s plans to reduce certain pension benefits by 15 percent. These benefits were promised in 1993. The proposed reduction could affect approximately 400 staff and faculty for the rest of their lives.
The Faculty Senate believes that the anticipated action is inappropriate for a great university. It is a broken promise. We again resolve that retirement benefits, once promised, should not be reduced. The Faculty Senate believes that the proposed action will cost the university substantially more in good will than the anticipated financial benefits.
The proposed reduction in pension benefits represents but one issue among many. On February 23, 2005, the Faculty Senate voted unanimously to study options that allow greater faculty input to Institute decisions—in a word, governance. These options explicitly include unionization.
We would appreciate your support in resolving both the pension situation and other governance issues that, in our judgment, have the potential to bring shame to the Institute.
Rensselaer Faculty Senate
