by Logan Meriwether, Student Reporter
Two teachers left Northwestern over the summer, and they are not going to have their positions filled for the time being.
Professor Jennifer Paige in the English department and Professor Aaron Place in the science department both quit over the summer. Northwestern officials have decided, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and low class numbers, that they are not going to hire new professors for those positions as of right now.
Dr. Bo Hannaford, the executive vice president of academic affairs, said he has been taking a close look at the budget for this year. After having a reduction in state appropriations by more than 3% and lower enrollment due to COVID-19, faculty on campus have been looking at the number of classes and students in programs.
Hannaford said a large number of students are enrolled in concurrent classes. Many of those students come to Northwestern already having taken general education courses like composition, history and science, he said.
After looking at the numbers and making sure they had the correct number of faculty needed to teach the classes, officials decided this would be a good way to save money on campus. Each year, Northwestern looks at those numbers and factors to see different ways to save money as needed.
Hannaford said he has high hopes that, once the world makes it through the pandemic, enrollment will increase again, and he can go to the president of Northwestern and start hiring teachers to fill those positions.