A member of the faculty union raised questions to the Shippensburg University Council of Trustees regarding faculty hires at its meeting Friday in Old Main Chapel.

Brendan Finucane, representing the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF), sought answers to the effect of the per-credit tuition pilot and its possible impact on enrollment. Finucane also asked about changes affecting faculty positions.

Finucane brought the council’s attention to claims he heard, but cannot verify, that one department recently hired several adjunct faculty members with only bachelor’s degrees in their field. Finucane said the department, which was unnamed, allegedly had to scramble to hire faculty because the approval process was not finalized until mid-August. SU Provost Barbara Lyman was unaware of these claims and said she will look into them.

In contract negotiations, APSCUF members have voiced their concern over the hiring of adjunct faculty members without adequate qualifications.

“We pride ourselves at this university in terms of the quality of the education we provide to our students,” Finucane said. “We proudly announce a high percentage of our faculty that have Ph.D.’s…we put pressure on all of our new hires to complete their Ph.D.’s.”

The minimum requirement to teach at Shippensburg University is a bachelor’s degree and 15 credit hours toward a master’s degree, according to Lyman. To her knowledge, there may be one adjunct who was hired with only a bachelor’s degree.

There were two unexpected faculty resignations before this academic year began, Lyman said.

Finucane addressed the possibility of a faculty strike regarding contract negotiations with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The voter turnout for the strike authorization vote, which occurred Sept. 7-9, appeared to be close to 100 percent, Finucane said.

“I’m wearing a button that says, ‘I do not want to strike, but I will.’ That’s the dominant mindset of most faculty,” Finucane said.

Lyman, in response to another query asked by Finucane, said there is currently no set estimate of faculty positions that will be taken out of moratorium. Faculty positions in moratorium are vacant due to a resignation or retirement and are not actively being filled. Taking a position out of moratorium authorizes a department to conduct a search to fill the position.

“We remain under some unknowns about what the budget situation will ultimately be this year. However, we are making plans to take faculty positions out of moratorium,” Lyman said.

In other business, the council discussed the tuition pilot and enrollment.

The incoming class of students is on level with last year’s class, but the university failed to reach its goal of 100 more students, said Rick Ruth, vice president of technology and library services. It is unclear whether this year’s enrollment is related to the per-credit tuition pilot, Ruth said.

The council approved the renaming of the School of Academic Programs and Services to honor the deceased Elnetta G. Jones, a former administrator and alumna. Jones helped establish several programs during her time at SU, including the Division of Undeclared Majors, the Martin Luther King Academic Retention Program and the Learning Center, according to ship.edu.

A new doctoral program in counselor education and supervision was approved Friday. The program will start in the fall of 2017.

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