Subject: [activists] FW: URGENT: CLOSURE OF SOCIOLOGY
To: UCU activists e-group
mailto:activists@mercury.ucu.org.uk>>
Dear All
Please see the important message below on the planned closure of the Department of Sociology at the University of Birmingham. Please sign the petition at the bottom of the page and have a look at the website. Thank you:
An urgent message from staff in the Department of Sociology
Dear Colleagues,
Following a Review of the Sociology Department that was first proposed 18 months ago, the Head of the College of Social Sciences is seeking through the College Executive Board to close the Department. One of our degree programmes (Media, Culture and Society) will be closed altogether, and the other (Sociology) 'transferred' to Social Policy with just 3 staff retained and the rest (14 academics and 2 out of 3 support staff) made redundant.
We are asking you to join us, our students, and colleagues in the wider academic community in fighting this unwarranted closure proposal: it is based on a deeply flawed review process and evidence base. We suggest the decision brings to a head problems in the College arising from a total lack of strategy for Birmingham social science, and an out of control College management that is a threat to academic integrity and the reputation of the University.
The reasons for the Review were never adequately explained: at different times it was said to be about finances, or research performance, or student recruitment. At the outset, we welcomed the opportunity to engage constructively and collegially in the Review Process to develop strategies for the Department, but this opportunity was systematically denied to us. Incredibly, no staff or students from the Department were invited onto the Review Group, and we were never told how the
Department's submissions to the Group were being used. In addition, the External Advisors appointed to the Review - two very senior British Sociologists - have gone on record as saying they were marginalised from the process. We were not even allowed to see the Review report itself until it had passed through the College Board, and the Head of College announced his decision verbally to Department staff.
As many of you will know, the present Department was established in 2004 following another previous closure in 2002. Predominantly early career staff were recruited to what was heralded as a 10- year project to re-establish Sociology at Birmingham. The fact that this strategy would likely lead to a modest RAE 2008 result was explicitly recognised, although the Department went on to submit the highest proportion of staff into the RAE of any unit in the University. The Chair of a Strategic Review of the Department undertaken in 2004, Professor Judith Petts (current PVC Research and Knowledge Transfer) stated that: "the University needs to recognise that the outcome of 2008 may be modest relative to the leading departments. The panel cannot emphasis strongly enough that should this be the case, the University must hold its nerve
and continue to support the department."
The Department's two undergraduate programmes are ranked 4th (Sociology)and 5th (MCS) in The Guardian's national league tables. Feedback from students and external examiners, degree results and relations between students and staff are all excellent. College mismanagement of undergraduate recruitment in the current academic year led to over-recruitment in some areas and cut backs in others; this has not been explained. We are particularly upset that, having ignored student interests throughout the process, College managers have now wasted no time in launching a PR offensive on students, writing and arranging 'briefings' to assure them that their degrees will be 'unaffected'.
In short, as a result of a botched Review and a College management determined to look 'tough', committed, predominantly early career academics and support staff are to be made redundant in a frozen jobs market. The education of a diverse body of students will be severely harmed and the reputation of social sciences at Birmingham further damaged.
We believe that we are the first on the line in what will be a series of similarly aggressive Reviews of Departments.
We urge you to support our call to the University Senate (18 November)
and Council (26 November) to:
1) Reject the proposals of the College of Social Sciences Executive
Board as being based on a flawed review process and evidence base.
2) Institute a new, transparent review of Sociology that includes all
stakeholders, lifts the threat of redundancies and addresses the
institution's wider strategy for the social sciences.
Sign the Petition at:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keepsociologyatbirmingham/
For more information and copies of review documents and our responses
see the link below. We're working to get the site up and running over
the next 24 hours and will be updating it as this situation unfolds:
http://www.keepsociologyatbirmingham.com
Signed,
Ross Abbinnett
Gezim Alpion
Louise Brown
Shelley Budgeon
Sin Yi Cheung
Justin Cruickshank
Jonathan Fish
Emma Foster
Andrew Knops
Will Leggett
Jose Lingna Nafafe
John Lynch
Mairtin Mac an Ghaill
Giovanni Porfido
Alex Smith
David Toke
Dan Whisker
___________________________________________________________________________
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Forwarded Message:
Subj: FW: URGENT: CLOSURE OF SOCIOLOGY
Date: 11/11/2009 11:27:56 GMT Standard Time
From: joycecanaan@blueyonder.co.uk
To: Gary.Hazeldine@bcu.ac.uk, worthers21@hotmail.com, analiameo@omicron.com.ar, A.Abbas@tees.ac.uk, annikatmc@yahoo.co.uk, anthony.green@ioe.ac.uk, salem_ayman@hotmail.com, bela_arora@hotmail.com, Bill.Roper@bcu.ac.uk, cath.lambert@warwick.ac.uk, EScandrett@qmu.ac.uk, George.Smith@bcu.ac.uk, h.v.sauntson@bham.ac.uk, Ian.S.Fairweather@manchester.ac.uk, j_contre@hotmail.com, Jane.Hill@bcu.ac.uk, jim.crowther@ed.ac.uk, judith.burnett@hotmail.co.uk, julie.pickmol@ntlworld.com, karima.kadi-hanifi@blueyonder.co.uk, kenneth.roberts18@btopenworld.com, K.V.Schaefer@exeter.ac.uk, LKC074@bham.ac.uk, M.Williams@plymouth.ac.uk, m.bowl.1@bham.ac.uk, Matthew.Badcock@bcu.ac.uk, mike.cole2@ntlworld.com, Mneary@lincoln.ac.uk, M.David@ioe.ac.uk, Morag.MacDonald@bcu.ac.uk, Neil.Staunton@bcu.ac.uk, patrickjdainley@aol.com, p.chatterton@leeds.ac.uk, p.c.warmington@bham.ac.uk, richard.johnson61@btinternet.com, s.cooke@bham.ac.uk, s.housee@wlv.ac.uk, sthemgr@yahoo.co.uk, Steve.Aldred@bcu.ac.uk, S.Spencer@shu.ac.uk, t.mccowan@ioe.ac.uk, zohre_zohre1979@yahoo.co.uk
Sent from the Internet (Details)
-----Original Message-----
From: Amsler, Sarah [mailto:S.S.AMSLER@aston.ac.uk]
Sent: 11 November 2009 10:17
To: Gurnam Singh; Joyce Canaan; sara-catherine motta-mera; Steve Cowden;
Mahmood Delkhasteh
Subject: FW: URGENT: CLOSURE OF SOCIOLOGY
Dr Sarah S Amsler
Lecturer in Sociology
Room NW920
Languages and Social Sciences
Aston University
Birmingham B4 7ET
s.s.amsler@aston.ac.uk
http://www.aston.ac.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: Bhattacharyya, GS [mailto:g.s.bhattacharyya@aston.ac.uk]
Sent: 11 November 2009 10:01
To: UCU@aston.ac.uk
Subject: FW: URGENT: CLOSURE OF SOCIOLOGY
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Natasha Macnab
Date: 2009/11/11
Subject: [activists] FW: URGENT: CLOSURE OF SOCIOLOGY
To: UCU activists e-group
Dear All
Please see the important message below on the planned closure of the
Department of Sociology at the University of Birmingham. Please sign the
petition at the bottom of the page and have a look at the website. Thank
you:
An urgent message from staff in the Department of Sociology
Dear Colleagues,
Following a Review of the Sociology Department that was first proposed
18 months ago, the Head of the College of Social Sciences is seeking
through the College Executive Board to close the Department. One of our
degree programmes (Media, Culture and Society) will be closed
altogether, and the other (Sociology) 'transferred' to Social Policy
with just 3 staff retained and the rest (14 academics and 2 out of 3
support staff) made redundant.
We are asking you to join us, our students, and colleagues in the wider
academic community in fighting this unwarranted closure proposal: it is
based on a deeply flawed review process and evidence base. We suggest
the decision brings to a head problems in the College arising from a
total lack of strategy for Birmingham social science, and an out of
control College management that is a threat to academic integrity and
the reputation of the University.
The reasons for the Review were never adequately explained: at different
times it was said to be about finances, or research performance, or
student recruitment. At the outset, we welcomed the opportunity to
engage constructively and collegially in the Review Process to develop
strategies for the Department, but this opportunity was systematically
denied to us. Incredibly, no staff or students from the Department were
invited onto the Review Group, and we were never told how the
Department's submissions to the Group were being used. In addition, the
External Advisors appointed to the Review - two very senior British
Sociologists - have gone on record as saying they were marginalised from
the process. We were not even allowed to see the Review report itself
until it had passed through the College Board, and the Head of College
announced his decision verbally to Department staff.
As many of you will know, the present Department was established in 2004
following another previous closure in 2002. Predominantly early career
staff were recruited to what was heralded as a 10- year project to
re-establish Sociology at Birmingham. The fact that this strategy would
likely lead to a modest RAE 2008 result was explicitly recognised,
although the Department went on to submit the highest proportion of
staff into the RAE of any unit in the University. The Chair of a
Strategic Review of the Department undertaken in 2004, Professor Judith
Petts (current PVC Research and Knowledge Transfer) stated that: "the
University needs to recognise that the outcome of 2008 may be modest
relative to the leading departments. The panel cannot emphasis strongly
enough that should this be the case, the University must hold its nerve
and continue to support the department."
The Department's two undergraduate programmes are ranked 4th (Sociology)
and 5th (MCS) in The Guardian's national league tables. Feedback from
students and external examiners, degree results and relations between
students and staff are all excellent. College mismanagement of
undergraduate recruitment in the current academic year led to
over-recruitment in some areas and cut backs in others; this has not
been explained. We are particularly upset that, having ignored student
interests throughout the process, College managers have now wasted no
time in launching a PR offensive on students, writing and arranging
'briefings' to assure them that their degrees will be 'unaffected'.
In short, as a result of a botched Review and a College management
determined to look 'tough', committed, predominantly early career
academics and support staff are to be made redundant in a frozen jobs
market. The education of a diverse body of students will be severely
harmed and the reputation of social sciences at Birmingham further
damaged.
We believe that we are the first on the line in what will be a series of
similarly aggressive Reviews of Departments.
We urge you to support our call to the University Senate (18 November)
and Council (26 November) to:
1) Reject the proposals of the College of Social Sciences Executive
Board as being based on a flawed review process and evidence base.
2) Institute a new, transparent review of Sociology that includes all
stakeholders, lifts the threat of redundancies and addresses the
institution's wider strategy for the social sciences.
Sign the Petition at:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keepsociologyatbirmingham/
For more information and copies of review documents and our responses
see the link below. We're working to get the site up and running over
the next 24 hours and will be updating it as this situation unfolds:
http://www.keepsociologyatbirmingham.com
Signed,
Ross Abbinnett
Gezim Alpion
Louise Brown
Shelley Budgeon
Sin Yi Cheung
Justin Cruickshank
Jonathan Fish
Emma Foster
Andrew Knops
Will Leggett
Jose Lingna Nafafe
John Lynch
Mairtin Mac an Ghaill
Giovanni Porfido
Alex Smith
David Toke
Dan Whisker
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