As we prepare to reassemble (virtually) after Spring break, some of the long-term probable consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the campus are beginning to come into focus. Higher education will surely feel the impact of the recession that will grip the world’s economy. UC Berkeley, having only recently managed to eliminate its budget deficit, is particularly vulnerable. Berkeley’s multi-pronged financial model — public-private partnerships, revenue-generating programs, increased reliance on philanthropic gifts and tuition income — is imperiled. Endowment income has tumbled; fund-raising will be more difficult; non-resident tuition revenue will surely flatten and more likely fall. Moreover, as California recovers from the pandemic, its surplus depleted by the crisis and its revenues challenged by recession, fighting for state investment in higher education will be as challenging as it is necessary. We are likely to see a return to the emergency austerity measures last experienced in 2009/10–with hiring freezes, stagnant or even reduced salaries, possible furloughs, cuts to health benefits, and staff lay-offs.
While life will get harder for Berkeley faculty, the campus’ most vulnerable populations are likely to suffer much more. The COLA strike has already reminded us all of the precarious conditions under which our graduate students work. Those same graduate students now face the probability of an academic hiring freeze around the country; several campuses have discontinued hiring. An already-anemic academic job-market may effectively collapse, leaving many unable to pursue their professional dreams.
As the campus considers how to provide more support for graduate students, we urge campus administrators to work alongside Departments to develop a plan for those left adrift on the job market by this crisis. We are grateful to know that normative time thresholds are already being recalibrated, but graduate students will also need continued eligibility for teaching appointments, so they may support themselves and retain their health insurance in these perilous times.
James Vernon, Wendy Brown, Celeste Langan and Leslie Salzinger, Co-Chairs, Berkeley Faculty Association