Higher education cuts to hit VU University's earth sciences department; 37 jobs at risk
The VU University Amsterdam is translating the government’s budget cuts and its other financial challenges into a reorganization of its Earth Sciences Department. That puts 37 employees at risk of dismissal. Part of the department will be transferred to other departments within the Faculty of Science, others will be phased out. In the coming years, the faculty will focus more on climate and the earth in the age of human impact, the university announced.
Like all the other universities in the Netherlands, the VU University is facing a major austerity challenge due to declining student numbers, increasing costs, new laws against internationalization in higher education, and government budget cuts.
“These developments force us to make difficult and sharper choices,” said dean Aletta Kraneveld. “We realise that these are far-reaching plans for the staff and PhD students of the Earth Sciences Department and for the students.”
The 37 employees at risk of dismissal will be offered career counseling. That will include looking into whether they can continue their research elsewhere at the university. The university plans to transfer some of the Earth Sciences Department's research to other departments within the faculty and will take extra care to ensure that doctoral students can complete their doctorates.
Kraneveled stressed that the board is doing everything it can to support the staff and students affected by this decision. “It is essential that staff feel supported during this time and that students receive the support they need to successfully complete their education.”
In the future, the Faculty of Science will focus more on climate and human impact on the Earth. That means stopping research in geology & geochemistry in favor of research on contemporary climate change. “Climate change is definitely one of the greatest challenges of our time. The consequences have global impact. It is a crucial social issue in which we as a university want to actively contribute to finding solutions,” Kraneveld said.
Other Dutch universities have also started laying off people and cutting courses due to the government cutting 1.2 billion euros from the higher education budget.
