Statement on Arbitration Decision Settlement

This week PSU informed our faculty union that we will offer reinstatement to 10 non-tenure track faculty members whose positions were eliminated to address excess instructional capacity at a time of low enrollment and in consideration of our limited financial resources. We intend to do everything we can to support our faculty on their return to PSU and ensure it is as smooth as possible.

We were ordered to take this action by a labor arbitrator late in 2025. We believe that the reductions were necessary and appropriate, and were implemented in good-faith and in compliance with our collective bargaining agreement.  Nonetheless, we’ve decided the best step forward for our campus at this time is to comply with the arbitrator’s order and reinstate the affected faculty members.

As we continue to face budgetary challenges, we are tasked by our Board of Trustees with closing a $35 million deficit over the next two years. These reinstatements do not change that reality.

I understand that last year’s layoffs and any future layoffs are uniquely painful. Our faculty pour their heart and soul into their work — as do so many of us at this university. But Portland State is at a crossroads and our future as a strong, public serving university is at stake. It is my fervent hope that we can work together with all members of the campus community, including our union colleagues, to ensure that Oregon’s Urban Research University continues to thrive and serve our students well into the future.