50% = New Orleans I Bid You Adieu For Now

For the past month or so Xavier officials have predicted that about 50% of the students would return to campus in January. However, I just received word that they are trying to find ways so that the university will only offer 50% of the scheduled classes listed for the original Fall 2005 semester. That makes sense. The Theology Department listed 27 courses that were taught by 7 faculty members. So now the administration wants to find a way to only offer about 13 or 14 classes. And in my department, there are two of us without tenure, as we were both up for it in 2007. Sorry for all the math. Simply put, it seems pretty likely that I won't be at Xavier in the Spring Semester as I had hoped for and planned. I understand that these were not easy decisions, and there are some very difficult decisions still to be made. I do wish that the administration had been more clear about the possibility of faculty lay offs from the beginning, as I would have accepted one of the teaching positions that have been offered to me. This has sure been an emotional roller coaster. So what now? It looks now like I won't be at Xavier in the Spring, and that I'll probably be in Nebraska. I applied for some Hebrew Bible jobs at a few other schools, and I sure hope I get some interviews at the SBL/AAR/ASOR meetings in Philadelphia in November. Starting Monday I had better hit the phones begging if there is any chance that earlier offers to teach in the Spring could be put back on the table.