On October 20th, the Vice-Chancellor of Keele University, Janet Finch, announced that 35 academic staff would lose their jobs next January. The departments most affected would be the American Studies and Maths Departments, which half of their staff being made redundant, and the Chemistry and Physics departments are being made to lose a third of their staff. The American Studies department at Keele is one of the best in the country, and the job cuts will adversely affect the quality and variety of education being offered by this and the other affected departments. The Physics departments is already understaffed. There are rumours that if these losses go ahead, the remainder of the staff at the affects departments will also go, putting the education of the students at these departments in serious jepordy. Worse still, many lecturers in Keele actually have homes on campus, rented from the University, so they could lose their homes as well as their livelihoods.
These cuts are only the thin end of the wedge, and could be the beginning of the downsizing of anything that's not profitable.

Both the Keele AUT and the Student's Union held emergency meetings, where it was decided that these layoffs would be strongly opposed.

If you want to support us, e-mail the Vice-Chancellor at  vice-chancellor@vco.keele.ac.uk or phone her on (01782) 583333, explaining your disapproval about the mishandling of the current situation.