Faculty and tradesworkers tell regents workload and job-security strains at June workforce hearing

At a June meeting of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents’ Special Committee on University Workforce, three labor-represented employees described how heavy workloads and short-term appointments are affecting teaching, research and student continuity across multiple campuses.

Christina Gallup, an associate professor at University of Minnesota Duluth and president of the campus chapter of the University Education Association, told Regents that faculty are “the core of the university” and highlighted workload distribution as a critical concern. She cited the campus climate report finding that "36.7% of UMD faculty feel their teaching workload is distributed fairly and equitably," and said the union and administration co-chair a joint workload work group that has been meeting since October with a goal of implementing a new workload system by December 2025.

Gallup also noted gains for term faculty but stressed limits of one-year contracts: “We would like to see multi year contracts,” she said, and called rolling contracts a model other universities use to improve job security. She said term-faculty promotions continue—"26 term faculty were promoted to teaching associate professor or senior instructor this year"—but that many term faculty still lack multi-year appointment security.

Eddie Walker, identified as a UEA leader from the Crookston campus, described a system-wide workload contrast: Crookston faculty teach what he called 24 credits per year, “the highest workload in the system,” while still being asked to meet research and accreditation expectations. Walker said that for academic year 2025, faculty requested 58 credits of research-release time and only 36 credits could be granted, reflecting budget and coverage constraints on releasing instructors from teaching duties.

Katie LaPlante, general foreman for campus carpenters on the Twin Cities campus, described the campus construction and maintenance operation’s role in safety and emergency response. She cited a recent Middlebrook Hall water event that “took out 10 of their dorm rooms” and said in-house crews can respond faster than external contractors. LaPlante noted an institutional procurement threshold—"in-house is for projects of $1,000,000 or less; anything else goes to public bid"—and said equipment and truck shortages limit the scope of work the in-house team can reliably perform.

Regents pressed panelists on tools, time and budget. Panelists said administrative tasks have increasingly fallen to faculty (for example, processing travel reimbursements) and argued some administrative work should be restored so faculty can focus on research and teaching. On workload flexibility, Gallup proposed written ranges for appointment percentages—research could be between 20% and 50%, for example—with guardrails so departments can cover teaching needs while allowing faculty to pursue heavier research years when necessary.

The panelists’ testimony was presented as part of the committee’s broader effort to hear labor-represented perspectives before the administration’s workforce-reinvestment recommendations are finalized and forwarded to the president for budgeting consideration.

The committee did not take formal action on the panel comments; administrators and Regents indicated the panel’s points would inform ongoing WRGC deliberations and budget choices.