Those who didn't like that (even if the company really wanted them to stay) were free to leave and seek employment elsewhere. Those who believed in the company and its ability to rebound, and could afford to make their own budget cuts to account for the reduced salary, stuck around. As did those who thought it sucked, but feared they couldn't get employment elsewhere.

So those that were worth the money left, and those that were not stayed. I think that's why James believes this was a bad move. Whenever you make across the board pay cuts, the people you most want to keep are the first to leave.

Generally, faculty sign contracts in the spring for the upcoming academic year.

FWIW, at my institution, we have received promises of contracts contingent on state funding for the last 2 springs.

During the Great Internet Bubble Burst Recession early this decade, my then-employer forced a 20% reduction in salary on all employees. Those who didn't like that (even if the company really wanted them to stay) were free to leave and seek employment elsewhere. Those who believed in the company and its ability to rebound, and could afford to make their own budget cuts to account for the reduced salary, stuck around. As did those who thought it sucked, but feared they couldn't get employment elsewhere.

Yeah, hiring at colleges tends to happen only once a year. That's an aspect of their chosen field of employment. Sucks to be them. I've had my share of suckage, but my experience with college instructors is that they feel they should be immune to the real world.

As I said, sucks to be them.

The University of California's huge workforce could face salary cuts and furloughs if the state's economy continues its downward spiral, UC President Mark Yudof has told his staff.

Don't miss the forest for the tree.

Some companies cut pay, rather than jobs

As the US gets more secular, this type of institution is bound to fail.

I think you make cuts in programs, maintenance, and so forth. This breaks a social contract with the faculty -- and may in fact break a legal contract.

The 'and so forth', of course, covers the school's admin staff (secretaries, admin assistants, janitors, etc.) who are already taking it in the pay shorts big time. In one such school that I'm familiar with, underpaid hourly staff are being faced with the threat of mandatory unpaid furloughs. Needless to say, the school's "executives" are trying to convince everyone that this, in lieu of having to cut their bloated salaries, is for the "good" of the institution. (The president of the school, with his ear in full tin mode, said, Gee, I'm going to take a two-week furlough myself. It won't be so bad, I mean, I've got a book I can work on and some other things....)

I'm not sure what the college's alternative was. Salary schedules are necessarily limited by the institution's resources. That's true whether the institution is a college, a hospital, or a city.

I think you make cuts in programs, maintenance, and so forth. This breaks a social contract with the faculty -- and may in fact break a legal contract. Generally, faculty sign contracts in the spring for the upcoming academic year. And tenured faculty (I don't know if Greensboro has them) are generally immune from future cuts in their salary, lest it be used as a backdoor means of firing.

Dr. Williams said a 40 percent drop in endowment earnings, a $1 million drop in gift donations and a projected decline in enrollment for next year forced their decisions.

I'm not sure what the college's alternative was. Salary schedules are necessarily limited by the institution's resources. That's true whether the institution is a college, a hospital, or a city.

(Not a sure thing, but it's not a good thing when news lines up in this direction.)