Dear President Newman,
We write to you today as proud alumni and alumnae of Mount St. Mary’s University, in the spirit of the dialogue and community in which we were formed on Mary’s mountain.
Many of us were saddened to learn of the Mount’s recent financial challenges and the decisions that they have prompted. We are especially saddened to learn of the termination of retiree health benefits. While we understand the economic realities facing colleges and universities today, we feel strongly that decisions regarding the financial well-being of all members of the Mount community must be made under the demands of justice, not expediency.
Drawing from the education we received as Mount students, we feel compelled by the demands of Catholic social teaching to urge you and the Board to reconsider these cuts. We urge you to engage, in the spirit of transparency, in an open dialogue with the entire Mount community to discuss these complex decisions, especially as they affect hourly workers and others who placed their faith and future on the assumption that the community they served would help them retire with dignity.
We make our demands in the spirit of Christian charity, and with the hope that we will find in your response to them the generosity we have come to expect from the Mount family. Therefore, we call for:
1) A reconsideration of recent decisions concerning financial cuts at the University, specifically the termination of retiree benefits;
2) A forum open to all members of the Mount community concerning the financial issues facing the University, specifically those which led to the decision to terminate retiree benefits.
We believe both of these to be consistent not only with the Governing Documents of the University but with the spirit and values of Mount St. Mary’s.
We also recognize that the generosity of the community from which we benefitted as students relies on our generosity in turn. We are prepared to organize and encourage, as alumni, a positive financial response were our concerns and the concerns of so many others to be heard. We are also prepared, however, to organize and encourage a cessation of alumni giving should our concerns be ignored.
We trust, President Newman, that as the Mount’s leader, you will live up to the values for which our beloved community has become known.
Signed,
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
November 23, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
November 19, 2015
November 17, 2015
The number of signatories is steadily approaching one hundred. Reaching this milestone will provide significant weight when we present these concerns to the administration.
101 Comments
As a member for the Class of 2004, and a donor to the Mount, this information disgusts me and makes me reconsider my future financial decisions.
The professors at the Mount had a lot to do with the man I have become. We preach Christian values, but this action is opposite of the Catholic tradition that the Mount stands for and has stood for so long. Please re-institute these benefits for the retired Mount faculty and staff,
Class of 2012, and student of Dr. Sue Goliber. I couldn't be more upset by this change, and hope that President Newman reconsiders this move, and reinstates these retirement benefits. If not, I hope the Mount will reconsider President Newman.
As an alum, the spouse of an alum, and an occasional adjunct instructor, I am deeply embarrassed to hear that my alma mater is treating its greatest asset--its faculty and staff--with such disregard. I will not stand by and see the place and the people who formed me be stripped of the dignity and justice we profess and strive to live out.
The faculty are the greatest reason why I am proud to call myself an alumna of the Mount. Surely there are better ways to save money than to take healthcare away from some of the people who have given more of themselves to the Mount than any of us?
MSM is a Catholic institution with Catholic values. Make sure it stays that way! -Amelia Garland- Class of '05
I was shocked to learn of the unwise and reckless actions of the new president of Mount St. Mary's. I do hope that the Board of Trustees takes proper ethical action.
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Dear President Newman,
We write to you today as proud alumni and alumnae of Mount St. Mary’s University, in the spirit of the dialogue and community in which we were formed on Mary’s mountain.
Many of us were saddened to learn of the Mount’s recent financial challenges and the decisions that they have prompted. We are especially saddened to learn of the termination of retiree health benefits. While we understand the economic realities facing colleges and universities today, we feel strongly that decisions regarding the financial well-being of all members of the Mount community must be made under the demands of justice, not expediency.
Drawing from the education we received as Mount students, we feel compelled by the demands of Catholic social teaching to urge you and the Board to reconsider these cuts. We urge you to engage, in the spirit of transparency, in an open dialogue with the entire Mount community to discuss these complex decisions, especially as they affect hourly workers and others who placed their faith and future on the assumption that the community they served would help them retire with dignity.
We make our demands in the spirit of Christian charity, and with the hope that we will find in your response to them the generosity we have come to expect from the Mount family. Therefore, we call for:
1) A reconsideration of recent decisions concerning financial cuts at the University, specifically the termination of retiree benefits;
2) A forum open to all members of the Mount community concerning the financial issues facing the University, specifically those which led to the decision to terminate retiree benefits.
We believe both of these to be consistent not only with the Governing Documents of the University but with the spirit and values of Mount St. Mary’s.
We also recognize that the generosity of the community from which we benefitted as students relies on our generosity in turn. We are prepared to organize and encourage, as alumni, a positive financial response were our concerns and the concerns of so many others to be heard. We are also prepared, however, to organize and encourage a cessation of alumni giving should our concerns be ignored.
We trust, President Newman, that as the Mount’s leader, you will live up to the values for which our beloved community has become known.
Signed,
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
November 23, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
November 19, 2015
November 17, 2015
The number of signatories is steadily approaching one hundred. Reaching this milestone will provide significant weight when we present these concerns to the administration.
101 Comments
Financial constraints are not caused by dedicated employees who have worked loyally for an institution. Retirees have a right to to live to assume promises made to them will be fulfilled.
As a member for the Class of 2004, and a donor to the Mount, this information disgusts me and makes me reconsider my future financial decisions.
The professors at the Mount had a lot to do with the man I have become. We preach Christian values, but this action is opposite of the Catholic tradition that the Mount stands for and has stood for so long. Please re-institute these benefits for the retired Mount faculty and staff,
Class of 2012, and student of Dr. Sue Goliber. I couldn't be more upset by this change, and hope that President Newman reconsiders this move, and reinstates these retirement benefits. If not, I hope the Mount will reconsider President Newman.
As an alum, the spouse of an alum, and an occasional adjunct instructor, I am deeply embarrassed to hear that my alma mater is treating its greatest asset--its faculty and staff--with such disregard. I will not stand by and see the place and the people who formed me be stripped of the dignity and justice we profess and strive to live out.
The faculty are the greatest reason why I am proud to call myself an alumna of the Mount. Surely there are better ways to save money than to take healthcare away from some of the people who have given more of themselves to the Mount than any of us?
MSM is a Catholic institution with Catholic values. Make sure it stays that way! -Amelia Garland- Class of '05
I was shocked to learn of the unwise and reckless actions of the new president of Mount St. Mary's. I do hope that the Board of Trustees takes proper ethical action.
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Financial constraints are not caused by dedicated employees who have worked loyally for an institution. Retirees have a right to to live to assume promises made to them will be fulfilled.