• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Rutgers AAUP-AFT

Rutgers AAUP-AFT

Rutgers AAUP-AFT: 50th Anniversary

  • Contract Campaign
    • What We R Fighting For
    • 2023 Strike FAQ
    • Strike FAQ for Students
    • Bargaining Status at a Glance
    • Contract Resource Center
    • Opening Bargaining Proposals
    • Bargaining Updates
    • From the Table Updates
  • Who We Are
    • Our History
      • Our Union’s Timeline
      • The Living History of Our Union
      • Our Logo: The Story of the Pencil-Fist
    • Full-Time Faculty
      • Know Your Contract
    • Part-Time Lecturers
    • Grad Workers
      • Know Your Contract
    • Postdoctoral Associates
    • EOF Counselors
    • Winter-Summer Instructors
    • Retiree Assembly
    • Rutgers One
  • Know Your Union
    • Rutgers AAUP-AFT Officers
    • Executive Council
    • TA/GA Steering Committee
    • Chapter Leaders
    • Negotiating Committee
    • PTLFC Executive Board
    • Working Groups
      • Rutgers Grads United
      • International Students Working Group
    • Union Staff
  • Resources
    • Know Your Contract
    • Text of the Current Contract
    • Health and Safety FAQ
    • Salary Equity Program
    • Postdoc Merger Campaign FAQ
    • Reproductive Justice FAQ
    • Remote Instruction FAQ
    • OPRA Document Center
    • Promotion-Tenure Webinar Slides (2021)
    • Union Bylaws
    • Dues Charts
    • Student Scholarships
    • Student Paid Internships
  • News
    • Bargaining Updates
    • Member News
    • Media Statements
    • Statements and Resolutions
    • RU Listening Podcast
    • By Our Members
    • Member Spotlight
  • Get Involved
    • Sign Up to Get Involved
    • Calendar
    • Freedom School
    • Committee on Political Education
    • Working Groups
      • Rutgers Grads United
      • International Students Working Group
  • Join Us!
    • Join Our Union
    • Become a Fellows Member
    • Why Join?
    • Dues Charts

We Made Management Turn Over Data on Athletics

August 20, 2021

Dear colleague,

Earlier this week, a New Jersey superior court judge had to order management to turn over information about the tens of millions of dollars funneled annually to its money-losing Rutgers Athletics program. That’s the second time in less than a year that our union had to go to court because the administration was keeping financial information secret from us, flagrantly disregarding the state Open Public Records Act (OPRA).

Hopefully this new ruling will further expose the steep price we all pay—students, their parents, faculty, and staff alike—for an athletics program that drains tens of millions of dollars from the parts of Rutgers that do the teaching and learning, research, and service. We hope our latest legal victory will open the way for an honest discussion about priorities at our university.

You’ve heard all this before, but if you’d like a refresher: For a decade, Rutgers Athletics has needed an ongoing annual subsidy, generated largely through mandatory student fees and transfers from the university’s academic programs, to cover a budget deficit of between $20 million and $40 million. The gap has widened recently; the administration’s own unit-by-unit budget summary estimated that athletic program revenues would fall short of expenses by $57.2 million for the last fiscal fiscal year, with another shortfall of $39.6 million expected in 2021–22. Imagine what that money could support if it was put to use in our departments and programs, which generate Rutgers’ revenues in the first place.

As our colleague Mark Killingsworth said in the media statement we released yesterday: “That’s a conscious choice. These people have decided that Rutgers has got to be in big-time athletics, and they will spare no expense—particularly if it comes out of someone else’s pocket to do that.”

We’re proud of our union’s success on two fronts: 1) A judge has once again sent a message to management that Rutgers is a public institution and should freely share information about its finances with the Rutgers community and the people of New Jersey; and 2) We highlighted the question that matters much more than whether the football team wins or loses this year: are any of the rest of us winners when Rutgers loses tens of millions of dollars every year on athletics?

In solidarity,
Becky and Todd

Rebecca Givan, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Todd Wolfson, General Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT

P.S. Bring your questions to our Health and Safety Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, August 25, at 5 p.m., where we’ll hear from our union’s experts on the subject, along with faculty sharing their experiences of teaching in-person last spring. Click here to RSVP.

Rutgers AAUP-AFT Facebook page: https://facebook.com/RUaaup/
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @ruaaup
Freedom School YouTubeChannel: https://rutgersaaup.org/YouTube

Find the latest messages to members and union statements here.
Union merch is available at our web store.
Read our FAQ: Know Your Contract, Know Your Rights!

Related

Category: Member News
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Mail

Copyright © 2023 · Rutgers AAUP-AFT · 11 Stone Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1113 · (732) 964-1000 · aaup@rutgersaaup.org · Login · Return to top