To:                   The St. Lawrence Community
From:               William L. Fox, President
Date:               May 25, 2010
Subject:           Results of Early Retirement Incentive Program

Our Early Retirement Incentive Program closed on Friday, May 21.  Of the 66 eligible employees, 16 people (or 25% of those eligible) applied for the program. With each application, supervisors and managers discussed with us their plans in the respective department.  We worked hard to develop restructuring plans so we could leave these positions vacant. In some cases, we will replace our colleagues but will experience compensation savings associated with new hires.

The sixteen employees who have opted for the Early Retirement Incentive Program all are valued colleagues whom we’ll miss.  They may share their decisions with their own colleagues and friends; I know department managers are communicating plans going forward with everyone involved. Continuing our custom, we’ll respect employee privacy and not list the names of our retiring colleagues here.  They will be honored at our Employee Recognition Reception in April 2011.

Once again, our goal this spring was to reduce our administrative staffing budget by $1.8 million, net of the costs associated with any type of departure. The Early Retirement Incentive Program, as you know, has costs associated with salary, health care and other benefits.  The decisions of our retiring colleagues ease, but will not eliminate, the need to move to the process of involuntary separations.   We will have fewer position eliminations than would have been necessary otherwise; the exact number of positions is being analyzed now that our early retirement program results are known.

By June 1, we will have our planning completed.  We will schedule meetings with managers for June 1 to help them understand the process, especially as it relates to our contracts with our unions. Those contracts specify clearly the guidelines for communications and options for affected employees.  Directly affected employees will hear from us privately on June 2.  We will  send a campus communication after all individuals in positions being eliminated or changed have been notified. On June 3, we’ll have two opportunities, 7:30 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. in Bloomer Auditorium, for campus-wide discussion, opportunities that I will lead. 

I thank you once again for your understanding of this difficult process.  The Board of Trustees and I are confident that St. Lawrence will remain strong and will be well prepared for the challenges of the next decade.