Faculty Views About Their COVID-19 Layoffs from a Public University in the US Midwest

In July 2020, a public university in the US Midwest announced it would lay off 96 bargaining unit faculty based on a force majeure clause in the union contract. Most of the faculty held tenure and some were distinguished professors. The layoffs occurred with no faculty input and immediately following a major university reorganization. This study uses Q methodology [Q] to examine the Perceived Organizational Support [POS] of these laid off unionized faculty within an agency theory framework. Q allows us to reveal and describe the divergent views of the laid off faculty based upon analyses of their sorts of subjective statements which revealed three views: Targeted but resilient, Angry but want my job back, and Never want to return. Here it is important to stress that these faculty had different perspectives on their situation. Consensus includes agreement that the administration broke the rules of tenure and contractual obligations. Q offers a unique way to examine POS and this study provides implications for institutional management and policies especially if an institution desires to embrace the hallmarks of successful universities. This study should also inform bargaining unit faculty and union leadership about the impact of layoffs on their colleagues.