Cash-strapped Massey University proposing to slash science jobs

Cash-strapped Massey University is wielding the axe, proposing to slash science jobs.

But there are fears the plan puts the university into a death spiral, with the loss of expertise and courses meaning fewer people will want to study there.

Among the proposals announced this week are no longer offering engineering qualifications at any campus, and the loss of 60 percent of staff in the schools of natural sciences and food and advanced technology.

It was proposed those two schools will cease to exist at its Albany campus, instead having them only in Palmerston North.

This will hollow out a new Auckland building the schools moved into just last year that reportedly cost about $120 million. 

Associate professor in zoology and ecology Weihong Ji, based in Albany, is one of those who has received a letter saying her position was slated for disestablishment.

"The building is built for the purpose of natural sciences. This big new building, the innovation complex, is built for science. It has state of the art laboratories," she said.

"They are going to be repurposed if the proposal goes ahead. All the laboratories will be decommissioned."

The Tertiary Education Union said more than 100 jobs were on the line as the university faces a massive deficit, which stood at $33m for the seven months to July.

But Ji said Massey's response would spell further bad news.

For a start, offering courses only in one location - Palmerston North - might put off international students.

"The loss of scientists is going to cost the university in the university rankings. Students, especially international students, are looking for the ranking and looking for the people they want to work with, the post-graduate [students], the PhDs."

Ji said she found it hard to understand the financial rationale behind the proposed closure of Albany natural sciences.

Among its costs are $7m in internal payments that were effectively for renting space from Massey. According to finances shared during consultation on the proposal, the school has revenue of about $22.5m and expenditure of about $25m. Its projected financial shortfall for the year is $8.2m.

Ji started at Massey in 2005 and said she would look for work overseas if her job was cut.

"I'm a research scientist in conservation biology. I have a lot of collaborations in China and Nepal and have published over 100 papers, journal publications, since I started at Massey.

"This year we published in Science, a top journal. We have good scientists here."

Professor Dianne Brunton, whose field is conservation biology, especially birds, was also facing disestablishment.

She said natural sciences at Albany undertook cutting edge research that was applied to the conservation of New Zealand species and added to the understanding of what's needed to save biodiversity.

"Conservation is the number one at the moment in terms of mitigating the impacts of climate change and human beings on the environment.

"In New Zealand we were so isolated for so long that when people did arrive we had a huge impact on our biodiversity, so we've got a huge number of threatened species."

Albany-based staff and students' research focused on New Zealand's northern areas, which would be harder to do from Manawatū, she said.

And the uncertainty was leaving students in the lurch as they wondered how their qualifications would be completed and what was the status of supervisors.

"We've got brand new PhD students that are funded externally by the Marsden grant, students that are funded in other ways.

"International students come here, bring their families to New Zealand. One came here with his family from India on Monday."

That was the day Massey told staff and students about its proposals.

Brunton shared Ji's concerns about what would happen to the new Albany innovation complex.

"If we're not there the building will likely have to be altered, decommissioned. There are specialist labs, research labs.

"That also is an enormous waste of our taxpayer dollars, which really gets to me, as we've got this capability now we haven't had."

Only three years ago, Massey put out a discussion document floating the idea of cutting science causes at Albany.

That did not happen, but Brunton and Ji said this time it felt more like a done deal.

Ji said the working environment had been rough in recent years due to staff cuts.

Tertiary Education Union organiser Ben Schmidt said the latest proposed cuts were ill-timed.

"This is completely short-sighted and unnecessary. We unequivocally oppose these proposed cuts. They would deeply undermine the provision of sciences, not just at Massey but also New Zealand science capability."

Schmidt said Massey vice-chancellor Jan Thomas needed to stop the cuts and instead work with other sector players on how to fund tertiary education.

"If the vice-chancellor wants to bring in more income it's essential to have skilled support staff who do that work, who do the teaching, do the research," he said.

"Sciences cannot grow while simultaneously cutting over 60 percent of staff across these crucial areas."

Staff morale was devastated by the proposals, he said.

In a statement, Massey University said the proposal worked to shape the college of sciences for world-class teaching and research, while addressing challenging financial circumstances.

"Work on the academic profile of the college of sciences began prior to the pandemic, with changes made to the academic offer in response to changing demographics and interests.

"The current proposal considers further changes to the qualifications and specialisations delivered by the college of sciences, proposes the consolidation of some subjects to the Manawatū campus,  and alongside this also considers the academic and technical staffing that would be required to support core activities in teaching, learning and research," the statement said.

Consultation was underway and a final decision was expected in November.

A Massey spokesperson said the complex replaced ageing facilities on the Albany site sold in 2017 as part of the university's long-term plan.

"This reduced the footprint of the Auckland campus and provided much required upgrades for our staff and students," the spokesperson said.

"The innovation complex is intended to be part of the ongoing development of the Auckland campus, and is not tied to the delivery of specific programmes or disciplines.

 The complex is intended to be a highly multi-functional building with modern spaces for teaching, research and offices, and is designed to be flexible for changing use over the next 40 to 50 years. It houses several disciplines across the university. The complex represents the biggest development since the campus was established in 1993."

Planning for it began in 2013 and construction started in 2019, before the impacts of Covid-19 and "the university's current financial situation". Construction was completed in late 2022.