Five of seven faculty members at the University of Mississippi (Jackson) Medical Center's Oxford-based accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program received pink slips on May 1 — in the middle of the rigorous program's one-year cycle, according to a May 10 Mississippi Today article.
In the email informing students the five instructors' contracts would not be renewed, Julie Sanford, DNS, dean of the UMMC's School of Nursing, wrote that the personnel decision is not meant to be "punitive," but instead is a "restructuring based on programmatic and student needs."
A media representative from the school said, "We don't comment on personnel matters," when Becker's reached out for comment.
While these instructors' current contracts don't end until June 30, they were directed by Dr. Sanford to turn in their badges and computers right away, according to one of the faculty members who declined to be identified. This instructor also said they saw someone from the hospital folding moving boxes.
A few days after dismissing the instructors, Dr. Sanford announced she will be leaving her position at UMMC for a new role at the University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing on Aug. 1.
The anonymous faculty member said she was "devastated" and "caught completely off guard" when she found out her dismissal was being called "a business decision." She asked to remain anonymous, saying she was concerned the school might not pay on the final 90 days of her contract.
"This is why it's so, so confusing," she said. "You give us no reason, and you told the students it's not punitive, but they treated us like criminals."
Students said they are worried the dismissals will affect their ability to pass the National Council Licensure Examination. Ashley Ledbetter, who is about to begin the final leg of the three-part program on May 30, said she thought it may be more difficult to prepare for the NCLEX with new instructors.