Andrew Fitzgerald/Winonan
An unprecedented number of Winona State University employees are poised for early retirement, due to the Board Early Separation Incentive (BESI) opportunity.
The program, announced as an option by Winona State on Jan. 6 of this year, offers financial incentives to eligible employees as a means of encouraging early separation from employment and thus saving the university money for the coming year.
Since the program’s announcement in January, 41 Winona State employees have accepted incentives for an accelerated exit from employment.
Pragmatic fiscal management is the primary concern behind these offered incentives.
Scott Ellinghuysen, vice president of finance and administrative services at Winona State, said, “We have set a goal of trying to save $1.5 million out of the BESI program.”
In order to be eligible for BESI, an employee must be at or above the age of 55 and is required to have completed at least five years of continuous service to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU).
The financial goal is set for the fiscal year of 2015, a year that is estimated to reflect a potential deficit of the same number, $1.5 million, for Winona State. Neither the potential deficit nor the potential savings are set in stone.
“Until final decisions on replacements have been made, we will not know the [exact] savings,” Ellinghuysen said.
The effect that BESI will have on the quality of services on campus is not yet clear, and methods of refilling the vacated positions have not been decided.
“The University leadership is currently evaluating the retirements and determining how to best proceed with replacements or restructuring of the affected departments,” Ellinghuysen said.
Wayne Ripley, a professor in the Winona State English Department, offered some of his insight on the program, in spite of being below the age requirement for eligibility. His thoughts concerned the use of the program as a purely cost-saving method for the university, regarding individual professors and how they are paid.
“The longer you work here the more money you make,” he said. For Ripley personally, given the choice between a financial incentive and continuing to do the work he enjoys, he would pick the work every time, although he expressed an understanding toward those who have accepted BESI.
While the names of the retirees cannot be released due to data privacy issues, it is safe to say that Winona State will soon say goodbye to a substantial number of people who have contributed to the advancement of the university.