Nearly 600 Penn State Employees Take Voluntary Retirement Package
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (CBS/AP) — Nearly 600 faculty and staff have taken a voluntary retirement package from Penn State University, including more than 400 employees on the main campus.
The Centre Daily Times reports 419 main campus employees took the offer, while 168 others did on satellite campuses.
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Forty-six percent of employees eligible for the early retirement took it, more than the university anticipated. Faculty 62 and older and staff 60 and older were eligible for a year's lump sum pay if they had at least 15 years' service.
University spokeswoman Heather Robbins says it's not clear how much money will be saved after new workers are hired. Faculty senate chairman James Strauss says he's hoping the retirements will lead to a "strategic realignment" and more diverse faculty in two to three years.
"It represents both a challenge and opportunity for colleges and the department level," Strauss told the Daily Times. "You lose very good people, (but) the opportunity allows you to strategically realign some of your academic programs, course offerings and research."
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