By Joshua Geaughan 

On the morning of Nov. 13, 2025, the Roger Williams University President, Ioannis Miaoulis, sent an email that would shake the campus to its core. The email explained that the university will be implementing a furlough program requiring most staff members to take one week of unpaid leave between January and May. This decision was made in order to address the current budgetary deficit that the university is facing before the end of the fiscal year.

Staff members were given a choice to apply for their leave during four possible weeks, which were deliberately chosen by the university to avoid conflicts to students by avoiding weeks that classes run. This program directly affects the lives of employees on campus and presents a possible breach of labor contracts signed between the university and various unions on campus. One question continues to be raised across the campus: How did it come to this?

“We are not closing our doors, we’re adulting…we’re learning how to budget and how to spend our dollars,” Chief Financial Officer Gloria Arcia explained at the town hall meeting hosted on Oct. 20. Arcia explained that the university is currently about 3.3 million dollars in debt with 2.275 million dollars taken from the endowment fund last year and an additional $1.025 million lost from the lack of enrollment this year. With additional costs from the law school, the university hopes to pay back $3.5 million dollars. After the furlough email was sent to campus staff, Arcia explained that if the program is completed in full, the furlough program is estimated to cover 1.5 million dollars of the deficit. 

Arcia also explained that the planned “capital” improvements–like the planned student center, improvements to residence halls, and the building swap between the Gabelli School of Business and Global Heritage Hall–aren’t considered part of the deficit. Arcia clarified that these improvements fall under their own budget, known as the Capital Improvements Fund. 

The president explained within the email sent on Nov. 13th, that the decision of a furlough was made after extensive discussions with his cabinet on how to mitigate the deficit. Staff exceptions to the furlough program were also outlined. Public safety, the dining staff, adjunct professors, and shuttle drivers will not be affected. 

The email also highlighted that the university planned on instituting a 2.5% wage increase for unaligned (not part of a union) staff members and explained that the cabinet members will also be participating in the furlough and will forgo a wage increase this year.

President Miaoulis also wrote that he acknowledges that this could cause negative effects on employees, and he is appreciative of their support. “Furloughs carry real impacts for individuals and families, and I recognize the hardship that this temporary measure brings… At the same time, it reflects our collective commitment to protect jobs, sustain our ability to realize our mission now and into the future, and position RWU for current stability and future growth.”

“With respect to faculty, they [the university] are breaking the contract [and that’s] the kindest way to put it,” explains Faculty Association President Clifford Murphy. “I feel like it’s theft.” 

The faculty association’s collective bargaining agreement, the contract that was put together between the university and the faculty association, outlines the pay cycle for faculty. The dates that the class is running through the semester cannot be changed. Although the dates provided by the university for the furlough do not occur during the weeks designated for classes, Murphy explains how the university expects the full product of their work (the full academic year) with one less week of pay.

In addition, Article 2, Section F of the collective bargaining agreement states that RWU and the RWUFA agree that all negotiable items have been discussed and will not reopen on any item concerning salary, wages, or working conditions unless the agreement is made mutually between the two parties. 

In a letter sent to the university by Jennifer Azevedo– NEARI’s deputy executive director– following the announcement of the furlough, she not only affirms Murphy’s perspective but also adds that the furlough program is prohibited by federal labor law, “Pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act, the employer cannot unilaterally implement changes to hours of work, wages, working conditions, or any other terms of employment that constitute mandatory subjects of bargaining during the term of an existing labor contract. Moreover, labor law does not provide an exception to this obligation for alleged financial exigency, which is apparently the reason for this furlough decision. To be clear, the University has an unequivocal obligation to bargain with the Union(s) before the implementation of this furlough program.”

When talking about the letter, Azevedo explained how the day before the furlough email was sent out to the university, Thomas McDonough, the university’s Vice President of Human Resources, called the NEARI representative for RWU, Leslie Florio. Through their conversation, McDonough informed Florio that the university will be announcing a furlough program the next day. Azevedo explains that there were no negotiations, and from the initial conversation, she believed it was clear that the university would not be dissuaded from its decision. 

Murphy corroborated the story, explaining, “What has happened here is we have a furlough program that has been announced. It was not met with a consultation, not an ask [of], ‘Hey, we really need some work here. We need some help meeting some financial goals.’ They’ve just decided we have a problem with our finances and [that they are] going to take money out of [our] paycheck to meet that problem.”

NEARI not only represents the Faculty Association, but also two other campus unions, the Professional Support Staff Association and the Roger Williams University Facilities Management Employees. Azevedo outlined that the university has breached both in-campus contracts and federal labor laws for three independent parties on campus by implementing the furlough program. In her letter, Azevedo advises aligned employees not to choose dates for the furlough and promises that each unit the organization represents will be filing a grievance for the breach of the collective bargaining agreements across campus. Additionally, NEARI will be asking for the school’s financial documents, both to help better inform the grievances each unit is writing, but also to verify the information that Mialious has outlined in his statements. 

Murphy explained that this is not the first time that the university has implemented a furlough program to balance the budget, as the last time a decision like this was made was during the COVID-19 pandemic. During which, the University followed this process, going through the proper channels with the Faculty Association and asking for compensation from the faculty. “The university came to us and asked for monetary relief and the face of this crisis,” Murphy explained. “It was a crisis that was external and obvious to all, and we did make a contribution back and a significant one, one that has not been made whole.”

Murphy believes that there is a difference between the crisis of COVID-19 and the financial predicament that the school finds itself in now. The biggest difference, besides the university not opening up the proper channels of communication between these two events, is that this financial issue is not a clear crisis, but rather a management issue. COVID-19 was a clear external crisis; there was nothing that the school could’ve done besides buckle down and ask for help refilling the hole that the pandemic dug, but both Murphy and Azevedo ask if this current issue is on the same level. 

In addition, according to the 990 tax forms, both the president and the Provost have taken on massive pay increases between 2022 and 2023; with the president’s salary increasing by 70%, bringing his yearly pay to $1,026,266. 

These raises were granted by the board of trustees after the university’s faculty senate held two votes of no confidence against the president and the provost. Murphy argued that between these votes of no confidence and the contentious negotiations needed to write the current collective bargaining agreements, much of the trust between this administration and the faculty has been soured. 

Murphy explained that as the Faculty Association President, professors have approached him over the phenomenal hardship created by the furlough. He highlights that some professors worry that they won’t be able to pay their rent or other bills.