Kean USA gives control of Wenzhou Kean to Chinese government, union charges

By Joshua Rosario | Published by Nov. 15, 2018

 

Kean University administrators notified faculty at Wenzhou-Kean (WKU) that the university will be handing control of the highly publicized branch campus to the Chinese government, effective July 1, according to the Kean Federation of Teachers.

Faculty in China were informed in an Oct. 18 meeting on Skype that they will no longer be Kean employees and will soon be employees of the Chinese government, according to an email to its membership from the KFT, which represents all full-time faculty, including those in China.

Wenzhou-Kean faculty were also told that they will be paid in Chinese currency, Renminbi, and that they no longer will be in the American labor union, the KFT, after June 30.

Instead, they were told they would become members of the WKU Chapter Chinese government’s labor union, run by the Chinese Communist Party.

Kean’s Wenzhou China campus was touted as the university’s prestigious entrance into global higher education, and a way to bring more money to the American campus in Union. It is the only public university in the country with a campus in China.

A Kean spokesperson said its “commitment to our WKU students and faculty is stronger than ever,” and that the move to Chinese control comes because of its success since it opened in 2012. WKU this fall enrolled 2,000 students.

“We look forward to working with our Chinese partners on the next chapter of WKU’s growth as a truly international university,” said Margaret McCorry, Kean spokesperson.

But Kean being in China also has its critics and one of them has been state Sen. Joseph Cryan (D-Union).

“I’ve always had questions about the money flowing to China,” Cryan said. “I’ve continued to raise those questions and I’ll be asking the appropriate state authorities to look at it.”

President Dawood Farahi, who championed the China campus, was not present at the Skype meeting, but representatives of the Chinese government were, as were Kean’s Provost Jeff Toney; Andrew Brannen, Vice President for Administration and Finance; and Felice Vazquez, Kean’s Special Counsel and Vice President for planning, according to a Wenzhou professor who asked not to be named over concern for their job.

“We’ve been communicating with WKU faculty so they’re fully informed months in advance of this change,” said McCorry.

McCorry said the university’s objective is to give faculty at WKU a comparable salary in Chinese currency, benefits and other privileges like the faculty here at Kean USA.

What the future holds for Wenzhou-Kean is unclear, according to KFT President James Castiglione, a physics professor.

“There are many, many ramifications that the administration either wasn’t aware of or were aware of it and under prepared to answer the questions,” Dr. Castiglione said.

WKU faculty were told the university in Wenzhou would maintain its USA accreditation and students would still get a USA degree, but faculty here say they do not know how that would work.

“The academic programs, standards, assessments and accreditation aren’t changing and continue to be the same as those at Kean USA,” said McCorry.

They were also told they would receive healthcare and a 401k that would be “comparable” to what they have now.

Many of the faculty’s questions have not been answered. When they asked for assistance or for Kean to provide financial advisors to deal with the tax implications of the change, they were told “you’re on your own,” Castiglione said.

“Faculty do not have confidence their pay will be the same or will increase the same way it does here,” said Castiglione.

WKU faculty were not told which exchange rate would be used in calculations: the Chinese government rate or the international rate. “What about actually getting money out of China?” said Castiglione. “It’s notoriously difficult and expensive to extract capital from China.“

Sen. Cryan said he is concerned about the faculty.

“My concerns are (with) the faculty and staff of China, that their rights and their opportunities are protected,” said Cryan.

The Chinese administrators at WKU have not said much beyond what Kean’s American administrators told the staff.

But, based on the conversations of Wenzhou professors, a “mass exit” may come to the campus, said the Wenzhou professor.

“The general consensus is many of the American professors are going to leave,” the professor said.

The Wenzhou professor said one issue is that hired professors thought that they were working for an American university and they were going to be paid in American currency.

The professor said Administrators from Union were in China on Nov 6. but the reason is unknown.

In their appointment letters from what Kean has been calling Kean USA, compensation is stated in US dollars. In their appointment letters, it is stated that employment at Kean university is subject to and contingent to upon the continued operation of the Wenzhou-Kean university extension campus.

WKU and Kean USA students will continue to be able to study abroad at each campus

 NOTE: This story was updated to clarify that the Chinese government does not have full control of Wenzhou Kean University. The Chinese government is in charge of non-academic functions, according to Kean. 

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