help! support needed

Thomas Fillitz (thomas.fillitz@UNIVIE.AC.AT)
Wed, 13 Mar 1996 18:19:53 +0100

Dear Colleagues,

Please let me personally address you in an urgent matter concerning the
Austrian science and research.
The present government has launched a general programme of budget cuts
which affects intellectual and academic life more than any other aspect of
social life. This implies among other things:
* Drastic reduction of research possiblities;
* A marginalisation of free lance lecturers, with far less teaching
opportunities for them;
* An increase of teaching obligations for staff members up to 300%;
* Salary reductions up to 40%;
* An extreme reduction of student grants of all kinds, practically
excluding lower income groups from access to academic education.

These measures are accompanied by, and feed into an increasingly
anti-intellectual climate. Let me assure you that we are facing a situation
of serious pressure on our work. We therefore would gratefully appreciate
your support. May I kindly ask you to send the the following letter, signed
by you and as many colleagues as possible to the address on the letter
head.

Sincerely yours,

Thomas Fillitz, for the whole Institut fuer Voelkerkunde (Inst. of Social
Anthropology / Univ. of Vienna)

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The Minister of Science, Research,
Arts and Public Transport
Dr. Rudolf Scholten
E-mail: minister@bmwf.gv.at


Your Excellency,

We are very concerned about the fact that present budget
cuts are affecting science, research, and teaching at Austrian universities
to an exorbitant high degree, extending far beyond those in other sectors
of society. These measures are endangering the very foundations of
intellectual and scholarly work in your country, which so far has had a
reputation of producing highest intellectual quality in that respect. In
addition, these measures imply a dangerous anti-intellectual climate that
is incompatible with European and international standards.

The undersigned therefore ask you to reconsider the disastrous impacts of
this policy.

Sincerely yours,

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thomas Fillitz Institut fuer Voelkerkunde
thomas.fillitz@univie.ac.at University of Vienna
Universitaetsstrasse 7 / 4
A - 1010 Vienna / Austria
Fax: 0043 -1- 406 96 66
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