Key Takeaways
- RWU workers and unions are fighting back against the furlough plan. Faculty, professional staff, facilities workers, and union leaders have challenged the proposed furloughs through legal action, public protests, rallies, and organizing efforts, arguing that employees should not bear the burden of the university’s financial decisions.
- The dispute centers on fairness, transparency, and worker voice. NEARI and affected bargaining units contend that RWU announced major unilateral changes impacting unionized employees without meaningful bargaining or adequate transparency about the university’s financial situation.
- The crisis has become a broader debate about the future of RWU. What began as a furlough proposal has evolved into larger concerns about university leadership, financial priorities, labor relations, and the long-term impact on faculty, staff, students, and the campus community.
The Roger Williams University furlough crisis began in late 2025 when University president Ioannis Miaoulis announced a plan to unilaterally implement furloughs for unionized faculty, professional staff, and facilities workers in response to ongoing financial pressures and enrollment declines. The proposal immediately drew sharp opposition from NEARI and the affected bargaining units, who argued that the university failed to properly bargain over the changes and unfairly placed the burden of RWU's financial challenges on employees. Union leaders also questioned the university's financial priorities and raised concerns about administrative spending, executive compensation, and transparency surrounding the institution's finances.
In response, faculty, staff, students, labor allies, and community supporters organized rallies, public actions, legal challenges, and advocacy campaigns to push back against the furlough plan.
The dispute quickly evolved beyond the furloughs themselves into a broader debate about leadership, accountability, worker voice, and the future direction of the university. Throughout the conflict, union members emphasized the impact the proposed cuts could have on educational quality, campus morale, and RWU’s long-term stability.
As of May 2026, RWU faculty and staff have proudly graduated another class of students, campus workers have cleaned and prepared the university following another commencement season, and President Ioannis Miaoulis is preparing to retire. On June 1, his chief of staff is set to assume the role of interim president – while doubling down on the furlough plan despite months of organizing, legal disputes, public pressure, and community concern.
Yet the RWU Board of Trustees has still not resolved the crisis.
Furlough Crisis Timeline
“Dear Colleagues” Letter
NEARI Responds to RWU Counsel
RWU CFO Defends Illegal Furlough Plan
NEARI Letter to the Board of Trustees Chair
Faculty and Staff Unions Plea to the Board: End the Furlough
RWU President Announces Retirement
Demand for Arbitration
President's Retirement Does Not Resolve Labor Issues
"Boss says furlough, we say hell no!”
Commencement Action
Suggested Further Reading
Media Contact
- Stephanie DeSilva Mandeville
- [email protected]
