UF may continue offering Vietnamese classes next year after assistant professor Andrea Pham, who was scheduled to be laid off in June, was ordered to be reinstated by an arbitrator about a week ago.
The arbitrator ruled that UF violated its contract with the faculty union when it fired Pham, who teaches the only two Vietnamese classes at UF, as a result of budget cuts.
Paul D'Anieri, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said no decision has been made on whether the Vietnamese classes taught by Pham will be available next year, but said it was likely.
"That's what she was hired to do, so it makes a certain amount of sense to assume that that is what she would be doing," he said Friday.
D'Anieri said he should know for sure some time this week whether the courses will continue to be offered.
He said he hasn't decided where the college, which released a draft version of a $9.3 million budget cut proposal Wednesday, will find the money to reinstate Pham. Pham's salary, which doesn't include benefits, is about $54,000.
All options will be considered, he said, including possibly firing another faculty member.
Meanwhile, Pham said she is happy with the decision, but is still unsure about her future at UF.
She said she doesn't know what she'll be teaching or even what department she'll be in if she's reinstated.
She also said she will be a year behind in her application for tenure.
"I'm not happy at all with the way the administrators have run the university, and I'm not alone in this," she said.
Pham said the way UF handles layoffs during the upcoming budget cut, which should be finalized by mid to late May, will help determine if she stays at UF.
"I just want to see how they're going to do the next cut and how they live up to the agreements that they've signed," she said.
"My heart is no longer here," she said. "I just love my students."
