Professors at St. Thomas University have until six o'clock Thursday to vacate their offices.

The university announced the lockout Wednesday, saying it was designed to speed up contract negotiations.

"Plus [it's] also a very good opportunity to extend a good faith invitation to the faculty union to return to the table and to negotiate with a mutually earnest commitment to getting a resolution," said the university's president, Michael Higgins.

The university and its faculty have been trying to reach an agreement on a new contract for the past 10 months.

The faculty association sent out a letter last week requesting that the vote on the final offer be postponed a week, until Jan. 7.

St. Thomas students are already heading back to class a week late, with their winter semester beginning Jan. 10. Higgins said he hopes to reach an agreement by then.