Program cut decisions read at Feb. 10 Student Senate meeting

Student Senate President Amos Mainville read President Charley Edmondson’s Feb. 5 program cut decisions at the Feb. 10 Student Senate meeting.

According to Edmondson's statement, these decisions are not all of the strategic cut decisions that are going to be made. Some decisions have stricter deadlines than others.

The Fiat Lux will follow up with more coverage on these cuts in the next issue.

The decisions so far are based on a proposal released by the Strategic Planning Council in December 2009, and are as follows:

• In the Division of Student Affairs, the accepted proposals were to eliminate one day from first-year orientation, to make the varsity ski team into a club sport at the end of 2010-2011, to combine two support staff positions into one and to close one residence hall.

• In the Division of Enrollment Management, the accepted decision was to end the scholarship program with the National Merit Corporation, and to use the funds to give more aid to qualified incoming students. The proposal to eliminate an admissions counselor position will not be formally addressed at this time.

• In the Division of University Relations, the accepted decisions were to eliminate the print edition of Alfred Magazine and to realign the organization of University Relations.

• In the Division of Business and Finance, the accepted decisions were to eliminate all current programs intended to encourage early retirement, to introduce cost sharing to the university’s health care insurance system for retired employees and to condense the schedule for evening class meetings. The decision to condense the evening schedule was accepted conditionally in order to accommodate for lab and studio access.

• In the Division of Academic Affairs, the decisions were spread across the libraries, the College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering, the Honors program and the International Programs Office.

• In the University’s libraries, the accepted decisions were to remove vacant positions in Scholes Library and to cancel subscriptions to a number of print journals.

• In the College of Business, the accepted decisions were to reorganize the administration and other professional education programs.

• In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the accepted decisions were to eliminate the German program with conditions and to reduce the French major to a minor with conditions.

Under the conditions for German, introductory German classes will still be taught, students will be allowed enough time to complete their majors and, according to the decision, "the professor [Sandra Singer, professor of German] will be reassigned other instructional responsibilities so that significant numbers of students have an opportunity to benefit from her talents."

• Under the conditions for French, students would be given enough time to complete their majors, the curriculum will be revised and one faculty position will be eliminated.

• In the School of Engineering, electrical engineering will not be cut. A plan will be developed to consolidate electrical engineering and mechanical engineering with the savings of two full faculty positions.

• The proposal to revise the Honors program was deferred.

• A decision to redefine the Director of International Programs and the Office of International Programs was also deferred.