Academic alterations unneeded at SEMO, faculty say

BUDGET STRUGGLES

By Mark Bliss ~ Southeast Missourian

Faculty members are unhappy with university proposals for academic restructuring that school administrators insist are necessary to cut operating costs in the face of tight state funding.

About 175 people, mostly faculty, attended a noon meeting on Wednesday to discuss possible academic restructuring moves with university officials, including President Ken Dobbins.

Most of the dozen or so people who spoke up at the meeting said they were worried about possible reorganizations of departments and, to a lesser extent, colleges.

Dr. Chris McGowan, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, said his department may be consolidated from six to four departments.

"There is almost adamant, universal opposition to merging departments in my college," he said.

But university officials say restructuring is preferable to eliminating academic programs with few majors such as economics and anthropology or cutting teaching positions.

"We're not going to please everybody," Dobbins said.

Coming together

School officials say they hope to save $325,000 by reorganizing colleges and schools at the university and combining academic departments. Those moves could eliminate some clerical and administrative jobs, including cutting two academic deans' positions.

University officials are considering combining the graduate school and the School of University Studies which deals with basic general education courses. The School of Polytechnic Studies -- which was formed three years ago -- could become part of the Harrison College of Business or the College of Science and Mathematics.

Randy Shaw, dean of the School of Polytechnic Studies, said after the meeting that his faculty hasn't had an opportunity to discuss the restructuring proposals.

Shaw said the restructuring talk is just in the preliminary stage. "I don't see it set in stone at all," said Shaw, who acknowledged that he could lose his deanship in the restructuring move but still retain a teaching job as a tenured professor.

School officials said any dean whose administrative job was cut could remain employed as a teacher at the university.

Officials estimated that cutting two deans positions could save the university $200,000 and department consolidations could save $125,000 through cuts in clerical jobs and elimination of department administrative positions.

Academic and non-academic restructuring moves could save the university about $500,000 this year, officials said.

The university, officials said, has already made up $4.5 million through a tuition increase and cost-cutting moves including delays in filling vacant positions, cuts in equipment purchases, deferred maintenance and elimination of some staff positions, mostly through attrition.

But it's the possibility of academic restructuring that has faculty concerned. There are already plans to combine some departments such as political science and the department of philosophy and religion in the College of Liberal Arts. The business college is looking at reorganizing from five to three departments.

Chemistry professor Philip Crawford suggested university officials consider keeping existing departments while temporarily combining administrative functions so that two or more departments could be managed by a single department chairman.

Crawford said that would be preferable to forcing two academic departments into a single entity.

Heather Seabaugh, an academic adviser in the College of Science and Mathematics and a Southeast graduate, said combining departments would hurt the university and make it harder to attract students.

Faculty, she said, would rather keep the existing departments while cutting administrative positions. "Restructuring is a painful thing for everybody," Seabaugh said. "It is not going to be pleasant."

Wednesday's session was the first of four scheduled meetings on campus to discuss possible cost-cutting moves. Others are scheduled for Sept. 4, 9 and 13 with Dobbins expected to unveil a final restructuring plan on Sept. 25.

The Board of Regents is expected to consider the cost-cutting moves at its Oct. 18 meeting.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123