Senate - Make cuts for athletics equal to cuts of teaching jobs

Southeast Missouri State University faculty members made their case Wednesday for cutting athletics at the same rate as teaching jobs, objecting to the cost-cutting figures presented by the administration.

At a Faculty Senate meeting, a majority of senators said they also oppose an athletics department proposal to cut $35,000 to $40,000 out of the $3.8 million the school spends fielding sports teams.

The university hopes to save about $1.45 million from academic and nonacademic cuts as the school tries to balance its budget in the face of state funding cuts.

School president Dr. Ken Dobbins has estimated that about $1 million will be cut from academic operations and the rest of the savings will come in nonacademic areas. Eighteen academic programs with few majors were the first considered for elimination, and faculty members complained that students already are being told not to pick such majors, which include economics, geography and philosophy.

Faculty senator Craig Roberts, who teaches math and is a member of the university's booster club, said he was "offended" by athletics director Don Kaverman's contention that athletics can't afford any major spending cuts. He said the university should look to cut sports spending at least at the same level as academic programs.

"They are just out of touch with what is going on," he said of athletics department officials.

But administrators said there's no decision yet on how much would be cut from any program.

Dobbins is expected to recommend cost-cutting moves when the board of regents meets next week. The meeting originally was scheduled for Nov. 14, but may be held a day earlier to accommodate some regents' schedules.

Marketing professor James Ricks cautioned against cutting athletics spending by too much. He said the university would lose students to other colleges if it didn't compete at the NCAA Division I level.

But faculty senator Susan Swartwout, an associate professor of English, questioned how the university can justify having a sports marketing director -- Dr. Charles Wiles, a retired marketing professor working part-time in the new position -- when the school is looking at cutting faculty positions.

Senators urged the administration to avoid cutting any tenured faculty positions but approved a plan that would set up an early retirement program just for faculty in academic programs targeted for cuts and a severance plan in the event that faculty are fired.

Senators said any retirement incentive should include health insurance for the retired faculty until those individuals are eligible for Medicare.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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