Department of Geological Sciences among potential department, program cuts
By Meredith Skrzypczak (Last updated: 11/01/09 11:42pm)Potential program and departmental cuts affecting many colleges within the university were announced Friday at the MSU Board of Trustees meeting.
The recommendations were laid out by Provost Kim Wilcox and Vice President for Finance and Operations Fred Poston.
As part of the recommendations, Wilcox announced department reductions in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources from 13 to six departments.
The Department of Geological Sciences in the College of Natural Science also was recommended for closure.
In the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders could close.
Wilcox also announced possible program discontinuances at all levels, such as the American Studies Program in the College of Arts and Letters.
Various undergraduate degrees also were recommended for discontinuance, such as those in the Veterinary Technology Program.
These and more recommendations will be discussed further in Academic Governance, President Lou Anna K. Simon said.
“There (are) no easy programmatic decisions,” she said. “We understand that all of the programs we offer are important … that makes this task even more difficult.”
Simon also announced university plans to aid students who are affected by the loss of funding for the Michigan Promise Scholarship.
For 2009-10, MSU will apply stimulus dollars at $1,000 per student to fully fund the loss of the scholarship for those with the highest needs. It will provide $500 per student for all others.
The university also will offset spring semester tuition, one time only, for all resident undergraduate students by $5 per credit.
For more on this story, read Monday’s edition of The State News.
Originally Published: 10/30/09 3:03pm
Velvis
10/30/09 4:25pmI can understand stuff like American studies and comm disorders (still regretable though) but Geology seems like a real nut-and-bolts thing to cut altogether.
Anybody know the real story why theyre getting the ax?
Michigan State University of Art: "Because Science is Too Expensive!"
10/30/09 4:57pmNo more geology?! Ya know, throwing financial aid at people is going to be pretty useless once there aren’t anymore programs of study left. But whatever. Woohoo! 5 dollahs!!!!
*sigh*
10/30/09 9:35pmI’m a geology student and if this happens, I will be transferring.
Michigan State SPORTS University
10/31/09 10:54amWhy are they getting rid of all the important majors? Get rid of the useless ones, like philosophy and film. Or maybe (here’s something that will NEVER happen)they should cut some sports. Cutting the baseball team alone will save several million dollars.
Liz
10/31/09 3:05pmOne of my best classes at MSU was my geology class, because of the amazing professor. This would be a really sad and regrettable move for the university.
Why not just raise tuition again? The administration never seemed to have a problem with it when I was a student.
Marsha
10/31/09 6:31pmCuts aren’t deep enough, signed an msu employee that works hard
Paul Grieve
11/01/09 12:00pmThis is a bunch of schist!
11/02/09 8:57amEven if you take 20 credits, that’s only $100. Are you kidding me?
Colin Plank
11/03/09 5:17pmClosing a major natural resource / applied science department in Michigan is a terrible idea right now because A: the state is abuzz with talk of diversifying its economy w/ green energy technologies (in Michigan this means wind farms along the coast(s)) and B:The U.S. government has finally acknowledged (and proposed research and restoration funding to the tune of just over $1 billion dollars dispersed over the next 5 years) the Great Lakes as a major resource.
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spartan
11/04/09 8:47pmSome of the most pressing needs to global society over the next century will be related to the availability and impacts of the use of fossil fuels. Eliminate geological sciences and environmental geosciences at MSU? A remarkably poor and shortsighted idea in a resource rich but highly resource dependent State. The MSU administration was full of bloat 2.5 decades ago when I was a student, and that bloat has grown faster than the rate of growth of some of the other superfluous academic majors on campus that are little more than glorified 2-year degrees.
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Eric Swanson
11/10/09 6:40pmIt’s rediculous to consider closing the Geological Sciences Department. Maybe we should make do without sports for a couple of years until the economy comes around.