A retirement bubble has burst for MSU's International Studies and Programs, leaving behind holes in several national resource centers.
"At the moment, we have key losses," said John Hudzik, dean of International Studies and Programs. "They must be filled, and they will be filled."
International Studies and Programs has many parts, including four national resource centers, the Office of Study Abroad and several language programs.
One of the hardest-hit programs is the African Studies Center, which lost five faculty members in the past two years, including Ruth Simms Hamilton, who was killed in November. The center has more than 150 contributing faculty, provides 13 study abroad programs, teaches on-demand classes in 30 African languages and is the top producer of new research on Africa in the country.
The center is one of four at MSU that receive Title VI funding from the federal government. Title VI grants are about $1.2 million for the center for a three-year period, said David Wiley, director of the African Studies Center. The grant helps the center provide resources to the public, such as libraries, area-focused courses and outreach programs into the community, he said.
"There's some really great things coming out of this program," Wiley said.
Wiley said maintaining faculty is an important part of maintaining Title VI funding from the federal government. The grants are based on proving excellence in a number of areas, such as courses, faculty, outreach and enrollment numbers, he said.
Also receiving Title VI funding are the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Asian Studies Center and the Center for Advanced Study of International Development.
"Faculty cuts do threaten national reputation," said Scott Whiteford, director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. "We've lost faculty almost as much as African Studies."
Faculty is not directly hired by the centers, but they contribute their expertise to area-specific classes and graduate work.
MSU has had strong international involvement for the past 40 years, stemming from the efforts of former MSU President John Hannah, Hudzik said.
"In our initial efforts, we went out and hired a lot of area specialists and country specialists," Hudzik said, adding that those faculty members now are approaching retirement ages.
Hudzik said he has agreements in progress for eight to 14 new positions, and within the next one or two years, the holes in programs will be filled.
The director of the Asian Studies Center, Michael Lewis, said his center also is in the process of recruiting new faculty.
"There's a generational shift. We don't make decisions unilaterally," he said, adding that faculty is hired into individual departments and then cooperates with the center.
Until spots are filled, core faculty members will have to take on more work, especially helping graduate students doing work within the centers, said sociology Professor Rita Gallin. Gallin is a contributing faculty member to the Asian Studies Center.
"Graduate students, they need people who can guide them," she said. "That's very time-consuming."
A shortage in professors means a work overload for those who remain, Gallin said. In addition to extra help, Gallin said she is looking forward to new faculty within the center for other reasons.
"They bring new perspective. They bring vitality," she said. "I think it's always good to inject new blood."
