Buhler’s position is pending approval by the MSU Board of Trustees, and if approved, he will remain until a permanent dean is selected by a national search process.

“I am working with (Buhler) on a daily basis — answering questions, providing background on ongoing projects and helping the university in moving forward,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong has been dean since 2001 and said the college has continued to excel in research and teaching despite being faced with a difficult budget climate during his tenure.

Armstrong met with students in late November 2010 to present initial plans to deal with further budget cuts, including the possibility of condensing 13 departments into eight, cutting 25 percent of administrative faculty and potentially shrinking south campus farm operations. Those plans still are in the early stages of discussion, and no timeline or final decision has been made for their implementation, a spokesperson from the Office of the Provost said.

Animal science senior Joel Sparks, who works as an animal caretaker in the Swine Teaching and Research Center, said he is concerned about the possibility of reductions to campus farm facilities. Sparks said he has used his work experience as a talking point with different employers and schools and now knows he wants to specialize in swine after graduation.

“If I hadn’t had that exposure (to different animals) in an introduction class or the opportunity to work there, I wouldn’t know what animal I want to work with,” he said.

The farm facilities are used as core teaching and research areas, and many students get hands-on experience working at the facilities, said Bob Kreft, farm manager of the Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center.

Kreft said he has not heard enough details of the proposed restructuring plans to understand how it could be implemented into a curriculum.

Armstrong said the college is more dependent on state funding than any other college at MSU because of its association with MSU Extension and the newly renamed MSU AgBioResearch. That funding was cut by more than 40 percent in 2009, he said at the November meeting.

“All of the university is dealing with the reality of the Michigan budget,” Armstrong said.

Although Sparks said he understands the college has to find a way to be more efficient, he said he hopes a student viewpoint is kept in the forefront of any decisions on the cuts and the college continues to have plenty of faculty available to students.

“I really would hope in this restructuring they try to get a sense of the undergraduate and see what really is going to impact them and try to tailor to that,” Sparks said.