The letter comes after RCAH students were informed by college leadership in October that university administration was considering consolidating RCAH with the larger, but similarly humanities-focused College of Arts and Letters (CAL), an announcement that worried many RCAH students. 

Through public comments at October’s board meeting, an Associated Students of MSU resolution and interviews with The State News, students have expressed concern that RCAH becoming a department or school within CAL means it will lose the tight-knit feel that makes it appealing, along with its unique curriculum. They also worry that RCAH faculty and staff might be demoted or let go in the process.

Administrators have attempted to quell those concerns, asserting that the academic mission of RCAH, and its staff, would be preserved in a consolidation. Ultimately, they’ve argued, consolidation would make MSU’s humanities education stronger and more cohesive.

The consideration comes at a time of heightened sensitivity around the extent to which the humanities are prioritized at universities across the country. Several have slashed humanities programs in attempts to balance budgets, justifying the move by arguing those programs don’t hold as much value as degree programs that translate more directly to specific career paths, like engineering and business.

In their letter to the board, the tenured professors in RCAH acknowledged that trend, and said they were open to the possibility that "the arts and humanities as a whole at MSU would be better served with a different administrative structure to address these concerns."

"The proposed merger with CAL is one possibility," the professors wrote.

But the professors qualified their openness to the consolidation, claiming that, "at this point, however, stakeholders have not been asked to explore any other options."

"We ask that a more open process be allowed to play out in order to develop an appropriate proposal to strengthen the arts and humanities at MSU through consultation with faculty, staff, students, alumni, community partners and donors." 

Still, the professors expressed confidence that MSU’s consideration of a consolidation isn’t any disguised attempt to follow suit of universities who’ve deprioritized the humanities in recent years. Their optimism contrasts with the outlook of some RCAH students who’ve been skeptical of whether the administration is operating in good faith.

"Recent top-level initiatives and external grants for sustainable arts-related programs on MSU’s campus indicate a desire on the part of MSU’s leaders for the arts and humanities to thrive here," the professors wrote.

Elsewhere in the letter, the professors advocated for the value of RCAH as it stands, citing climbing enrollment numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic, and that graduates of the college land a job in their field of study at a rate higher than graduates of any other college at MSU. They also pointed to the U.S. News & World Report’s recent ranking of MSU’s residential colleges — which, aside from RCAH includes the public affairs-focused James Madison College and the math and science-focused Lyman Briggs College — as the best among all public universities in the country.

"It is important to acknowledge that RCAH staff and faculty are deeply committed to our work and recently devoted considerable time and energy to developing a strategic plan," the professors wrote. "This request for administrative restructuring did not come from us."

MSU administration previously announced that a "working group," composed of representatives from RCAH and CAL, would be convened to provide recommendations on the restructuring to the provost’s office.

The professors’ letter says that group has not yet met, and called on the board to ensure the group "be allowed to explore all options through a consultative process."

MSU Provost Thomas Jeitschko told The State News in October that he doesn’t expect approval of the consolidation to be on the agenda for the board’s December meeting, but that he may provide an update on any developments to the board then.

MSU representatives did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon for this story. 

At its conclusion, the letter notes that while it’s only signed by tenured faculty within RCAH, given the "protection that tenure affords," it was drafted with support "from all of our faculty and staff peers in the college."

The letter is signed by the following tenured faculty members in RCAH: John Aerni-Flessner, Eric Aronoff, Deidre Dawson, Tama Hamilton-Wray, Terese Monberg, David Sheridan, Anita Skeen, Sitara Thobani, Estrella Torrez and Scot Yoder.