Administrators consider streamlining programs

Following in the footsteps of the colleges of Mass Communication and Media Arts and Education, the College of Liberal Arts may also be restructuring its programs.

According to Shirley Clay Scott, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, the proposed changes, which are still in the preliminary stages, are recommendations of the Budget Task Force.

Scott said while small changes have been implemented, the biggest proposal on the table is the implementation of an Institute for the Study of Contemporary Society.

She said this institute would attempt to house multiple programs dealing with issues such as gender, race relations and ethnicity under one program.

“We’re looking to see if some of our programs could be productively linked,” she said.

According to Thomas Calhoun, professor of sociology and department chairman, the purpose of the center is to save University resources and pull together units that study similar issues, such as the departments of Black American Studies, Sociology and Latino and Latin American Studies.

“It only makes sense if you could develop an institute that shared common interests and goals and bring them together under one umbrella agency,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun, who directed a similar center at the University of Nebraska, said the institute would enhance the College of Liberal Arts by offering students more interdisciplinary classes, increasing research opportunities, providing recertification and continuing education classes for professionals in the community.

“Having exposure to the multitude of offerings in the institute would enhance not only [students’] employability but also their appreciation for living in a diverse society,” he said.

Scott said because of the magnitude of the college, they would not be undergoing large-scale changes such as the College of Education and that the center is the most practical way to restructure and save money.

Housing 18 departments and offering more than 25 majors, the College of Liberal Arts is the largest college on campus.

According to Calhoun, for such a center to work, several things must first take place. These include agreement by all parties involved, space allocations and additional resources.

Scott said while the restructuring is not something that would save the college much money, external funding is something the college would look into. She said the ability to attract outside money would have a huge bearing on the decision to create the center.

According to Scott, the overall goal of the restructuring is to cut the percentage of the college’s budget that is spent on administration salaries and concentrate more on funding instruction.

“Our goal is simply to get more money into instruction and graduate assistant support and less money into administration.”

She said the college generally spends a little more than 94 percent of its budget on salaries but has saved about 12 percent through administrative restructuring. She hopes to save an additional 5 percent to 10 percent through restructuring its programs.

Scott said other changes being made in the college to save money include restructuring the dean’s office and decreasing the appointments of small department chairs from 12 months to 11 months.

She said appointment lengths have been changed in four departments so far and more changes would come as contracts expire and new department chairs come in.

“If small changes can save money, then that’s our burden,” Scott said. “That’s our goal. I think the important thing is we just keep trying to find ways that would be more cost effective.”

Preliminary discussions concerning the restructuring will begin this summer.