(I, personally, am especially bothered by the community and environment planning, an issue of great importance to West Virginia in particular, and jazz studies, which had a world-class program. Just because someone hasn’t talked much specific items should not be taken as a lack of concern.)
But I continue to be flummoxed by your continued assertion that the upper administration of WVU went into this entire process with purely positive motivations, or at least that they are knowledgeable enough that any decisions they made must necessarily have been (at least very, very nearly) the optimal ones. Like, do you have this belief that C-suite-level executives across all industries are so perfectly informed and work to such absolutely perfect ends, or do you only think that about higher education? Because I can’t imagine thinking that about any sector, but if I was going to believe it about a sector of the economy, higher ed is one of the ones that most definitely would not appear on my list.
No, actually I don’t think they care about much at all except the bottom line, financially. Neither Gee nor the trustees care whether anyone studies French or not-why would they? Just balance the money accounts and they would happily go away
Separately, Bradley U in Illinois announced final cuts due to their budget shortfall. 15 programs dropped, and 5 majors will only be minors now.
In an email to the university cited by the Journal Star , Bradley President Stephen Standifird said that 15 programs would be phased out, including Actuarial Science (in Mathematics), Apparel Production and Merchandising, Business Law, Ceramics, Entrepreneurship**,** Family Consumer Science Education, Family Life Science, Hospitality Leadership, International Studies, Math Education, Pre-K – 12 Administration and Leadership, Printmaking, Professional Sales, Religious Studies and Statistics.
In addition, five other programs - economics, French, mathematics, philosophy and physics - will no longer be offered as majors, but classes in these subjects will still be taught as part of the undergraduate curriculum.
agreed. Cash is king, and managing cash flow is job #1 for a CFO. (Forecasting can’t be that difficult for a large public Uni as there aren’t too many unknowns.)
I have to give some blame to the President and Board too. They couldn’t have been looking too closely at the various financial reports for it to get to a $240M shortfall before the alarms sound.
I feel like the current president at Univ of Arizona needs to pay attention to what’s happened at West Virginia University. $250M budget shortfall due to some major mistakes!
Just cut some profitable academic divisions, and the problem will take care of itself!
But yeah, being sarcastically hyperbolic is fun, but in all seriousness one does have to ask why the recurring playbook is for costs get to run up on the administrative side of the house and then, when it all falls apart, the cuts get disproportionately assigned to the academic side.
or a 
here, but I can’t figure out which.)