U. of Dubuque to Slash Its Course Offerings, Cut Many Positions

By JASON HUGHES

The University of Dubuque announced on Friday a plan to cut more than half of its majors and to eliminate the positions of the faculty members who staff them.

Jeffrey F. Bullock, Dubuque's president, explained in a letter to the campus that eliminating 23 of its 37 majors would allow the university to refocus its attention and resources on the 14 other programs, in which more than 80 per cent of the university's 755 students study. The university declined to name which programs Mr. Bullock wants to cut.

Many faculty members oppose the plan. Some are already engaged in a legal fight with the university over a separate matter related to the rights of professors: a lawsuit filed against them by the university's Board of Trustees. (See a story from The Chronicle on June 19, 1998.)

Julia K. McDonald, the chairwoman of the Faculty Assembly and the mathematics department head, said that any mass terminations would blemish the integrity of the university, in addition to leaving students in limbo. "This really did come out of the blue," she said.

In his letter, Mr. Bullock says that undergraduates who are in the programs slated for closure would be allowed to complete their degree at Dubuque, with the help of other faculty members. He notes that the campus has just 39 full-time faculty members for its 37 current programs.

That fact is the main reason that the university's annual retention rate, for those who eventually graduate, is only 39 per cent, Mr. Bullock says in the letter. "It is not surprising to find students leaving when there is essentially only one faculty member per program major," he wrote.

"Right now we have 37 majors, which is way too many," said Peter L. Smith, the vice-chancellor for enrollment and a spokesman for the university. He explained that the plan was intended to raise student enrollment and retention, which would help thwart financial woes that have beset the institution in recent years, including a $1.35-million budget deficit that is expected by the end of the fiscal year.

"Without strong financial underpinnings," he said, the university would be ill-equipped to survive.

The Education Policies Council, which includes faculty members, students, and administrators, and which Ms. McDonald chairs, has 30 days to review the president's plan before offering revision proposals to the board. A final announcement on the changes and on subsequent faculty terminations is to be made by May 1.

Ms. McDonald said that faculty members planned to fight the administration to keep as many of the programs as possible.

"We're going to try and come up with some counter-proposal to lessen the impact" of the plan, she said. "Keeping as many faculty as possible to serve the students is going to be our primary concern."

Background story from The Chronicle:

Copyright 1999, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Reprinted with permission. This article may not be posted, published, or distributed without permission from The Chronicle.