The University of Connecticut College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) may be required to cut budgets by 19.5% over the next five years, according to reporting done by The Daily Campus. Despite denial from UConn regarding this statement, three CLAS department heads and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) have come forward, asserting that the CLAS dean has requested these cuts across the college, as well as the development of department specific strategies for cut implementation due at the end of April.
These cuts come on the heels of other financial issues at UConn such as dwindling support from the government. They also come after UConn announced that they would be evaluating low enrollment programs, with up to 24 programs being suspended, permanently discontinued or consolidated.
Through all of these announcements, there has been a lack of clear and consistent communication from the university. In response to concerns raised by members of CLAS and the AAUP, Provost Anne D’Alleva and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Geoghegan released a statement in UConn Today denying the 19.5% cuts, rather saying that all units were instructed to prepare for 15% cuts. This number does not include the 4.5% reduction for the most recent wage increase which went unfunded by the government and went completely unmentioned in the UConn Today statement.
Conflicting statements from department heads, deans and the UConn administration make the truth of the situation unclear, denying UConn students, staff and prospective attendees the transparency they deserve.
As the commitment deadline for prospective students approaches, it is vital that they know the full truth about the future of the institution. Major budget cuts like these could have an important impact on their decision-making process, and shrouding the truth could harm future students deciding on a major.
For current students, these cuts have an even bigger effect. According to a leaked email from a CLAS department head and statements from political science Department Head Oksan Bayulgen, graduate students will be impacted more than most. Budget cuts and a reduction in fellowships will make recruitment into specific programs difficult. In the same statement, Bayulgen states that graduate assistantships in particular would make for much of the cuts, possibly reducing the number by 60 or 70% of the current total.
These changes put a large burden on staff, forcing them to completely re-evaluate the organization of their programs, the way that they teach and the manner in which they conduct their research.
While all sources, excluding UConn Today, point towards the 19.5% cuts becoming a reality, the future budget cuts of CLAS remain unknown. CLAS staff and administration have been given very little time to mitigate the detrimental effects of major cuts to their programs, and it seems as though they have been given no transparent guidance as to what these cuts will be.
If UConn’s mission is to embrace integrity, then why are they publishing information that directly conflicts with what they’ve told the leaders of CLAS? The UConn community, students and faculty alike, needs an administration that is honest and cooperative as we all deal with our struggling budget.