UNO pays tribute to Dr. Michael Mizell-Nelson, Page 4 June 19, 1965- December 1, 2014
DRIFTWOOD The community newspaper of the University of New Orleans
Volume: 58 Issue: 14
No confidence
Uncertainty looms amongst faculty and students Christy Lorio Editor-in-chief On Dec. 5 the University of New Orleans Faculty Council gave a Vote of No Confidence in President Peter Fos, the day after he announced the discontinuance of seven degree programs and the Department of Geography. A faculty committee submitted its suggestions for academic restructuring to Fos this fall; Fos added the discontinuance of the geography program as well as the termination of four library staff positions, which were not a part of the committee’s original suggestions. At the Dec. 5 meeting, a member of the Faculty Council stated “the Department of Geography was never discussed.” Provost Hansen’s initial report to President Fos recommended keeping geography as a minor. Another faculty member said “this faculty doesn’t trust President Fos…he’s been lying to us continuously…we don’t trust him” Doreen Piano, an associate professor of English and women’s studies, said “The Vote of No Confidence for me was about preserving the integrity of the university’s mission which is to serve both global and local populations and to be a resource for the community. Some of the policy changes occurring and the particular cuts in academic programs that were recommended by the president did not appear to support the mission statement.” James Lowry, associate professor and chair of the Geography Department, said the Vote of No Confidence “is largely symbolic and only carries weight if the person in whom no confidence has been expressed responds or if that person’s boss responds. As far as I know the UNO Faculty Council vote has been ignored.” UNO has suffered from low en-
January 21, 2014
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rollment and statewide budget cuts to higher education over the past several years. Piano thinks the current administration is also contributing to low enrollment. “Last year, students in my tech writing class were asked to write a proposal to solve a campus issue or problem,” Piano said, “They come up with great ideas and solutions, but I was surprised to discover when one group reported that the university has lost nearly 1,000 students since the president started his job. Many of us who have weathered the ups and downs of enrollment since 2005 were hoping to find a leader who could engineer more stable enrollments but so far that is not the case. Why are we losing students?” Piano also pointed out that the English Department has lost 49 percent of its faculty since Hurricane Katrina. “If you look at the low enrollment figures, this spring hovering around 8,000, the loss of faculty in English is commensurate with the loss of students,” Piano said. “I understand the difficul- ties of his position; at the same time, I don’t understand the reasoning behind the recommendations he made. Many of them were not based on the Faculty Governance Committee Report from what I have heard.” Still, there is hope for at least one of the programs slated for termination- the Master’s in romance languages. The program was originally slated to be terminated due to low enrollment, but the addition of an online program has boosted numbers. Juliana Starr, chair of the romance languages program, contested Fos’ decision and was able to have the discontinuance postponed pending a review after the fall 2015 semester to reassess the program’s enroll-
in Fos Program Cuts Timeline
ment numbers, according to a Dec. 17 statement from Interim Provost Richard Hansen. Starr said “The president wasn’t even aware we had an online master’s degree….it’s one of only two master’s degrees available online campus wide and the only one in
Phase 1 immediate discontinuation of academic programs “which affects fiscal health.” Phase 2 spring 2015 identifies “opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of program operation.” Phase 3 “will focus on all remaining programs of study at the University of New Orleans” in fall 2015 to “improve effectiveness and efficiency of these programs.”
liberal arts.” While the postponement will allow time for the online program to reach its projected student enrollment, Starr noted that her department was not given specifics of what a viable program entails. “I haven’t been told what those numbers are...benchmarks have not been specified,” Starr said. The decision also resulted in the rescinding of three Spanish instructors’ terminations, scheduled for May 2015. The instructors were sent letters informing them of their resignation but, according to Starr, they have only received verbal confirmation of the rescindment. Starr is certain that without instructors the foreign language department would “most definitely cease to exist.” UNO would need to fill those instructor positions with six adjuncts,
and “they just don’t exist in our city,” according to Starr. Faculty members and the local press have expressed their concerns regarding the decisions being made at UNO. Richard Goodman, an associate professor of English, expressed his concerns about how these changes might affect students in an op-ed for the New Orleans Advocate on December 26 and spoke on the Jim Engster podcast on Jan. 16. Jarvis DeBerry, columnist for Nola.com/The Times-Picayune wrote an essay titled “Saying goodbye to the University of New Orleans” on Dec. 9 and James Carville, an esteemed political commentator in New Orleans, also expressed his concerns about the future of higher education in New Orleans as part of UNO’s Fall 2014 commencement speech. The Driftwood will provide coverage of the UNO program cuts and state funding issues throughout the semester. Illustration by Amy Nguyen
Programs on the chopping block College of Education and Human Development: Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education Master’s and Doctorate in Special Education Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction College of Liberal Arts: Master’s in Political Science Master’s of Arts in Romance Languages
Had you known about the program cuts, would you still have chosen UNO? Natalia Calderon Senior, Biology
“ believe that education comes first before everything. I think UNO’s program cuts like early childhood education, might discourage the students who made a valuable decision to pursue a career in childhood education..”
Logan Toupes Freshman, Business
“I would have still attended UNO knowing about the program cuts. However, I don’t agree with the cuts because it could be very detrimental to the students and their degrees.”
Carla Allen Junior, English
“No, I would’ve gone to Southeastern for my program like I originally planned. UNO seemed much more appealing before the program cuts, now students are concerned about their degrees that they’ve been working so hard for. It seems unfair.”
Ayhem Al Senior, Engineering
Ebony Oguinn Sophomore, Chemistry
“I would have still chosen UNO because my program is one of the best known programs in the university. Inquiring minds, who pay tuition, might wonder where their money is going now.”
“No, if I would have known about the cuts, then I would’ve chosen another school with much more educational security.” photos by Willie Marsalis