Though some voices from across campus and beyond have expressed shock at President Christopher Dahl’s deactivation announcement, we in fact had every reason to expect that such a drastic measure was looming on the horizon.
Since his convocation address that began the semester, Dahl has been clear that the administration has been considering program curtailment as an option to deal with the ongoing budget cuts made to SUNY and other public agencies by our state government. The criteria used to consider which programs might be considered for curtailment was made transparent and announced in several mediums including The Lamron.
The sheer size of the budget deficit made the necessity of quality-reducing decisions inevitable. The real decision, then, was whether to endure across-the-board cuts equally detrimental to all academic programs or to wholly sacrifice specific departments with the hope of maintaining excellence in those that remain.
Neither of these options was desirable. Within the context of limited resources for public higher education in New York state, however, the latter decision is better for the college as a whole. Continued across-the-board cuts would compromise the quality of education for every single student on this campus. The decision to deactivate three programs affects fewer students and prevents new students from enrolling in programs that will likely not be continued. This is not a good decision; but it is the better option in a scenario where a positive outcome is impossible.
In addition to having to shoulder complaints that cuts could have been made across the board, the administration has been blamed for leaving students and faculty out of the vote. While such a democratic resolution appears to be ideal, it is entirely impractical. People protect their own. Everyone would be saying the same thing: “Don’t cut my program.”
Every single department in this college is a gem in its own right. Every single group of students and faculty could argue that their curriculum is the most important, their faculty is the best, their students are the most prolific. And these arguments are made with good reason. Every department certainly has something in which to take pride. Those affected most by these cuts have every right to be upset – even furious – that the crisis has come to this. No program deserves curtailment.
But pointing fingers at Dahl and Provost Carol Long – two individuals who want nothing but the best for this college – is misguided. We’ve all heard the cries to direct the anger at Albany – a justified calling indeed – but there is additional reason why our college’s administration should not be demonized for this decision.
Dahl and Long hold their positions for a reason. They are faced with the detestable task of making these tough calls because they are qualified and considerate. As students, we shouldn’t pretend that we would have made a better decision in this time of great turmoil. Our administration is more than competent enough to handle that undertaking.