The Observer, October 21, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8
Cuts could affect the Case experience, alumni feelings
Talk of budget cuts and unhappy students has pervaded campus since the beginning of the semester while students have struggled to make sense of Case's place among American universities, not to mention their midterms. What's even more frustrating is that trying to find more information about the university's budget and proposed plans to deal with decreased revenue is like trying to find a needle in a $126.4 million set of dorms: nearly impossible.
Among the proposed strategies to correct Case's budget deficit is to leave vacant faculty positions open. While this may be a better idea than cutting the salaries of existing faculty members or taking money from student activities, it could spell a step backwards in the administration's quest to make Case "the world's most powerful learning environment." With the implementation of the new SAGES program, faculty members may be required to take on more to make up for the unfilled positions. The relatively new program already has vocal critics, whose numbers will only grow if faculty members are continually shuffled to cover the seminar classes and not allowed to find their own method of teaching a familiar subject. What will happen to smaller departments whose vacancies are not filled? How can smaller departments, especially those humanities departments that have relied on guest lecturers and adjunct faculty to teach rather than full-time professors, expect to grow and become part of a powerful, balanced learning environment if the faculty members necessary are not available?
The administration has blamed the budget deficit on decreases in federal funding and alumni gifts. Does anyone wonder what the recent states of budget and housing disorder on campus will do to current students' future desire to donate to their old alma mater?
Times of transition are never easy to deal with. It's hard to know if the transitions Case is currently going through are just a phase or something students will have to learn how to deal with for the duration of their education. Are disorder and unhappiness ingredients in the recipe for making a powerful, or even functional, learning environment? One thing is without question, however, something must be done to ensure that what Case students take away from their time at this university is not a feeling of resentment, but a sense of pride in the institution and the positive impact that comes with receiving a diploma from Case.
