With University budget cuts in full force, the College of Agriculture prepares for even more cuts in the future.
The college has already lost 22 faculty positions, and this year could be the breaking point with a potential 15 percent cut hanging over the school’s head, said Kenneth Koonce, dean of the college.
For funds, the school is “scraping the bottom” and trying to “make ends meet” as much as possible, Koonce said. Many programs are seeing growing demands, and with the current cuts, some classes may not be able to continue, he said.
To meet the demand of the students while also preparing for more cuts, the school is considering adding two new courses, equine science and a master’s advanced analytics course, which would bring in outside money, Koonce said.
The equine course is a science-based program for students to learn the biology of horses as well as working in the equine industry. The course would be supported on a student lab fee each semester, and in comparison to other schools with a similar program, the University’s fee would be considerably less, said Gary Hay, animal sciences director.
The fee would primarily be used to fund horses and certified riding instructors. The department is attempting to partner with BREC for students to have hands-on experience with horses, Hay said.
“In a recent survey of over 200 students enrolled in three freshman animal science courses, over 60 percent indicated they would be interested in enrolling in an equine program study if one were available,” said animal sciences instructor Laura Gentry in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille.
Many students have shown interest in the potential course, but even though the department is confident the course will be approved, there is no way to be 100 percent positive, Hay said.
“I have students in my office all the time asking why we don’t have an equine program within the School of Animal Sciences to offer students,” Gentry said.
Louisiana has a $3 billion horse industry, and the department is expecting private donations will help support the course in addition to the course fee, Hay said.
The second potential course, advanced analytics, is a master’s program that would include several other colleges as well as the College of Agriculture. The students enrolled in the course would start together and complete the course within 10 months, said Luis Escobar, experimental statistics professor.
“This course would be very intensive and involve lots of work,” Escobar said.
Advanced analytics would bring in outside money from several sources, including additional tuition and donations from relevant companies, Escobar said.
This new course would project the University into the community and benefit the students in the current job market, Escobar said.
“Hopefully, more courses will be added due to the high level of interest, which has exceeded our expectations,” Gentry said.
Escobar said the new course additions could both meet high student demand and raise faculty morale, which, he said, dropped after termination letters were issued.
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Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected]