Nichole Oden, TigerTV Reporter
Because of the impending budget cuts, many departments fear they may be making major changes to their faculties next year. The English department is one of these departments.
According to Anna Nardo, head of the English department, 39 instructors from the English department have received their letters of termination. However, Nardo believes not all these instructors will be cut.
“Any instructor who has been here for over a year is required a year notice before termination,” Nardo explained. “The University is given maximum flexibility by giving notice to all the instructors.”
There is a difference between an instructor and a professor. Professors are hired on tenure. They usually teach two courses a semester, and they are required to do research. After six years they are reviewed for tenure, and if they are given tenure, they can’t be released unless the University declares fiscal exigency, which is the equivalence of the school going bankrupt. Instructors, on the other hand, are not required to do research and usually teach about four courses a semester. Instructors are hired only on a year long contract.
Nardo fears that if a substantial number of instructors are released from the English department it will cause problems in the general education required English courses, English 1001 and English 2000.
“You can’t enter your senior college until you have passed English 1001,” Nardo said. “If there aren’t enough courses being offered, it will delay freshmen from getting into English 1001 and, therefore, into their senior college which could, in turn, delay graduation.”
Currently there are 150 sections of English 1001 and English 2000 taught by instructors.
“LSU needs tuition money to help with the financial problems, and to get tuition, dollars you have to recruit freshmen,” Nardo said. “If you can’t offer freshmen the courses they need, how can you recruit them?”
The Women’s and Gender Studies department had also been rumored to be making major cuts. In fact some people had heard the department was being cut completely. Michelle Masse, director of Women’s and Gender Studies, said this is completely untrue. Students will still be able to receive an undergraduate minor or baccalaureate degree and a graduate minor in Women’s and Gender studies.
According to Michelle Masse, no staff or courses are being cut from the program. The only difference is it will not be considered its own department anymore. No money is being saved by making this change, and Michelle Masse said all it has done is gain bad national publicity.
“The report that the program was being completely cut is damaging to the University’s reputation,” Masse said.
For those departments who are facing cuts though, Nardo said they are working hard to prepare for any possible losses.
“We are working with an executive committee to work out scenarios of what could happen and how best to deal with the changes,” Nardo said. “We are also trying to persuade decision makers to revoke the letters of termination.”
