UNR releases updated budget cut plan: combine colleges, 1600 students would be impacted

UNR President Glick today released to his campus the updated budget cut plan (PDF) that would be implemented if Governor Sandoval's budget cutting $162m in state support for NSHE is approved and if the NSHE Board of Regents opts to pass along this cut proportionally without any System reorganization.

The most striking element of Glick's plan, which would eliminate another 318 positions from UNR, is the consolidation of four distinct colleges into two. The College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources (which bore the brunt of last year's program review at UNR) would be merged entirely into College of Science
and the College of Education, with 3 degree programs cut, would be merged into College of Liberal Arts.

Such reorganization of colleges, each of which has a distinct identity and by-laws, and to which faculty, students and staff are deeply committed, will be very difficult. But such broad reorganization, which achieves some savings from reducing administrative costs and more savings from economies of scale as faculty are redeployed to meet streamlined curricular needs, is a necessary component in any academic retrenchment plan that has any hope of setting the institution on a firm and sustainable footing for the future.

A discussion of a comparable university-wide reorganization was initiated at UNLV last week by President Smatresk.

The need for the System to consider such a reorganization on a statewide basis was reiterated by Regent Wixom over the weekend in a LV Sun op-ed.

Here is the detailed list of UNR's proposed program reductions and eliminations released today:

Elimination of majors/minors:
 Educational Leadership
 Educational Psychology, Counseling and Human Development
 Educational Specialties
 Nutrition
 Philosophy
 French
 Theater
 Dance
Elimination or significantly downsize (note: * signifies elimination):
 Cooperative Extension
 Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
 Center for Research Design and Analysis *
 Nevada Small Business Development Center
 Business Center North
 Intercollegiate Athletics
 Hydrology Graduate Program
 Atmospheric Science Graduate Program
 Mathematics/Statistics
 Student Services including reductions in Disability Resource Center, Center for Student Cultural
Diversity, Student Success Services, Student Conduct, Recruitment, and Admissions and Records.
Also, additional student services will move to fee‐based support.
 University of Nevada School of Medicine
 University Assessment Office *
 Faculty Senate
 Temporary Instructor Funding
 Office of the Provost/Core Curriculum staffing
 Office of the President
 Special Collections Library staffing*
 Institutional Analysis
 Library Materials Budget
 Custodial Services
Elimination of all state funding:
 Basque Studies
 International Students and Scholars
 Center for Justice Studies
 Child and Family Research Center
 Lombardi Wellness Center
 Center for Substance Abuse Technology
 New Student Initiatives Program
 Latino Research Center
 Black Rock Press