College of L&S prepares for cuts
By Harold Lee
July 13, 2003 9:00 p.m.
College of Letters & Science departments within the
humanities division are bracing for a state budget crisis that
calls for at least a $300 million cut from the University of
California system for the 2003-2004 year.
However, exactly how much the budget crisis will affect
different departments will remain uncertain until a state budget is
passed, said Harlan Lebo, a spokesman for the College.
Still, many departments have begun to look at the different
options they can take to cope with the burdens ahead.
“We don’t know what the (response to the cuts) is
going to be. We’re expecting everything from more student
fees … (to) pay cuts, (to) less support from TAs,” said
English professor Gordon Kipling.
“It’s going to make all of our lives less
pretty,” Kipling said.
Maintaining interdepartmental programs, such as Indo-European
Studies, may be more difficult due to more individual demands from
composite departments.
“We depend on faculty from other departments and
it’s really a matter of having to adjust to restrictions that
will be coming from other departments,” said Brent Vine,
chairman of the Indo-European Studies department.
Faculty members are also a concern for some composite
departments.
“Very few searches (for faculty) have been authorized for
next year,” said Robert Gurval, chairman of the classics
department.
Due to a decrease in the number of full-time faculty, graduate
student admissions may also be affected.
“We will have to reconsider the number of graduate
students that we can accept into the program for next year because
of diminished support,” Gurval said.
The limited number of faculty available to aid graduate students
in research has been frustrating to some graduate students.
“I’m angry. It’s compromising our department
and it’s compromising education in the way that professors
are overworked,” said fifth-year applied linguistics graduate
student Leah Wingard. “The kind of help that should be
available to me is not available to me.”
Department staff members will also be faced with possible
hardships in the near future.
“Because of salary savings we were able to save a
position,” said Gina White, manager for the Royce Humanities
Group, referring to the use of salary saved from a departing staff
member.
The reduction of staff may also affect research centers.
“If we were forced to reduce our programming staff, we
would have to reduce our (research) activities,” said Kenneth
Reinhard, director of the Center for Jewish Studies.
Reinhard speculated the crisis may lead to an increased teaching
schedule for some faculty.
“It’s really a question of time. If we have more
teaching, we have more grading and class hours, and that means less
time to do other things,” said Reinhard, also an English
professor.
In a letter issued July 1, UC President Richard Atkinson
addressed UC employees regarding the Jarvis v. Westly California
Supreme Court decision which says state employees may only receive
minimum wage during the budget impasse and will be paid back wages
in the future.
According to the letter, the decision may affect UC employees
later on in the summer.
“While it is unclear at the moment whether or how the
university would be impacted by this court ruling, UC employees
should be aware that they may potentially be subject to it,”
Atkinson said.
Though the lawsuit’s impacts on the UC are still unknown,
the budget crisis is still a real problem to many of the UC
faculty.
“You could imagine the uproar and chaos that would ensue
if they implemented minimum-wage salary for all employees. Perhaps
that is more of a threat than a reality, but nonetheless if there
is no budget, there are all sorts of dire consequences,” Vine
said.
