President Park announces program cuts

CSC will close its programs in museum studies, information science technology and the specialist's in education degree. Also being eliminated are the stand-alone minor programs in sociology, humanities, Spanish, geography and political science. In addition, the Social Science Department will be combined with the Communication Arts Department and share a chairperson.

Park said the decisions were made after consulting with the deans and vice presidents and after receiving input about program viability from the faculty advisory committee. One key factor in determining program viability is its enrollment.

She said the college plans to lay off three faculty members, who have been given one-year notices. In addition, five positions that are vacant, or are becoming vacant, will be eliminated. Those positions include one each in sociology, finance, English, communication arts and information science technology. She said reductions of professional and support staff will be announced at a later date.

"We will get through these hard times but right now it is very unsettling for everyone and devastating for those who are losing their jobs," she said.

The president asked people to be supportive of each other and said the vice president of academic affairs and the deans plan to work with students who are most affected to assist them with their degree options. She said the uncertainty of state revenue makes it impossible to determine if further cuts will be necessary for the second year of the biennium.

"I don't have to tell you that we are living through the worst economic times the world has experienced since the Great Depression," she wrote. "You hear it on the news every day. Unfortunately Chadron State is not immune to the fallout from the weakening economy."