THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 28, 1994 TAG: 9407280498
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER AND JIMMY GNASS, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Old Dominion University, looking to shave its expenses before a new round of state budget cuts kicks in, will drop its bachelor's degree programs in religion and Russian this fall.
The university also will eliminate the specialty within the bachelor's English degree of teaching English as a second language.
The cuts will allow ODU to save close to $100,000 by reducing the number of part-time instructors and not replacing one departing full-time professor, administrators said.
The three programs were targeted because of low enrollments: Only four students graduate annually with a degree in Russian, two in religious studies and one in English as a second language.
Several courses - such as Islam and fourth-year Russian - will be dropped in those areas. However, upperclassmen already majoring in those fields will be allowed to finish their degrees.
The reductions in the language and religious studies programs, long considered sacrosanct at liberal-arts universities, reflect the mounting level of fiscal anxiety on campus.
State aid to colleges has been cut more than 20 percent since the late 1980s. ODU, like most colleges, will get more money this fall. But university officials say they will face a new cut of $4 million to $5 million - or up to 10 percent - in the subsequent school year.
``This really anticipates '95-96,'' said David R. Hager, associate vice president for academic affairs. ``We're facing a $4 million problem. I think we will see other programs considered for curtailment. That's a natural thing to look at because of the budget reductions.''
The cuts were endorsed by the Faculty Senate earlier this month and approved by President James V. Koch last week. State officials also think they're a good idea.
``It's very important to weed your garden,'' said Margaret A. Miller, associate director of the State Council of Higher Education. ``At a time like this, it's imperative. I think institutions do have to choose what they do so they can do them very well.''
Robert A. Fradkin, an assistant professor of foreign languages who is ODU's Russian specialist, said: ``I'm sorry that education has become a business. . off the beaten track are out of luck.''
But Fradkin said that the university had little choice and that the result could have been worse. The Russian degree program was the only one to be ``frozen,'' rather than eliminated.
That will allow Old Dominion to maintain his position and to continue offering the first three years of Russian. If enrollments - and state aid - increase, he said, the degree could be offered again.
Drew Monahan, 24, a graduate student in applied linguistics who received his bachelor's degree in Russian in 1991, said: ``I think it's ironic that there is this atmosphere of promoting an international studies program at Old Dominion when at the same time the Russian program is being cut. . . . If I was still in the program, I would definitely transfer to another university.''
In the department of philosophy and religious studies, members unanimously approved dropping the religion degree, chairman Lawrence J. Hatab said: ``We think it's a good idea to concentrate our efforts in one task - philosophy - rather than two - philosophy and religious studies. We thought we couldn't do two things well under these terrible circumstances.''
The English department will not replace retiring Professor David L. Shores, but will continue to offer a master's degree in English as a second language. by CNB