Research, graduate and undergraduate opportunities are expanding at WSU, but as is often the case in academia, funding constraints are a major issue.

As a result, WSU is undergoing a significant transformation to consolidate its priorities.

At the end of this academic year, the university will cut 1 percent of the budget from each of WSU’s nine colleges to compensate for previous overspending, said Michael Griswold, dean of the College of Sciences. Another 1.5 percent will also be cut and placed into an investment pool, which will be redistributed to the various colleges depending on the university’s prioritization of each program.

“We don’t expect a lot of new resources, so we need to use our existing resources more effectively,” said Larry James, WSU associate executive vice president. President Elson S. Floyd has emphasized the school’s agriculture, veterinary science and communication programs during his first year at WSU, Griswold said. Although some of the deans and professors voiced concerns about the potential financial hit their colleges may experience, the plan has wide support.

“The intent is absolutely right on,” said Daniel Bernardo, dean of the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. “The process and implementation of the process had some pitfalls, but program prioritization is not an easy thing.” To determine how this investment pool will be distributed, each of the colleges went through a vigorous self-review process. The process began in October with the creation of the Phase I task force, which designed the review system, James said. The task force – chaired by Mary Doyle, the former vice president for information technology, and economics professor Ken Casavant – completed the process in mid-January.

In February, each of the university’s deans analyzed their colleges’ various departments through a seven-category criteria: centrality, cost effectiveness, external demand, internal demand, impact, productivity, quality and size, James said. The departments were then separated into four categories – growth and investment; maintenance; reorganize, consolidate or reduce; or phase out.

These reviews were due March 15, when they were distributed to the Phase II task force, which James chairs with Casavant. The task force’s recommendations are due Tuesday and final decisions will be made by Provost Bob Bates, who is retiring July 1.

Erich Lear, dean of College of Liberal Arts and a member of the Phase II task force, said the task force focuses on finding ways to prioritize programs that appeal to multiple colleges through larger themes, such as cultural awareness or sustainability.

“External funding agencies are asking for proposals across very broad, interdisciplinary projects, and they need a big tent of people that have a lot of expertise,” he said.

Casavant said most of the deans were hesitant to phase out many of their departments. “Everyone said good things about themselves. But I think the deans did a real good job. They treated the process with respect,” he said.

WSU’s largest college, the College of Liberal Arts, chose not to merge many of its programs, Lear said. Instead, many of the programs will create consortiums, which places departments together unofficially to improve funding. In the College of Liberal Arts, the departments will advertise for funding through the themes of cultural understanding, just and sustainable societies, and social, cultural and behavioral aspects. The College of Sciences does not plan to make many changes because many of its departments are compatible with programs in other colleges that are high on Floyd’s priorities, such as agriculture and veterinary science, Griswold said.

Other colleges are making larger changes.

CAHNRS plans to phase out its Department of Community and Rural Sociology, which is “productive but has a small faculty,” Bernardo said. The programs in this department will merge with other departments. The forestry major will also be eliminated. Bernardo said the department’s largest focus is its plant sciences programs – as evident by the new plant bioscience building – and various agriculture programs.

“That recommendation was not made lightly,” he said. “We have a rich history in forestry at WSU.” The College of Education plans to cut its masters programs in primary and secondary education. Dean Judy Mitchell said this recommendation reflects a nationwide trend toward more specialized programs, such as in language and literacy. The master’s in general education will be retained.

Mitchell said that although her college is unlikely to receive much funding from the investment pool, she supports the prioritization process and has few worries about the future of her college.

“It’s a good exercise to go through what your top programs are,” she said. “As President Floyd said, ‘We can’t be all things to all people.’ ”