In an email sent to all students and faculty, Elizabethtown College announced that it will cut 13 full-time faculty positions and three majors. Faculty will finish out the academic year before leaving their positions. The email was sent around 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 4.
Fine Arts, Sociology and Spanish/Spanish Education majors will no longer be offered at Etown. The Sociology minor was also cut. Students currently enrolled in the cut programs will be able to complete the programs and graduate with their intended degrees. The College said other academic programs will see reductions in faculty but degree programs will not be impacted.
“I think it’s a horrible decision on the college’s part, and there have to be better ways to recover funds than to cut staff and programs like this,” junior Middle Social Studies Education major and Fine Arts minor Sarah Jakubowski said. “I’m actually so deeply angry that the arts and humanities seem to be the primary targets of these measures. Not only is it depriving students of the quality education the college promotes, it also creates a logistical nightmare within the impacted departments as advisees, courses, and other responsibilities now have to be changed.”
There are nine faculty in the Art and Design program, three faculty in the Sociology department, and four modern language faculty. However, not all faculty in these programs will be cut.
The College’s websites surrounding the three majors were immediately updated to reflect that the programs will not be offered in the upcoming years.
“The focus of planning for Elizabethtown College’s sustained fiscal health and well-being is our top priority,” the email sent from President Betty Rider and Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Matthew Telleen said. “Leading from a position of relative strength has helped determine the areas of the institution where we must make changes as we navigate towards our long-term success.”
The email cited shifting student interests and demographics along with financial challenges as reasoning for the cuts. The College will hold an informational meeting next week for students impacted by the cuts.
“If I know our community, we won’t let this happen without pushback, and I hope there’s still time to reverse this decision,” Jakubowski said. “I’m disgusted that this was the solution they chose.”
The Etownian will have full coverage on this story next week. Read the full email below.
