Below is a statement issued Thursday by Birmingham-Southern President Dr. David Pollick regarding changes to academic programs and personnel:

During the past two weeks, Birmingham-Southern has moved forward with some decisions directly tied to addressing the college’s finances. The first phase of the long-term plan to address the financial shortfall discovered this spring and to counter the continuing effects of the current economic downturn was announced last week. This included a reduction in force of staff members, as well as salary and benefit cuts for the remaining faculty and staff that will save approximately $6 million this fiscal year.

Our operating budget, however, is also affected by our academic programs and personnel, and we needed to determine where we could provide budget relief in that area with minimal impact on the overall BSC experience. The college, working to meet the goals set by the Board of Trustees, undertook a thorough examination of all its majors and programs. The examination conducted by the Office of the Provost included evaluating criteria such as relevancy to the liberal arts mission, relative program expense, extent to which the program is connected to the curriculum, the potential for future growth and development, and its impact on current students. From that examination, a recommended course of action was presented first to an ad hoc committee of the college’s Board of Trustees and then to a faculty budget committee. The faculty budget committee did not approve or disapprove the changes, but advised the Board of Trustees and the Provost’s Office on the impact of the suggested academic program changes. The decisions on changes to academic programs and personnel have now been made, and the college will be implementing the following:

· Phasing out five majors: Accounting, Computer Science, Dance, French, and German, effective with the 2011-12 academic year;

· Modification of our Music Program, effective with the 2011-12 academic year; and

· Reduction of 12 faculty positions, effective with the 2010-11 academic year, and 17 faculty positions, effective with the 2011-12 academic year.

All tenured and tenure-track faculty have teaching positions at Birmingham-Southern for the coming academic year. Phasing out the programs over the 2010-11 academic year allows the affected tenured and tenure-track faculty time to pursue employment opportunities elsewhere for the 2011-12 academic year.

We will work with those students majoring in these areas to customize a plan for graduation. It is also very important to note that while students cannot major in these subjects, we will offer courses in them.

In addition, the college is continuing to examine and reduce its budget for adjunct faculty so that more students can take courses taught by full-time Birmingham-Southern faculty.

These academic program changes will provide nearly $3 million in budget relief over the next two years and will directly affect only about 10 percent of the overall student body. While we know these changes will be difficult for many, we do believe that they are the best choices for staying true to the college’s liberal arts mission while achieving financial stability.

Like the many other colleges and universities that have taken these actions in the past year, we have done so in a way that retains the high-quality overall educational experience that our students expect and deserve at Birmingham-Southern. We are now focusing our attention on the upcoming academic year and welcoming our students back to campus in late August, including the fourth largest class of incoming students in our history.