budget cuts
TagUniversity of Roehampton Possibly “Closing” Philosophy
The University of Roehampton in London is one of several UK universities that have recently announced budget-related closures of programs and the laying off of faculty, including, reportedly, in philosophy. (more…)
Philosophy Under Threat at SUNY Potsdam
“Our department is being threatened with elimination even though by all measures, except number of majors, we excel.” (more…)
Nebraska Board of Regents Cuts Philosophy at Nebraska-Kearney
The ax came down on the philosophy major at University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) this past Friday. (more…)
Nebraska at Kearney Philosophy Major May Be Eliminated (Updated)
The philosophy major at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) “is being considered for discontinuation.”
(more…)
Devastating Cuts at Laurentian University To Philosophy & Many Other Programs
Following years of extraordinary mismanagement by administrators, Laurentian University is attempting to address its current financial insolvency by eliminating a shocking number of academic programs and tenured positions. The Department of Philosophy and several of its faculty are among those slated for elimination. (more…)
To Help Avert University’s “Hunger Games,” A Philosopher Steps Down
Philosopher John Sutton will be voluntarily stepping down from his position as professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at Macquarie University as a way of helping his colleagues avoid a “Hunger Games”-style plan imposed by the university to cut faculty. (more…)
Cabrini University to Cut Philosophy Major
Cabrini University, a Catholic College in Pennsylvania, has announced that it is eliminating several programs, including its philosophy major. (more…)
Midgley on Dummett & Strawson on Closing Philosophy Departments
He told me flatly that it was wrong in principle to try to preserve all these provincial academic departments. Philosophy, he said, was a serious and highly technical subject which should only be studied at its own proper level. Any less professional approaches to it were useless and might even do harm. (more…)
Philosophy Threatened at Baker University
The administration of Baker University in Kansas has decided that in order to address the financial difficulties it is facing owing to the pandemic, its students should no longer be able to major in philosophy. (more…)
Cuts at Ithaca College Include Philosophy
Following up on a fall announcement of pending faculty and program cuts, the administration of Ithaca College has released a draft proposal specifying who and what is to be eliminated. (more…)
Philosophy Threatened at University of Evansville (updated)
Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz, the president of the University of Evansville, thinks it is a good idea to make sure future students at the school cannot study philosophy there, or computer science, or history, or music, or political science, or physics, or… well, the list goes on. (more…)
Protesting Cuts to Philosophy Departments Can Make A Difference
Recently announced plans to cut philosophy programs at the University of the West of England at Bristol (UWE) and Adrian College in Michigan have been reversed. (more…)
Update on Philosophy at Carthage College
Last month, John Swallow, the president of Carthage College, proposed a plan that would restructure the school, closing several departments, including philosophy. He has now decided on which parts of the plan to follow through on. (more…)
Philosophy Department and Others Targeted by Cuts at Canisius College
John J. Hurley, the president of Canisius College, a private liberal arts college in upstate New York, has announced that the school plans on laying off faculty, many tenured, including members of the Department of Philosophy. (more…)
Philosophy Threatened at Carthage College
John Swallow, the president of Carthage College, a liberal arts college in Wisconsin that bills itself as “widely recognized for excellence,” has announced an academic restructuring plan that eliminates the school’s Department of Philosophy and, possibly, its philosophy major and minor. (more…)
Philosophy Survives at Illinois Wesleyan
Today the Board of Trustees of Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) met to decide on their proposal, announced last month, to eliminate various programs and departments at the school, including philosophy. Not all programs survived, but philosophy did. (more…)
Elmira College Cuts Philosophy (Updated)
Elmira College, a small private liberal arts college in New York, has announced that it is cutting several programs, including philosophy. (more…)
Missouri Western to Phase Out Philosophy and Many Other Majors
Missouri Western State University is cutting a quarter of its faculty over the next year and “phasing out” approximately 100 of its degree offerings, including Philosophy. (more…)
Faculty Non-Renewals, Staff Layoffs, and Threats to Philosophy at Ohio University
Ohio University (Athens, Ohio) has told at least 140 of its staff they will be laid off and has begun issuing non-renewal notices to both non-tenure and tenure-track faculty in an attempt to “grapple with a budget crisis that started even before the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.” (more…)
Grieving Academic Philosophy (guest post)
The following guest post* is by “S”, a philosopher who recently lost his tenure-track position because of his university’s budget cuts. (more…)
Developments at St. Cloud State University
In September, the administration of St. Cloud State University announced it was proceeding with plans for “retrenchment”  that will result in philosophy professors, theatre professors, and librarians losing their jobs. There is the possibility that the administration will rescind these plans, and there is now a petition calling on them to do so. (more…)
Philosophy Minor Survives Program Massacre at Wisconsin-Superior
Administrators at the University of Wisconsin-Superior surprised their faculty this week with news that they were “suspending more than two dozen academic programs,” according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Remarkably, given all the times we’ve seen philosophy programs threatened over the past few years, the philosophy program at Wisconsin-Superior survived t..
University of Central Missouri Loses Philosophy Program
Students at the University of Central Missouri will no longer be able to major in philosophy, according to the school’s news site, Muleskinner.
Protecting Philosophy from Budget Cuts
This week’s Chronicle of Higher Education has three pieces on protecting philosophy departments from budget cuts. All currently paywalled, they include an interview with Amy E. Ferrer, Executive Director of the American Philosophical Association (APA), an article on “how to help your department avoid the ax,” and some tips on supporting philosophy on campus. (more…)..
Philosophy at Eastern Illinois Threatened
A committee responsible for assessing how Eastern Illinois University (EIU) should best handle severe cuts to state funding and declining enrollments has recommended, among other things, that the school stop granting bachelor’s degrees in philosophy. The committee, known as “Workgroup No. 7,” was apparently unmoved by previous appeals from members of EIU’s Departmen..
Philosophy Department at IPFW Under Threat (guest post by Charlene Elsby)
The Philosophy Department at Indiana University – Purdue University, Fort Wayne (IPFW) is facing an ominous-sounding “restructuring,” owing to financial concerns. The university faces a $2-3 million revenue shortfall in next year’s $110 million budget, according to the News-Sentinel. (more…)
Is Your Department on the Chopping Block?
Inside Higher Ed today discusses a report by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) on faculty cuts at the College of St. Rose (previously). A number of faculty were let go, leading the AAUP to declare that at the College, tenure is “virtually meaningless.” Among the programs affected is philosophy:
This is not the first time a philosophy ma..
The Last Philosopher in Alaska’s Interior
As reported last month, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks is losing its philosophy major and eliminating philosophy as its own department. Now, the last remaining tenured philosopher at UAF, Eduardo Wilner, has published a column in which he recounts the death of the department:
When I arrived here 17 years ago there were five faculty in our department. But c..