Senate Resolution 1011-01
Resolution Concerning the Deactivation of Academic Programs
Whereas Section 2.2.2 of the Faculty Bylaws of the University at Albany stipulates that “the
Faculty shall be informed and given opportunity to discuss at the earliest possible stages in
their formulation, and shall review and provide formal consultation on, prior to adoption, all
proposals regarding the creation, renaming, major re-organization, or dissolution of academic
units and programs”;
Whereas the three Budget Advisory Groups included no representatives from four major
humanities departments: English, History, LLC, and Philosophy;
Whereas the Association of American University Professors has requested that the administration
give further consideration to the decision on the basis of violations of the Faculty Bylaws;
Whereas the selection of programs to be deactivated has been publicly justified using the sole
criterion of “comparatively lower enrollments”;
Whereas data provided by the Office of Institutional Research demonstrate that the total number
of majors and/or faculty-to-major ratios in the Classics, French, Italian, Russian and Theater
programs are in fact not lower than those of several other programs across the university;
Whereas the programs targeted for deactivation are essential to the core educational mission of
the university at both the undergraduate and graduate levels;
Whereas the reputation and status of UAlbany as a comprehensive research and teaching
institution have suffered serious damage in the forum of national and international opinion;
Be it resolved that the Senate opposes the deactivation of the Classics, French, Italian, and
Russian, and Theatre programs;
Be it resolved that the Senate calls upon the President to pursue a consultation process to address
the budget shortfall that complies with the spirit and the letter of the Faculty Bylaws;
Be it resolved that the Senate calls upon the President to institute alternative cost saving
measures that respect the absolute priority of academic programs.
