Miami University Considering Cutting 23 Programs

BY KAYLA JONES
Miami University journalism student

At a time when Miami University is under examination for its diversity, several programs that focus on minority populations may be cut.

Asian/Asian American Studies (AAAS), Black World Studies (BWS) and Jewish Studies are among at least 23 programs and 44 thematic sequences that are in jeopardy because of low enrollment or duplication.

Miami's Faculty Senate paved the way to the cuts in November 2016, when it implemented a policy to phase out low-enrolled minors and thematic sequences in response to State of Ohio cost-cutting demands.

Under state directives, if enrollment in a minor falls below 12 students over a four-year period, the minor is placed under review for removal. Additionally, any minor and thematic sequence that is perceived as a duplicate of one offered nearby is placed under review for possible deletion.

Reprieves possible

Programs placed under review can petition for a one-year extension to increase their enrollment. If granted, they can ask for an additional one-year reprieve, according to Miami's Official Administrative Policies and Procedures, section 11.1.E, under “Deleting a Program.”

In total, a minor under review or placed on a watchlist can have a total of six years to grow its enrollment, according to Claire Wagner, director of University News and Communications.

“Black World Studies, I believe, was being identified as a potentially duplicative, meaning it’s offered somewhere else very close. So if you only have a few students, why couldn’t they enroll at UC?” Wagner said, referring to the University of Cincinnati.

If a minor or thematic sequence is removed, students will keep the credit earned for their minor and can finish out the required courses, Wagner said.

The AAAS and BWS minors are housed in the Global and Intercultural Studies Department (GIC), along with Latin American Studies; Latino/a and Caribbean Studies; American Studies; Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies; and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. All programs but AAAS are also offered as majors.

The Asian/Asian American Studies minor currently has 19 or 20 students. The Black World Studies minor has six or seven.

'Diversify the curriculum'

GIC Chair Jana Braziel said she received notification by email last fall that both programs -- ones she called "important offerings because they diversify the curriculum" -- were on the watchlist for closure.

“We’re told that Black World Studies was placed on this watchlist because there are other Black World Studies or African American Studies departments and that they thought it was duplicative,” Braziel said.

Concurrently, however, Black World Studies is looking to relaunch itself as Comparative Race and Ethnic studies, according to Rodney Coates, professor and BWS coordinator.

“We’re rebranding because we recognize that the field has changed. It’s more than about race,” Coates said.

Coates compared the dilemma to the tale of three blind men and an elephant. The first man touched the trunk and claimed that the animal was a snake; the second man touched an ear and declared that the behemoth was something unknown; and the third man touched a leg and shouted that it was a tree. Each man claimed the animal was something different.

“They couldn’t see the whole thing, but they’re concentrating on this little piece. That’s what we have done in, quote on quote, our race and ethnic studies in the past by concentrating on one group,” Coates said.

The rebranding to Comparative Race and Ethnic studies, if approved, will give students a set of skills that are applicable and useful in the marketplace today, Coates said.

Coates said other universities are likewise revising Black World Studies programs.

“Black Studies degrees have been on the decline for the last 20 years. Now you can keep on trying to fight that battle and gather 25 students to march around campus saying, 'Save our program, save our program,' and you might get the university to do just that,” Coates said.

Ultimately, those 25 students graduate, and the cycle starts all over again, Coates said.

“Where you need to go is on to understand current needs of students, understand the current dynamics of the field of study, and all for a robust, rich, exciting set of possibilities,” he said.

AAAS fighting to continue

The Asian/Asian American Studies Program, meanwhile, is fighting for its survival.

After AAAS was watch-listed, it created a petition to save its minor. It has collected more than 800 signatures since early February, submitting them to the Asian and Asian-American Faculty & Staff Association (AAA-FSA) on Feb. 23.

“Cutting programs like Asian/Asian American Studies, Black World Studies, and Jewish Studies sends the message that international and minority students are not welcome at Miami, and intellectual work and pedagogical labor that enhance students’ critical awareness of cultural difference and racism have no value at Miami,” the AAAS petition states.

The petition noted the large growth in Asian international students at Miami.

“We understand the urgency of being fiscally responsible, but it is clear that allocation of resources represents the University’s value and priorities,” the petition states.

In response to AAAS being watch-listed, Braziel petitioned for a four-year extension for the minor. In response, the university granted one more year, she said.

Jewish Studies in limbo

Braziel also requested a four-year deferral for Jewish Studies and Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (REEES).

She learned after that that REEES had already been cut -- also a victim of low enrollment, according to Margaret Ziolkowski, chair of the Department of German, Russian, Asian, and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures.

Jewish Studies, however, remains in limbo. Affiliated faculty members of Jewish Studies, which is offered as both a minor and thematic sequence, don't believe they have much leverage to prevent the classes from being eliminated, said Hillel Gray, coordinator of Jewish Studies.

As a small program, he noted, it is low-cost.

“The way that the programs are being evaluated is on somewhat of a business model, as if it’s like a profit center, and when you look at it that way, it certainly is a problem for the humanities. Part of the reason why we’re studying liberal arts is because we believe in education and trying to get people to think and serve as citizens in a particular way,” Gray said.

Gray said that during his time in Oxford, the Jewish Studies program has become significantly weaker because key faculty have left and not been quickly replaced.

“I wouldn’t be surprised that various minors including Jewish Studies are facing scrutiny in the humanities because the university really has not put resources into these programs,” he said.

Voices 'not heard'

Oxford native and Miami student Sarah Berg believes Miami has too little dedication to diversity in its curriculum. “These classes are some of the only spaces in which I, as an Asian American student, have been able to do difficult, intellectual thought about Asian-Americans and our histories and identities,” Berg said.

Berg said she knows Miami grads, now living outside Oxford, who signed the petition to save AAAS. “Certain social groups that I’m in, people have been talking about it a lot. But outside of that, I don’t think it has been getting a whole lot of talk because in the groups that I’ve been talking about it, their voices tend to not be heard as loudly."

Berg said Miami offers pictures of diversity -- but not enough commitment.

“Diversity is a term that’s used here at Miami as sort of image-based. There isn’t any direct action to listen to minoritized students’ voices. A lot of people feel that there isn’t enough effort to be diverse in treating students instead of just obtaining them,” she said.

Graduate student and English Department lecturer Shatha Alali, who also signed the petition for AAAS, said that cutting the at-risk programs would intensify the idea that the campus is a racist -- at a time when African-American students are calling on the administration for changes in Miami's racial climate.

“I think it’s very important here to integrate white students or white faculty with different-colored people because integration would create such a welcoming environment here,” Alali said.

Integration and learning

Alali suggested a solution: integration.

“Instead of isolating people, it could be like integrating people -- integrating all kinds of color like the white with the colors together in one and in the same activities," she said. "That would be better engagement here so we get to know each other. The racism or the negative image about other people would be a decrease in this case."

Miami senior Angela Day said Miami should put more effort into promoting the studies and understanding of minority cultures.

“I think the AAA minor is incredibly important because it provides a space for not just Asian/Asian American students to learn about their history but for all students of all different backgrounds to learn about important history and culture and things that have been erased from what you would normally see in the American classroom, even on a college level,” Day said.

Top photo: Miami University students EJ Coulas, left, and Hannah Morrison review the AAAS petition. -- Photo by Kayla Jones