WSU to cut programs, jobs

Washington State University announced today it will cut about 370 jobs, eliminate some academic programs and reorganize administration to help slash $54 million from its budget. Programs to be cut include the theater and dance department, the sports-management program, the Department of Community and Rural Sociology and the major in German. Students majoring in those fields can finish their degrees, but new students won’t be admitted. Of the jobs to be cut, 165 are positions that won’t be filled; the remaining 206 jobs are currently filled and will be eliminated. Job cuts will take place on all four of the university’s campuses, WSU said in a press release. “In making these reductions, we have tried to be strategic in preserving academic and research quality. Especially in these difficult budget times, we cannot be all things to all people. We believe these cuts will, to the greatest extent possible, position us to emerge from this economic crisis as a stronger university,” Elson Floyd, WSU president, said in a prepared statement. WSU expects to finalize the plan around June 1. The budget will go into effect when the new biennium begins July 1.