[aaus-list] Fwd: [SEELANGS] Proposed elimination of Slavic/Russian
at FSU; please write letters and sign petition
Robert DeLossa
radelo at earthlink.net
Wed Apr 15 11:03:56 EDT 2009
[FYI. N.b.: As many of you know, Romanchuk is a fine and active
Ukrainianist, so the proposed cut would hurt Ukrainian studies,
too.--RDL]
>Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:28:44 -0400
>Reply-To: "SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list"
> <SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu>
>Sender: "SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures
>list" <SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu>
>From: Lisa Ryoko Wakamiya <lwakamiy at MAILER.FSU.EDU>
>Subject: [SEELANGS] Proposed elimination of Slavic/Russian at FSU;
>please write letters and sign petition
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>Dear Colleagues,
>
>We are writing to inform you of the very real possibility that the
>Slavic/Russian program at Florida State University (Tallahassee) may
>be closed. In response to the budget crisis in Florida, FSU's
>administration has published a list of 21 programs that could be
>closed, among them Slavic (with focus on Russian language and
>culture) and German. If our legislature does not allocate sufficient
>funds, there is a good chance that these programs will disappear
>from the university.
>
>Slavic at FSU has a small but active faculty (recipients of
>prestigious national fellowships and campus teaching awards), an MA
>program with a good history of placement, and a healthy and growing
>undergraduate program. We can only assume that our student and
>faculty achievements were overlooked when the program was listed
>among those marked for elimination.
>
>Please take the time to read the informational text below, and
>please write any letters of support you can offer. The addresses of
>the university administrators are:
>Professor Joseph Travis, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences:
>Joseph Travis <jtravis at fsu.edu>
>Professor Lawrence G. Abele, Provost and Executive Vice President
>for Academic Affairs: "Lawrence G. Abele" <labele at fsu.edu>
>Please urge our Provost and Dean to find other ways to absorb
>whatever budget cuts the university may have to face and keep the
>Slavic/Russian program.
>
>The text is also available as an on-line petition at
>http://www.thepetitionsite.com/31/protect-the-slavicrussian-program-at-fsu
>Please sign this petition electronically and include your
>professional information in the comments field.
>
>The members of the legislature listed at the very end of this e-mail
>are key contacts for the Florida Legislature's imminent budget
>deliberations. Those marked with an asterisk have been identified
>by informed sources as especially important at this time. Please
>urge legislators to explore new revenue sources.
>
>Thank you for your help with this urgent matter!
>
>Sincerely,
>Robert Romanchuk, Coordinator, Associate Professor
>Nina Efimov, Associate Professor
>Lisa Wakamiya, Assistant Professor
>
>[TEXT OF PETITION BEGINS]
>An open letter to Florida State University President T.K. Wetherell,
>Provost Lawrence G. Abele, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
>Joseph Travis, and to the wider administrative, academic, student
>and cultural communities
>RE: The proposed elimination of the Slavic/Russian program in the
>Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics at Florida State
>University
>DATE: 14 April 2009
>
>On 13 April 2009, the Slavic/Russian program of the Department of
>Modern Languages and Linguistics at Florida State University
>appeared on a list of twenty-one academic programs proposed for
>closure over the next three years. The list was circulated as part
>of a draft budget document sent by FSU administrators to the Board
>of Trustees. The budget proposal is contingent upon the final
>decision of the Board and the next budgetary session of the state
>legislature.
>
>The inclusion of Slavic/Russian on this list came as a shock to
>members of the Department and the College of Arts and Sciences,
>including the Department Chair and the Dean. Enrollments in Russian
>language and culture courses have shown steady growth. The
>university has bolstered its own research profile by citing the
>Slavic faculty's achievements, among them Fulbright, Mellon, ACLS,
>and American Councils fellowships and grants, and scholarly
>monographs with the University of Toronto Press, Moscow State
>University Press, and Palgrave (forthcoming). Two of its three
>faculty members have received University Teaching Awards.
>
>Our recent graduates are currently employed in the State Department,
>Defense Language Institute and Department of Defense. Others are
>enrolled in doctoral programs in Slavic at the University of Toronto
>and Harvard, International Affairs at Georgetown, and History at
>Indiana. On the very day the proposal to eliminate our program was
>made public, a faculty member (Romanchuk) was giving an invited talk
>at a symposium at Harvard.
>
>The elimination of Slavic is proposed as a cost-saving measure.
>However, because the Slavic Division operates under the umbrella of
>the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, its operating
>costs are minimal. It does not have separate staff support or
>require separate facilities or materials for daily operations.
>Moreover, in conditions that demand that academic programs produce
>assessable outcomes using minimal resources, the Slavic Division has
>been a genuine success. As no rationale for eliminating the Slavic
>Division was provided in the budget proposal document, we can only
>assume that student and faculty achievements and actual cost
>benefits were overlooked when the program was listed among those
>slated for elimination.
>
>Finally, Russian is designated a critical language by the US
>Department of State, yet FSU administrators have determined that
>this is the time to eliminate the study of Russian. The losses that
>would result from the proposed elimination outweigh any conceivable
>gain.
>
>In signing this document, we strongly urge the university
>administration to remove Slavic from the list of academic programs
>proposed for elimination at FSU. Thank you for your time and
>consideration.
>
>[LEGISLATOR ADDRESSES]
>
>Senate:
>*Jeff Atwater 1-561-625-5101
>Senator Jeff Atwater
>Room 312, SOB
>404 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
>Atwater.jeff.web at flsenate.gov
>
>*JD Alexander 1-863-298-7677
>Senator J. D. Alexander
>Room 412 SOB
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
><
><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Alexander.jd.web@flsenate.gov')>mailto:Alexander.jd.web at flsenate.gov>
>Alexander.jd.web at flsenate.gov
>
>*Evelyn Lynn 1-386-238-3180
>Senator Evelyn J. Lynn
>Room 212, SOB
>404 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
><
><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Lynn.evelyn.we@flsenate.gov')>mailto:Lynn.evelyn.we at flsenate.gov
>><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Lynn.evelyn.we@flsenate.gov%3ELynn.evelyn.we@flsenate.gov')>
>Lynn.evelyn.we at flsenate.gov
><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Lynn.evelyn.we@flsenate.gov%3ELynn.evelyn.we@flsenate.gov')>
>Stephen Wise
>Senator Stephen R. Wise
>Room 220, SOB
>404 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
><
><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Wise.stephen.web@flsenate.gov')>mailto:Wise.stephen.web at flsenate.gov>
>Wise.stephen.web at flsenate.gov
>
>Don Gaetz
>Senator Don Gaetz
>Room 320, SOB
>404 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
><
><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Gaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov')>mailto:Gaetz.don.web at flsenate.gov
>><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Gaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov%3EGaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov')>
>Gaetz.don.web at flsenate.gov
><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Gaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov%3EGaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov')>
>Steve Oelrich
>Senator Steve Oelrich
>Room 314, SOB
>404 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
>Oelrich.steve.web at flsenate.gov
>
>Nancy Detert
>Senator Nancy Detert
>Room 318, SOB
>404 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
><
><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Detert.nancy.web@flsenate.gov')>mailto:Detert.nancy.web at flsenate.gov>
>Detert.nancy.web at flsenate.gov
>
>
>House:
>*Larry Cretul 1-352-873-6564
>Representative Larry Cretul
>Room 420, CAP
>402 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
>Larry.cretul at myfloridahouse.gov
>
>*Marti Coley 1-850-718-0047
>Representative Marti Coley
>Room 319, CAP
>402 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
>Marti.coley at myfloridahouse.gov
>
>*Bill Proctor 1-904-823-2550
>Representative Bill Proctor
>Room 223, CAP
>402 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
>Bill.proctor at myfloridahouse.gov
>
>Faye Culp
>Representative Faye Culp
>Room 1102, CAP
>402 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
>Faye.culp at myfloridahouse.gov
>
>Dean Cannon
>Representative Dean Cannon
>Room 422, CAP
>402 S. Monroe
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
>Dean.cannon at myfloridahouse.gov
>
>John Legg
>Representative John Legg
>Room 1101, CAP
>402. S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
>John.legg at myfloridahouse.gov
>
>Will Weatherford
>Representative Will Weatherford
>Room 223, CAP
>402 S. Monroe Street
>Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Will.weatherford@myfloridahouse.gov')>Will.weatherford at myfloridahouse.gov
>
>Some informational resources:
>Tallahassee Democrat story on FSU program elimination, etc.:
><http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/td20090414.pdf>http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/td20090414.pdf
>
>Administration's draft report on program cuts., etc.:
><http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/DraftBCC.12-3.pdf>http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/DraftBCC.12-3.pdf
>
> Provost Abele's cover memo to deans for draft report:
><http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/AbeleCover.pdf>http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/AbeleCover.pdf
>
> Talking points for conversations/correspondence with legislators:
><http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/NoMoreCuts.pdf>http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/NoMoreCuts.pdf
>
>
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____________________________________________________
Robert DeLossa
http://www.robertdelossa.net
reply to: radelo at earthlink.net
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