Will the University of Idaho Gut University-Wide Programs in Environmental Science and Water Resources?

MOSCOW, ID - On April 23, the UI Administration sent a message to all faculty and staff proposing changes to various academic programs as a result of the University of Idaho's Focus for the Future (FFF) program. Almost a year ago, the Idaho State Board of Education mandated that all institutions of higher education engage in a comprehensive and rigorous program prioritization process. According to U-Idaho's Provost Aiken, the University of Idaho has reviewed around 400 programs and ranked academic and non-academic programs accordingly.

One of the proposed changes from FFF is to move all interdisciplinary programs into colleges rather than allow them to continue functioning independently. If the proposal is approved, the Environmental Science (EnvS) Program will move to the College of Natural Resources, and the Waters of the West Program (Water Resources- WR) will move to the College of Law. The Administration did not consult the EnvS-WR Director, its staff or faculty, or any students in making this decision.

The U-Idaho Environmental Science Program is the oldest and largest interdisciplinary program on campus. Since its inception in 1993, the program has grown to 170 undergraduates and more than 90 graduate students, including M.S. and Ph.D. students. Moreover, over 13% of the University of Idaho faculty (91 of 653 instructional and research faculty) identify with the EnvS and/or WR program; these faculty represent nine colleges at the University of Idaho. This is indeed reflective of a true university-wide interdisciplinary program. No one college provides a majority of faculty input or expertise into the program.

According to a recent survey of EnvS-WR faculty, the majority by far feel that the independence of the EnvS-WR program has resulted in an improved interdisciplinary program which has evolved and grown at the time when overall university enrollment has been stagnant or declining. In addition, 38% of EnvS-WR faculty stated that the placement of the EnvS-WR program into a college would result in decreased participation with this program. For students, this means fewer interdisciplinary course options and fewer opportunities for collaboration and research across colleges and departments.

Currently, EnvS-WR students, faculty, and staff are circulating surveys and petitions to bring to President Staben and Provost Aiken to strongly encourage them to reconsider these potentially disastrous changes to the EnvS-WR Program. According to Provost Aiken, "[affected] units have scheduled meetings to discuss these proposals and individuals may also make comments on the Focus for the Future website (http://www.uidaho.edu/provost/focus-for-the-future)." However, members of the EnvS-WR program likely will not have a chance to meet directly with President Staben or Provost Aiken before the May 7th deadline for the FFF comment period. Moreover, following the release of the FFF proposal, despite numerous requests from students to meet with President Staben and Provost Aiken regarding the FFF proposal, both upper administrators were "travelling" and unable to meet (even though Provost Aiken was on campus and reportedly met with several other U-Idaho department heads). As a result, students will engage in a sit-in in the University of Idaho President's and Provost's office on Monday May 5th, 2014 from 2:30pm onwards until they have an opportunity to meet with President Staben and Provost Aiken and discuss their concerns about the future of the EnvS-WR program.

Students, faculty, and staff are eager to share their proposal for keeping the university-wide status of the EnvS-WR program. They believe that with proper guidelines and the correct administrative home, the University of Idaho can continue to enjoy the benefits of interdisciplinary education and research, and grow enrollments in these high profile, job-creating programs.