Regents suggestprograms be cut or consolidated

While meeting at Arizona State University's East campus, the regents evaluated a systemwide report that called for 10 University of Arizona programs to be eliminated and 13 others to be consolidated. The regents were reviewing low-productivity or duplicative programs.

An internal review at the UA identified another 15 programs to eliminate and four to consolidate.

The review process targeted those programs that had awarded fewer than 24 bachelor's, nine master's or six doctoral degrees in the past three years.

Degrees set for elimination in the College of Education are master's of education degrees in chemistry, communication, counseling and guidance, educational media, English, family and consumer resources, French, geography, German, health education, history, home economics education, mathematics, physics, political science, reading, Russian, Spanish and special education.

Janice Streitmatter, associate dean of the College of Education, said these are just one category of master's degrees, and students will still have master's of arts or sciences degrees available in the individual departments.

She said that in the 1980s, the college was restructured and the degrees became unnecessary.

No students will be affected by the cuts because no students are enrolled in the programs, Streitmatter said.

Other programs marked for elimination include doctoral degrees in counseling and guidance, botany, foundations of education and water resources administration, master's degrees in food science, botany, dietetics and foundation of education, and a bachelor's degree in Portuguese.

The 17 programs set for consolidation are:

• Bachelor's degrees in jazz studies, composition, Greek, Latin, and Russian and Soviet studies

• Master's degrees in management and policy, marketing, pharmacology, toxicology, finance, composition, aerospace engineering, mining engineering, music theory, musicology, music education and performance

• Doctoral degrees in pharmacology, toxicology, composition, mining engineering, music theory, conducting, music education and performance.

The regents' recommendations must still be approved by the Faculty Senate, said Jeffrey Warburton, associate professor of theater arts and the Senate's presiding officer. He said he expects that the Senate will approve the recommendations.

The Senate's next regular meeting is May 5.

Warburton said that any students enrolled in the programs will be allowed to complete their degrees.

The regents also established the University of Arizona Prevention Center and approved a second-year curriculum for the Arizona International Campus of the UA.

The prevention center will be located at the College of Medicine and conduct research on the prevention of diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

An anonymous donor has promised $10 million to the UA Foundation to be used at the prevention center, according to a letter sent to President Manuel Pacheco from James Dalen, vice president of the Arizona Health Sciences Center.