Administrators are sticking with plans for seven program mergers that were proposed in January, according to an update released yesterday.

News of the administration's recommendation to merge the departments of German studies and Russian and Slavic studies came as a complete surprise to faculty members who thought they were in the clear.

"We were under the impression that we were off the hook," said Tom Kovach, German studies department head. "We thought that reason had prevailed, but now it just feels like we are in the twilight zone."

The announcement came in Financial Planning Bulletin 25, which was released to the UA community yesterday. The bulletin detailed the status of mergers that have been proposed by the President's office as part of Focused Excellence.

Focused Excellence, unveiled at the beginning of the school year, is President Pete Likins' plan to narrow the university's mission in response to state funding cuts.

The other proposed mergers between programs such as Mining and Geological Engineering, and Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, are on course for a merger with little opposition, and some even have support.

Plant sciences will be a big merger, and the faculty has already agreed to it, Provost George Davis said.

But this is not the case with German studies and Russian and Slavic studies.

"I would say resistance to the concept is very high among the faculty and the programs," Davis said.

Faculty members in German studies and Russian and Slavic studies thought they were freed from a merger after receiving news last week that the Russian master's degree program was one of seven programs spared from elimination, Kovach said.

Kovach said it was his understanding that eliminating the master's program was one of the main rationales for merging the departments.

But when explaining why administrators decided to request that the merger take place, Davis said the restructuring of Russian programs is happening across the country.

Davis also cited the relatively small size of both departments, the decrease in administrative costs, and the stability of the programs as justifications for the mergers.

By merging the departments the administration is hoping to empower them, Likins said. That is something that is more important then money, he added.

"They are living in their tight little worlds," Likins said. "But what happens if there is a shift in interest? Even if there wasn't a nickel saved we would stick with these mergers because it maintains the idea of Focused Excellence."

Behind the proposals, lies a commitment to narrowing the number of programs in a given college with the hope that programs can combine their energy to become even more successful, Davis said.

But Kovach disagrees that a Russian studies and German studies merger is the best road to achieve excellence.

Combining the German and Russian and Slavic programs is as ridiculous as trying to combine Astronomy and Geological Sciences, said Kovach, who called the president's plans "the antithesis of focus."

This has been Kovach's sentiment ever since the proposal was first mentioned in January.

"People who teach a foreign language identify with the language and the culture they teach," Kovach said.

The best universities in the country have separate Slavic studies departments, said George Gutsche, Russian and Slavic studies department head.

Gutsche cited the University of California at Berkley and the University of Washington as examples. By combining the departments, the university is adopting a model that is found at second tier institutions, he said.

"Strong departments have their own identity within the discipline," Gutsche said. "If we want Focused Excellence then this is what we need to do."

Likins was quick to emphasize that none of the mergers have been set in stone, and won't be until the regents give final approval in June.

Consultation with faculty members and discussions with various committees, including the faculty senate still have to be conducted. This is the sliver of hope that the departments are clinging too, Gutsche said.

"I am disappointed that the proposal is even on the table," Gutsche said. "But it looks like the merger will get a good hearing."

Meanwhile, members of the Russian and German departments struggled to maintain a positive outlook in the face of what is viewed as a demoralizing defeat, said Kovach.

"We want a happy outcome," said Kovach. "We've tried to keep our spirits up. But this is not a happy day."

-Keren G. Raz contributed to this report.