Many let out a sigh of relief on Wednesday in response to the latest developments in defining Focused Excellence. Others were left scratching their heads. The scheme was billed since September as a major overhaul for the university, but this week's announcement lacks the luster of the plan's original mission.

Aside from a few bold suggestions, Financial Bulletins No. 21 and 22 are a letdown. It is hard to see how these initial proposals will make the UA the elite institution our leaders envision. It's also still unclear whether or not these changes will have a huge financial impact on the university.

WednesdayÎs announcement includes seven preliminary proposals to merge university programs and 19 proposals to alter some university areas.

...this week's announcement lacks the luster of Focused Excellence's original mission."

Most of the mergers seem reasonable. It makes sense to mold plant sciences with plant pathology. Likewise, mining and geological engineering will most likely work well together.

But others seem random.

The proposed merger between the respective German studies department and Russian and Slavic studies department is not only illogical, but seems to violate the theme and core principle of Focused Excellence. Combining two programs whose only similarity is that they both focus on language is an inadequate rationale to mesh two disciplines.

President Pete Likins and Provost George Davis wrote in the document that the move was needed because the two departments had low faculty numbers.

But Thomas Kovach, head of the German studies department, seems to think that this move will seriously damage his department. That certainly won't help to maintain a "cohesive

critical mass" of faculty in the two departments.

There is nothing fundamentally flawed with merging programs. The key is finding mergers that make sense.

Even less inspiring are the 19 alteration proposals. This memorandum is made up mostly of name changes and mission shifts.

Of course, there could be more important changes down the road.

And whether all or any of these things will actually happen (just like the program cuts announced last week) is still unknown. The important thing is for departments to react properly.

Likins and Davis seem willing to listen. They've already scheduled two town halls on Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 to take suggestions.

The real suggestions for sweeping change in Wednesday's announcement were hidden at the bottom of the second memo.

The last of the five "theme-based strategies" listed by administrators stood out the most ÷ molding together journalism, communication and media arts.

The individual departments seem to be in favor of this move, and it has the opportunity to greatly strengthen these media-based departments.

Consideration should definitely be given to adding library sciences to the mix. This is an important program and the only one in the state. Cutting it would be a mistake.

The mass media college suggestion is the kind of innovation that is lacking in Focused Excellence's overall scheme. Hopefully these preliminary proposals are just that ÷ preliminary.