With about a month left before his self-imposed deadline, Provost Paul Sypherd has yet to ask for input concerning an option to merge three UA departments rather than creating a new "super department."

Even though Sypherd stated in a memo to University of Arizona President Manuel Pacheco last week that he was inclined to recommend against creating the "super department" of information-related disciplines, he also said he would entertain the idea of a smaller scale merger of departments within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Sypherd stated he would like to receive input from SBS faculty by the end of the spring semester before recommending for or against the small-scale merger, but SBS faculty has not received official word from Sypherd about studying the idea.

"He hasn't given me any formal directions," SBS Dean Holly Smith said. "For the moment, things are status quo."

Sypherd outlined in his memo three possible actions the UA could take. The first, a merger of five departments located in two colleges, would require resources the university cannot afford to spare. This merger is recommended by the Commission on Communication and Information Sciences.

The second centered on a possible merger of the Journalism, Communications and Library Science departments within SBS, while the third suggested taking no action concerning the commission's recommendation. Sypherd also said the Journalism Department should be further evaluated to determine whether recent changes in the department merit keeping it.

Smith said, "We're getting close to the end of the spring term. If that is going to happen, then I'll need to get word from him (Sypherd) soon."

Smith said she can see the potential in the small-scale merger. She said it would require faculty input from the affected departments if and when Sypherd gives the go-ahead, as outlined in his April 2 memo.

Sypherd wrote that, without an enthusiastic reception of this option within SBS, he will stick with his original recommendation that the UA take no action.

Smith said Sypherd's memo was distributed within SBS just a few days ago and, so far, she has received no input, either from SBS faculty or from the provost's office.

William Crano, Communications Department head, said, via electronic mail, that his department has not had time to consider the memo's implication on any possible merger.

He said the smaller scale merger option has not been as thought out as the original "super department" recommended by the commission.

Crano, who served on the commission, said the original report established the groundwork necessary to provide a "first-rate, state-of-the-art educational product" for UA students.

"That's why we worked so hard and long on the plan," Crano said. "To pull a piece from the machine that was designed and expect it to run better seems like wishful thinking to me."

Crano said that without the addition of the Management Information Systems Department, located in the College of Business and Public Administration, he did not see how the merger of just SBS departments could accomplish the same goal.

School of Library Science Director C.D. Hurt said, also via e-mail, that he had just received a copy of Sypherd's memo a few days prior and knew of no plan to merge the three departments.

Journalism Department Head Jim Patten said there has been no change in his department's status. Students can still elect to major in journalism, and applications for graduate study are still being accepted.

The Journalism Department awarded 78 bachelor's and 15 master's degrees in the 1994-95 academic year. Enrollment figures obtained from the Student Research Office show that 204 undergraduate and 30 graduate majors were enrolled in the Journalism Department in fall 1995.

For the same period, 201 graduate students were enrolled in the School of Library Science, and the Communications Department had 51 graduate and 566 undergraduate majors.