Proposed elimination of Slavic/Russian at FSU; please write letters and sign petition

Wed Apr 15 14:28:44 UTC 2009

Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to inform you of the very real possibility that the 
Slavic/Russian program at Florida State University (Tallahassee) may be 
closed. In response to the budget crisis in Florida, FSU's administration 
has published a list of 21 programs that could be closed, among them Slavic 
(with focus on Russian language and culture) and German. If our legislature 
does not allocate sufficient funds, there is a good chance that these 
programs will disappear from the university.

Slavic at FSU has a small but active faculty (recipients of prestigious 
national fellowships and campus teaching awards), an MA program with a good 
history of placement, and a healthy and growing undergraduate program. We 
can only assume that our student and faculty achievements were overlooked 
when the program was listed among those marked for elimination.

Please take the time to read the informational text below, and please write 
any letters of support you can offer. The addresses of the university 
administrators are:
Professor Joseph Travis, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences: Joseph 
Travis <jtravis at fsu.edu>
Professor Lawrence G. Abele, Provost and Executive Vice President for 
Academic Affairs: "Lawrence G. Abele" <labele at fsu.edu>
Please urge our Provost and Dean to find other ways to absorb whatever 
budget cuts the university may have to face and keep the Slavic/Russian 
program.

The text is also available as an on-line petition at 
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/31/protect-the-slavicrussian-program-at-fsu
Please sign this petition electronically and include your professional 
information in the comments field.

The members of the legislature listed at the very end of this e-mail are 
key contacts for the Florida Legislature's imminent budget 
deliberations.  Those marked with an asterisk have been identified by 
informed sources as especially important at this time.  Please urge 
legislators to explore new revenue sources.

Thank you for your help with this urgent matter!

Sincerely,
Robert Romanchuk, Coordinator, Associate Professor
Nina Efimov, Associate Professor
Lisa Wakamiya, Assistant Professor

[TEXT OF PETITION BEGINS]
An open letter to Florida State University President T.K. Wetherell, 
Provost Lawrence G. Abele, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Joseph 
Travis, and to the wider administrative, academic, student and cultural 
communities
RE:  The proposed elimination of the Slavic/Russian program in the 
Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics at Florida State University
DATE: 14 April 2009

On 13 April 2009, the Slavic/Russian program of the Department of Modern 
Languages and Linguistics at Florida State University appeared on a list of 
twenty-one academic programs proposed for closure over the next three 
years. The list was circulated as part of a draft budget document sent by 
FSU administrators to the Board of Trustees. The budget proposal is 
contingent upon the final decision of the Board and the next budgetary 
session of the state legislature.

The inclusion of Slavic/Russian on this list came as a shock to members of 
the Department and the College of Arts and Sciences, including the 
Department Chair and the Dean. Enrollments in Russian language and culture 
courses have shown steady growth. The university has bolstered its own 
research profile by citing the Slavic faculty's achievements, among them 
Fulbright, Mellon, ACLS, and American Councils fellowships and grants, and 
scholarly monographs with the University of Toronto Press, Moscow State 
University Press, and Palgrave (forthcoming). Two of its three faculty 
members have received University Teaching Awards.

Our recent graduates are currently employed in the State Department, 
Defense Language Institute and Department of Defense. Others are enrolled 
in doctoral programs in Slavic at the University of Toronto and Harvard, 
International Affairs at Georgetown, and History at Indiana. On the very 
day the proposal to eliminate our program was made public, a faculty member 
(Romanchuk) was giving an invited talk at a symposium at Harvard.

The elimination of Slavic is proposed as a cost-saving measure. However, 
because the Slavic Division operates under the umbrella of the Department 
of Modern Languages and Linguistics, its operating costs are minimal. It 
does not have separate staff support or require separate facilities or 
materials for daily operations. Moreover, in conditions that demand that 
academic programs produce assessable outcomes using minimal resources, the 
Slavic Division has been a genuine success. As no rationale for eliminating 
the Slavic Division was provided in the budget proposal document, we can 
only assume that student and faculty achievements and actual cost benefits 
were overlooked when the program was listed among those slated for elimination.

Finally, Russian is designated a critical language by the US Department of 
State, yet FSU administrators have determined that this is the time to 
eliminate the study of Russian. The losses that would result from the 
proposed elimination outweigh any conceivable gain.

In signing this document, we strongly urge the university administration to 
remove Slavic from the list of academic programs proposed for elimination 
at FSU. Thank you for your time and consideration.

[LEGISLATOR ADDRESSES]

Senate:
*Jeff Atwater    1-561-625-5101
Senator Jeff Atwater
Room 312, SOB
404 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
Atwater.jeff.web at flsenate.gov

*JD Alexander  1-863-298-7677
Senator J. D. Alexander
Room 412 SOB
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
< 
<file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Alexander.jd.web at flsenate.gov')>mailto:Alexander.jd.web at flsenate.gov> 
Alexander.jd.web at flsenate.gov

*Evelyn Lynn   1-386-238-3180
Senator Evelyn J. Lynn
Room 212, SOB
404 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
< 
<file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Lynn.evelyn.we at flsenate.gov')>mailto:Lynn.evelyn.we at flsenate.gov  
 ><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Lynn.evelyn.we at flsenate.gov%3ELynn.evelyn.we at flsenate.gov')> 
Lynn.evelyn.we at flsenate.gov
<file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Lynn.evelyn.we at flsenate.gov%3ELynn.evelyn.we at flsenate.gov')> 

Stephen Wise
Senator Stephen R. Wise
Room 220, SOB
404 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
< 
<file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Wise.stephen.web at flsenate.gov')>mailto:Wise.stephen.web at flsenate.gov> 
Wise.stephen.web at flsenate.gov

Don Gaetz
Senator Don Gaetz
Room 320, SOB
404 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
< 
<file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Gaetz.don.web at flsenate.gov')>mailto:Gaetz.don.web at flsenate.gov  
 ><file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Gaetz.don.web at flsenate.gov%3EGaetz.don.web at flsenate.gov')> 
Gaetz.don.web at flsenate.gov
<file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Gaetz.don.web at flsenate.gov%3EGaetz.don.web at flsenate.gov')> 

Steve Oelrich
Senator Steve Oelrich
Room 314, SOB
404 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
Oelrich.steve.web at flsenate.gov

Nancy Detert
Senator Nancy Detert
Room 318, SOB
404 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
< 
<file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Detert.nancy.web at flsenate.gov')>mailto:Detert.nancy.web at flsenate.gov> 
Detert.nancy.web at flsenate.gov

House:
*Larry Cretul  1-352-873-6564
Representative Larry Cretul
Room 420, CAP
402 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
Larry.cretul at myfloridahouse.gov

*Marti Coley   1-850-718-0047
Representative Marti Coley
Room 319, CAP
402 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
Marti.coley at myfloridahouse.gov

*Bill Proctor   1-904-823-2550
Representative Bill Proctor
Room 223, CAP
402 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
Bill.proctor at myfloridahouse.gov

Faye Culp
Representative Faye Culp
Room 1102, CAP
402 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
Faye.culp at myfloridahouse.gov

Dean Cannon
Representative Dean Cannon
Room 422, CAP
402 S. Monroe
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
Dean.cannon at myfloridahouse.gov

John Legg
Representative John Legg
Room 1101, CAP
402. S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
John.legg at myfloridahouse.gov

Will Weatherford
Representative Will Weatherford
Room 223, CAP
402 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
<file:///javascript:main.compose('new','t=Will.weatherford at myfloridahouse.gov')>Will.weatherford at myfloridahouse.gov

Some informational resources:
Tallahassee Democrat story on FSU program elimination, etc.:
<http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/td20090414.pdf>http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/td20090414.pdf

Administration's draft report on program cuts., etc.:
<http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/DraftBCC.12-3.pdf>http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/DraftBCC.12-3.pdf

  Provost Abele's cover memo to deans for draft report:
<http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/AbeleCover.pdf>http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/AbeleCover.pdf

  Talking points for conversations/correspondence with legislators:
<http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/NoMoreCuts.pdf>http://www.uff-fsu.org/art/NoMoreCuts.pdf

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