The cuts in the number of economics courses next year will not be nearly as severe as previously feared by some, thanks to funding provided by the Office of the Dean of the College to hire temporary faculty.
The department hopes to offer only six fewer courses or sections of courses than were offered this year, Economics Chairman David Mills said. Mills had previously stated he thought the department would have to cut 30 courses.
"It's very good news," Mills said.
The department already has used "replacement funding" provided by the College to hire graduate students and other temporary instructors to teach next school year. Mills said he hopes to hire one more visiting professor before next year.
The courses cut will be evenly split between lower-level and upper-level classes, he said.
"We will have fewer trimmings and more turkey," he added.
The downsizing comes as a result of the upcoming departure of 11 economics professors, mostly visiting or temporary professors, after this year.
The College awarded the replacement funding, which each academic department requests on an annual basis, last week. The economics department was granted all the funding it requested, said Karen Ryan, associate dean for the arts, humanities and social sciences.
The dean's office assured the economics department last semester that it would receive the money it had requested, Ryan said.
Mills said he did not get that message last semester, resulting in his fears that up to 30 courses might be eliminated.
"My understanding of the situation was different," he said.
The economics department still has one faculty search for a permanent, tenure-track professor in progress. The faculty search is separate from the replacement funding, which the department can use as it wishes to hire temporary instructors.
Most tenure-track faculty searches, including five others being pursued by the economics department, were suspended last semester by the Dean's office. The College allowed the economics department to keep one faculty search open.
"We're very interested in helping the economics department to grow, to become a first-rate department, to have an excellent graduate program and to teach the undergraduates they attract," Ryan said in response to economics professors' concerns that the University does not fund their department equitably.
However, Ryan said that the department in part determines its own future.
"We also believe in departmental self-determination and autonomy," she added. "Departments make decisions that affect their growth and trajectory as well."
In particular, Ryan criticized the comparatively light teaching load of economics department professors, resulting from exemptions from teaching courses that professors can receive for various reasons.
Most tenure-track professors in the social sciences at the University teach two courses each semester, or four courses per year, she said. However, tenure-track economics professors rarely teach that much, she added.
"We in the Dean's office would like them to teach two and two," meaning two classes each semester, Ryan said. "That's what we need them to do."
But the top economics departments at universities across the country require professors to teach only two classes a year. Therefore, the University's economics department cannot require professors to teach four courses a year and stay competitive in attracting top faculty, Mills said.
Large class sizes are another factor making it difficult for the economics department to attract faculty, he said.
The department will take steps to relieve the crunch resulting from fewer classes next year, he added.
Some students who would normally take statistics courses through the economics department will be referred to the statistics department, Mills said.
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