Wednesday afternoon Michael Whiteford, dean of the college Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of Agriculture, addressed concerns of the sociology department. The sociology department is facing the largest budget cut on campus with an expected slice of at least 40 percent.

Graduate students dressed in black shirts with custom stickers filled one-third of the seating in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union and posed many of their concerns directly to the deans.

Whiteford attempted to convey the recent history of annual budget cutting exercises as state funding for regent universities in Iowa has fallen consistently over 10 years while tuition has overtaken tax dollars as the largest source of revenue for the university. The deans insisted a restructuring of departments would be needed and that process was in the hands of each department.

Both Whiteford and Wintersteen said restructuring would be necessary and the plan for how to proceed forward with the funding departments would have would be up to faculty, students and staff.

“We don’t have a plan,” Wintersteen said.

Wintersteen expressed bridge funding would be a top priority to ensure funding for current students during these “unfortunate” and “difficult” times. Wintersteen’s sustainable agriculture department is facing a 39 percent cut.

Wintersteen said that enrollment and student clock hours were considered.

“When the state chooses to make the regent institutions the last priority, in terms of funding, then this is what happens,” Wintersteen said.

The sociology department has the highest amount of students’ clock hours with 326.

Claudia Prado-Meza, an international graduate student in sociology, stood and said she was born in 1980 in Mexico during one of Mexico’s worst economic climates.

“From there on it was a bad economical situation, we haven’t had a good time in Mexico since I was born,” Prado-Meza said.

“I think you need to have a different way to address this,” she said. “We are not numbers. You need to understand that you are hurting people when you give news like this.”

“We feel that we are being targeted,” said Roshan Malik, graduate student in sociology.

Whiteford said nearly 90 percent of the budgets are in salaries.

Kristen Wenke, graduate student in sociology, challenged the rise of administration salaries while tuition has risen and budgets have been cut.

“Can you explain from 2006, why Dean Whiteford, you’ve had a $27,000 salary increase, and Dean Wintersteen why you’ve had a $36,000 salary increase?” Wenke asked during the meeting. Wenke said she felt cuts always affected the most vulnerable, referring to students and staff, instead of administrative positions.

Wintersteen said they have taken furloughs like many others, and Whiteford expressed their administrations had some of the leanest in terms of support staff.

“The provost is very concerned on making sure salaries are very competitive with our peers,” Whiteford said.

The deans said the departments can no longer operate like they have in the past.

Department Chair Paul Lasley said, “[The budget] is about half as much as it was when I started here in 1980.”

Penn State, Ohio State and about a dozen other faculty chairs from around the country have contacted Lasley since their budget cuts went public.

“What you’re doing we think we’re going to have to do next year,” Lasley said.

“In this decision we said that the department of sociology will be significantly smaller, the cut has to represent that,” Wintersteen said.

“That’s fine to think about the future and make plans, but I’m here now,” said graduate student Mary Popma.

It was later added that the restructuring being suggested would take years to complete effectively.

Wintersteen said they would know the financial needs going forward more clearly once the Iowa legislature adjourns in mid-April.

Whiteford said, “Several years from now this institution will look very different, and we don’t think it will be as good of an institution.”

Anna Kosloski, graduate student in sociology and president of the ISU Students of Sociology, said a lot of questions remained unanswered.

“The graduate students have been caught in the middle of a much larger issue,” Kosloski said. “The way that they’ve asked the departments to restructure, we’re highly vulnerable. We have 70 graduate students and many are funded, so our livelihoods are wrapped up in this university.”

The SOS has been gathering consistently as a group and attending many dean and faculty meetings since the budget cut talks began in October 2009.

The deans encouraged the departments to work together to figure out how to reconfigure their programs going forward. The target for which they’d need to complete a plan would be July 1 and July 1, 2011, as cuts are foreseen for both of the upcoming fiscal years.