Money saved from merger for new college

Nick Lindsley

Any money saved in the combination of the colleges of Education and Family and Consumer Sciences will go directly to the new college, administrators said.

Susan Carlson, associate provost and facilitator of the Planning Committee for the Combination of the Colleges of Education and FCS, said the money would be put back into the new college.

“The money that is saved will be put back into the academic work of the combined college, not the university as some had thought,” Carlson said. “We are planning to put it toward things such as creating new academic programs and hiring new faculty.”

She said the first money will probably be used in remodeling the combined student services area, since there isn’t enough time to hire new faculty.

Pamela White, interim dean of FCS, said she agrees the money saved by the merger will be very useful when it is put back into the new college.

“The extra funds can be used to protect the current programs at the school, but also it will help to create new ones in the future,” White said. “When you come up with a pool of money, it will be easier to handle some of the budget cuts, reallocation and a restructuring of the administrative groups within the college.”

According to the Web site of the Office of the Provost, the planned merger of colleges will save the university about $500,000 each year. This money is only going to be used toward expenses in the merged college.

The Faculty Senate will vote on the college proposal at its meeting Tuesday. If it is approved, the proposal will be sent to President Geoffroy and then to the Board of Regents for review and approval.