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Friday, March 29, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

University of Florida faculty fights engineering cuts

Students aren’t the only ones protesting cuts to UF’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering department. The faculty is fighting, too.

The state budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year will reduce the College of Engineering’s budget by 5.86 percent. Dean Cammy Abernathy’s plan to deal with the roughly $4-million reduction involves moving computer engineering degree programs to the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, eliminating staff and teaching assistant positions and emphasizing teaching.

CISE faculty members were shocked at the proposal, said associate professor Manuel Bermudez. Professors have joined about 3,000 supporters of an online petition and are working to create alternative plans.

“People are scratching their heads, wondering why such a damaging, harmful action to the university’s prestige would be taken in a unilateral manner,” Bermudez said. “Colleagues from other universities are contacting them, asking, ‘What the heck is going on?’”

Members of the CISE faculty wrote a letter to UF President Bernie Machen on Friday citing the resolution of shared governance passed at last week’s Faculty Senate meeting. The letter requests that Abernathy immediately stop all progress toward implementing the proposal and to provide an analysis of the effects from the changes.

“We need a solution to this problem, and gutting a top department is not the solution,” said associate professor Benjamin Lok.

They also requested the establishment of two university-level committees — one comprised only of Faculty Senate members and one that also includes non-Senate members — to evaluate alternative plans and ensure shared governance is followed.

Another request echoed that of the Graduate Assistants United. Both groups asked that the deadline for the proposal of alternative plans be moved from Wednesday to June 15.

Abernathy said she is concerned about everyone who would be affected by the cuts.

“Everyone understands this is a very difficult time,” she said. “Sooner or later, something has to give, and I think we’ve reached that point.”

Lok said seeing the outpouring of support has impressed and energized the faculty. The issue has united professors with current, past and future CISE students because Abernathy’s proposal would impact them all, he said.

“This will do immense harm to the reputation of The Gator Nation,” Bermudez said.

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Contact Julia Glum at jglum@alligator.org.

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