As I noted in my last post, Dr. Bruce Speck, the president of my alma mater, Missouri Southern State University, announced the elimination of the Child Development Center and men's soccer program Thursday.
Why were those particular programs selected?
It would appear that neither program has prominent supporters among the community elite, which makes both programs inviting targets.
The kinds of people who use the Child Development Center do not appear to be those who will often be invited to dine with University Board President Dwight Douglas.
As for the men's soccer program, its inclusion appears to be more of a public relations effort to show that sports programs will not be exempt from the budget knife, and few visiting bigwigs or high-dollar donors are going to be taken to soccer matches. Entertaining always takes place at football and basketball games.
However, the board should consider the message that eliminating the world's number one sports sends about the university's international program.
Then again, perhaps that is exactly the message Douglas and Dr. Speck wanted to send.
I too was surprised over this... I used the CDC as soon as it was available and so did the staff of MSSU. Also, it was a wonderful resource for early childhood educators in the teaching department. The staff at the CDC worked so well with children that my daughter still speaks of that time as the best time at school she's ever had and she's only 8! I don't know what can be done other than to write a letter to the head of this and possibly the Globe???
ReplyDeleteSoccer was cut because they lose. Note: Women's soccer was not cut and they have some really great players. Men's soccer, on the other hand, finished at the bottom of their conference.
ReplyDeleteWith this logic football only has a few seasons left.
Is a "day care center" (Yes, you have a fancy name for it) a perk that is common in this part of the state for workers...or is this a true perk that maybe should be on the front of the cutting edge?
ReplyDeleteI don't know a lot about what goes on in companies in the area, but I know many people who work in factories, etc. and I have never heard of any that provide a place for employees to use as a day care...I could be wrong, but it does seem like a perk....and I'll bet students in childhood development classes could find some local day care centers who would welcome them there to learn about caring for children and it wouldn't cost the taxpayers a dime.
it may be a "day care center," but it is also a learning experience for teachers and a service that was offered by MSSU for workers and students. MSSU is not a company. It is a Unversity, and not everything there can be looked at by whether it is profitable or not. Such thinking is barbaric. And if the previous poster is a member of the board, which I suspect, then YOU are barbaric, poster.
ReplyDeleteIf not a board member, then you are just plain stupid.
So what could they have cut and not gotten ripped for it? Which sport was your choice to go Randy?
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest. Had they closed Continuing Education and Volleyball, I think your headline would have been "Why did MSSU officials choose to eliminate Continuing Education, volleyball team?"
I have no particular affection for either of the programs that were cut. My posts have been about the way the decisions were made. These are things that should have been brought out in a public session of the Board of Governors, with those who supported the programs given an opportunity to defend their programs. Allowing these decisions to either be made behind closed doors or at the whim of one man may be the way corporations behave, but it is not the way a taxpayer-supported institution should conduct business.
ReplyDeleteI might add, I would have responded the same no matter which programs were cut.
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