Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    A Culture of Cybersecurity
    Opportunities in the Hard Sciences
    Career Preparation
Sign In
Cutting Curricula

9 Liberal-Arts Majors Are on the Chopping Block at Marymount U.

By Julian Roberts-Grmela February 17, 2023
Irma Becerra
Irma Becerra, Marymount’s presidentStill from video by Carmen Mendoza, The Chronicle

Marymount University, in Virginia, plans to make a sharp turn away from the humanities, eliminating nine liberal-arts majors for undergraduate students. The move highlights tough decisions that many colleges are making in a challenging financial environment, as well as a broader debate about the kind of education colleges should offer.

The plan, backed by Marymount President Irma Becerra, would sunset majors in English, history, math, economics, and the arts, among others. The cuts would affect one-sixth of all undergraduate majors offered at Marymount. Becerra submitted her plan on Wednesday to the university’s Board of Trustees, which will make a final decision on February 24, according to emails shared with The Chronicle.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

Marymount University, in Virginia, plans to make a sharp turn away from the humanities, eliminating nine liberal-arts majors for undergraduates. The move highlights tough decisions that many colleges are making in a challenging financial environment, as well as a broader debate about the kind of education colleges should offer.

The plan, backed by Marymount’s president, Irma Becerra, would close majors in English, history, mathematics, economics, and the arts, among others. The cuts would affect one-sixth of all majors offered at Marymount. Becerra submitted her plan on Wednesday to the university’s Board of Trustees, which will make a final decision on February 24, according to emails shared with The Chronicle.

Many faculty members say the president’s decision raises concerns about whether the university is still committed to the liberal arts at all. They also question whether senior administrators are respecting shared governance and listening to the perspectives of faculty, students, and alumni, many of whom expressed doubts about the plan.

The university’s Academic Policy, Budget, and Planning Committee — whose members include two faculty members from each of its three colleges, the dean of each college, and other administrators — first proposed eliminating the nine majors.

Becerra rejected recommendations from the Faculty Council to keep seven of the majors and modify six of them. The ideas outlined by the committee “more closely align with the strategic goals of the institution,” Becerra wrote in a letter to the Faculty Council’s president.

“True to our mission, all university programs will continue to be grounded in the liberal arts and focused on the education of the whole person,” Becerra wrote, “but MU cannot financially sustain offering majors with consistently low enrollment, low graduation rates, and lack of potential for growth.”

Marymount’s Student Government Association and the American Historical Association sent letters to Becerra, urging her to reverse course and preserve the majors. Some alumni started an online petition.

“Cutting portions of the School of Humanities as well as math and art programs would be detrimental to the diversity of our student body,” wrote Ashly Trejo Mejia, Marymount’s student-government president, in her letter. “We fear that removing programs will alter the foundation and identity Marymount University was built on.”

Even though the cuts aren’t official until the board signs off, students in the affected majors received an email on Thursday from Stephanie Ellis Foster, the university’s vice provost, informing them that their programs were being phased out.

ADVERTISEMENT

“What this means is that we will not accept new students in these programs but we are committed to continue to offer classes until all current students graduate,” Foster wrote in the email to affected students and shared with The Chronicle. “We have made arrangements to provide the required courses for your major [eliminated majors] without disruption.”

Mejia wrote in her letter to Becerra that alumni and current students are concerned that the president’s decision will weaken the perception of their degrees.

“Current and future alumni want to be proud of their alma mater, and they fear that with this action their success will be hindered by a weakened perception of their MU education from a program that no longer exists,” Mejia wrote.

Ariane Economos, an associate professor of philosophy who serves as director of the School of Humanities and the liberal-arts core curriculum, said that Marymount faculty members largely support keeping the programs. The Faculty Council voted, 88 to 49 with seven abstentions, to modify the curriculum changes in order to keep seven of the majors, according to meeting minutes.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I wish our administration would respect the role of faculty governance in determining the curriculum,” Economos said.

Economos said the committee’s recommendations were based on the number of students enrolled in each major, which she said doesn’t provide a complete picture of the value of those programs.

Economos created a “data-informed” report that described some other factors that she thought Marymount leaders should consider, including programs that are available at the university’s peer institutions; programs at R2 universities, which Marymount aspires to be; credit hours generated by programs; effects on student recruitment and retention; the impact on Marymount’s reputation; and the contributions of the majors to the university’s overall mission.

“If they want to change the mission, then say that and say what that change is,” Economos said. “But getting rid of theology and religious studies at a Catholic university, that doesn’t fit with the mission.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Economos calculated, based on average enrollment in the nine majors over the past five years and the results of a survey by the School of Humanities asking whether students would leave the university without those majors, that Marymount could lose as much as $2.74 million in tuition, room, and board revenue.

In an emailed statement, a Marymount spokesperson, Nicholas Munson, wrote that Marymount’s mission is “unchanged” but that the institution would be making changes “to better position the university for long-term growth and success.” He said the specific changes were “not financially driven” but would allow the university “to redeploy resources” toward majors with growing student interest.

“We believe,” Munson said, that “investing in programs that appeal to students and prepare them for highly sought-after professions is not only our mission but our responsibility.”

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Leadership & Governance Finance & Operations Teaching & Learning
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
About the Author
Julian Roberts-Grmela
Julian Roberts-Grmela is a reporting intern at The Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter @GrmelaJulian, or send him an email at julian.roberts-grmela@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Harvard University
'Deeply Unsettling'
Harvard’s Battle With Trump Escalates as Research Money Is Suddenly Canceled
Photo-based illustration of a hand and a magnifying glass focusing on a scene from Western Carolina Universiy
Equal Opportunity
The Trump Administration Widens Its Scrutiny of Colleges, With Help From the Internet
Santa J. Ono, president of the University of Michigan, watches a basketball game on the campus in November 2022.
'He Is a Chameleon'
At U. of Michigan, Frustrations Grew Over a President Who Couldn’t Be Pinned Down
Photo-based illustration of University of Michigan's president Jeremy Santa Ono emerging from a red shape of Florida
Leadership
A Major College-President Transition Is Defined by an About-Face on DEI

From The Review

Illustration showing a valedictorian speaker who's tassel is a vintage microphone
The Review | Opinion
A Graduation Speaker Gets Canceled
By Corey Robin
Illustration showing a stack of coins and a university building falling over
The Review | Opinion
Here’s What Congress’s Endowment-Tax Plan Might Cost Your College
By Phillip Levine
Photo-based illustration of a college building under an upside down baby crib
The Review | Opinion
Colleges Must Stop Infantilizing Everyone
By Gregory Conti

Upcoming Events

Ascendium_06-10-25_Plain.png
Views on College and Alternative Pathways
Coursera_06-17-25_Plain.png
AI and Microcredentials
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin