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Dear Chancellor Bernie Patterson, Provost Gregory Summers, and Dean Eric Yonke (College of Letters and Science):
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Dear Chancellor Bernie Patterson, Provost Gregory Summers, and Dean Eric Yonke (College of Letters and Science):
The Modern Language Association is deeply concerned about the recommended elimination of 13 undergraduate programs of study — including American studies, art, English, French, German, history, music, philosophy, and Spanish — at your university. While we recognize that you are required to make difficult choices, we believe that it is important to make decisions that will serve students in the best possible way.
None of us can predict the several careers that today’s students will pursue during the course of their lives. We can, though, be sure that more than one career will expect them to read with insight as well as understanding, write both clearly and effectively to multiple audiences, make informed judgements, and approach problems with integrity and perspective. They will also, given current demographics, need to be able to understand and work well with people unlike themselves. As Chancellor Patterson observed, “it is critical that our students learn to communicate well, solve problems, think critically and creatively, be analytical and innovative, and work well in teams.” Without humanities majors these goals will be unattainable. We recognize that you propose to continue offering courses (but no major) in English, art, history and philosophy while all the other programs would be entirely eliminated, but taking a few courses does not carry the same benefits as the sustained tutelage of a major. Furthermore, giving students no exposure to any language besides English will isolate them from the larger world and reduce their understanding of and appreciation for people different from themselves.
My colleagues and I are particularly troubled about your proposal because regional public institutions provide access to higher education for many first-generation college students from families of limited means. While expanding programs like fire science and conservation law enforcement may provide opportunities, eliminating majors and courses in the humanities will limit students’ access to expressions of the creative imagination and the new perceptions they engender as well as opportunities to explore human values in the context of reading and writing. An undergraduate education without the majors you propose to eliminate will also deprive your students of the opportunity to join the ranks of highly successful business and professional leaders who affirm that the humanities prepared them for their positions and for their lives as citizens.
The Modern Language Association, with 25,000 members, is the largest humanities association in the world, and we members are actively involved in educating future generations. We see the humanities as central to preparing students for the complex and ever-changing future that awaits them. Accordingly, we ask that you consider the needs of your students and find an alternative to gutting the humanities at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point.
Sincerely,
Anne Ruggles Gere
President
Modern Language Association
