UT facing some tough changes when federal dollars disappear

[The Straight Story]

As of Sept. 1, 685 employees at UT Knoxville were being paid, at least in part, with stimulus money. Most of them are graduate students or adjunct instructors.

....

Calculus courses will fill 120-seat lecture halls instead of 30-student classrooms.

Low-level Spanish and French classes will use one hour of online coursework each week to supplement two hours of in-class instruction.

"Women in American Literature" is already combining sections and breaking out for discussion groups, a teaching strategy that will soon be deployed across the English department.

The state's flagship university will not be the same place next year, administrators and faculty say. About $200 million in federal stimulus dollars and one-time funding that has been used to prop up the university's budget is about to run out.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/oct/02/ut-facing-some-tough-changes-when-federal-dollars/

[MadHound]

1. But we have billions for two wars, and the expansion of them into other countries

Yet have no money for education, be it K-12 or higher education. A sad statement on where our priorities lie.

[spanone]

2. maybe they should divert some of their sports money to academics

[get the red out]

3. The sad part

I doubt a lot of people here in the south would want ANY money spent on the Universities if the sport programs weren't kept in top notch competitive shape. That's horrible but it is true. Thinking would have to change GREATLY for people to care more about my alma-mater's research and medical care let alone all that "librul education". People went CRAZY few years ago when they realized that there was a Women's and Gender Studies program here at the University of Kentucky that viewed gay people rationally. I am a die-hard UK sports fan (and graduate) myself but I wonder how much citizen support the University would get without a really good basketball team? I doubt things are much different one state south in TN (with the exception that they might care a bit more about football).

A pretty sick state of affairs when whole groups of people have been taught through the right-wing media, churches, and so on to distrust higher education. It shows in the education level of the population, the health of the population, and most importantly to the right, how the people vote.

[Threedifferentones]

4. Ummmm

UT Athletic department is one of I believe 14 to still turn a profit last year. So, not only are sports self-sufficient, they do in fact raise extra money in Knoxville.

Of course the fans could have voted to spend all that money for tickets and merchandise on taxes/donations for academics instead. I agree that would be preferable, the football games would still be there. But, it is not accurate to say that UT is pumping academic dollars into athletics.