UNCG associate dean resigns in protest over recommended cuts

A University of North Carolina at Greensboro associate dean announced he will resign at the end of May. The move was made in protest over the administration’s ongoing academic portfolio review process, and its recent recommendations for discontinuing several programs and courses.

The review began in late 2022 to address enrollment declines and budget shortfalls. Both rationales were called into question by students and faculty members, as were the rubrics used to determine each program’s viability.

Associate Dean Charles Bolton, College of Arts and Sciences, has held administrative positions for more than three decades in academia. In his letter addressed to Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences John Kiss who made the recommendations for cuts, Bolton claims that some of the decisions to terminate programs were not made fairly or transparently. He points to the BA in anthropology and MA in mathematics as two examples. Both departments scored in the “Meets Expectations” sections of the administration-developed rubric but were recommended for discontinuation.

According to committee notes, the Masters in mathematics program suffered from low enrollment with five students, and a majority of classes taught by instructional faculty and graduate students. In anthropology, those same notes point to a steep drop in credit hours over the past three years.

The current recommendations will impact a total of 25 faculty and three staff members. UNCG Chancellor Franklin Gilliam will make the final decision on February 1.