UNR to cut College of Agriculture, Natural Resources

RENO -- The University of Nevada, Reno plans to close its College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources and eliminate other programs to deal with new budget cuts.

University officials said the proposals will slash $11 million from its budget for the next fiscal year, cuts necessary after state lawmakers reduced the university system's budget by 7 percent during a special session that ended Monday.

UNR officials said an additional $3u2002million to $4 million in cuts must still be made, and probably will come from administrative, athletics and Cooperative Extension programs.

The proposal will be reviewed by the state Board of Regents in June. If approved, more than 75 faculty and staff will be laid off as of July 1, 2011.

Marc Johnson, UNR provost, said some of the college's offerings will be reorganized and offered in other programs.

Several degree programs also are being targeted for elimination, such as master's in education counseling fields; all degrees in German, French and Italian studies; interior design; supply chain management; statistics; and advanced degrees in anthropology, history, political science, philosophy and speech communications.

The programs were selected because "they don't graduate a lot of students," UNR President Milton Glick said.

"What we're looking at are some really difficult decisions," Glick told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

He said counselors will meet with students in affected programs to help those close to graduating complete requirements. They will work with newer students to redirect them to other degree programs that meet their chosen career paths.