KENOSHA, WI — Carthage College is cutting two departments and is parting ways with 23 professors in a cost-cutting move, the university announced.
“Like colleges across the country, Carthage is facing very serious financial challenges due to the changing higher education landscape — challenges only accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting shut-down of the College’s residence halls, conference centers, and on-campus activities led to losses in the millions of dollars, and required the immediate implementation of cost-saving measures over the last five months,” the university wrote in a statement.
The university originally considered 10 academic departments for reorganization, and ultimately decided to discontinue the Classics department as well as the Philosophy and Great Ideas departments.
“All current students who have declared these majors and minors will be able to complete their degrees at Carthage, but future students will not be able to major or minor in these subjects. Philosophy courses will continue to be offered through another humanities department,” Carthage President John Swallow wrote in a news release Tuesday.
“These are painful steps; none of us wants to see any of our dedicated faculty leave Carthage. But we know that these difficult choices, taken together with other financial measures recently enacted, are necessary to ensure a strong and sustainable financial future for the College,” Jeff Hamar, Chair, Carthage Board of Trustees wrote Tuesday.
The eight other departments originally considered for reorganization were Biology, English, Modern Languages, Music, Physics and Astronomy, Political Science, Religion, and Sociology and Criminal Justice.
Of the 23 professors the university is parting ways with, Carthage officials said 15 were tenured, and are leaving voluntarily as a result of a separation package. The 15 tenured professors represented each of the 10 academic departments that were considered for reorganization. The university also said eight non-tenured faculty positions were reduced through resignations, expiring contracts and contracts the university decided not to review.
