Many, if not all, colleges, schools and departments are incurring cuts across Ohio University's Athens Campus.
Meanwhile, the athletic department is promised more and more money each year -$1.5 million during a three-year span that started last year.
At its surface, this has caused a point of contention for many faculty members across the campus. And the increase in the athletic budget, coupled with the fact that money is still being taken from a student's pocket to support athletics, leaves many wondering what the primary focus of this institution is, or at least should be.
The main purpose of the university is to educate students
President Roderick McDavis said. We come to that from many different perspectives but at the end of the day our primary mission is to educate students through our academic programs.
But it is this statement that leaves professors perplexed.
Journalism professor Joe Bernt said he still is not sure what President McDavis is going to do to boost academics when he has so avidly promoted athletics since becoming president.
It certainly is insulting to the intelligence of the faculty Bernt said, for a new university president to come to town and say
'I have a two-pronged attack. I'm going to boost academics
and I'm going to boost athletics
' and then turn around and limit pay raises for academics
limit budgets to academic departments
probably cut the library budgets as well and allow the athletics department to jack-up the salaries of coaches and affiliated characters over there.
