UNI cuts impact opportunities for all Iowans

By Jessica Sauer

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Anyone entering Iowa is welcomed by the sign, “Iowa: Fields of Opportunities.” The University of Northern Iowa offers students “endless opportunities.”

Yet our state legislature cut $7 million from UNI this year. Over a quarter of UNI's funding has disappeared when this cut is added to $20 million slashed over the past two years.

Like many alumni, I was shaped personally and professionally by UNI. For the opportunities I had to extend to future generations, critical funding must be restored. If not, students' opportunities and Iowans' career prospects will be cut as well.

Earlier this month, UNI President Ben Allen announced 23 majors, 19 minors and 16 graduate programs will close and 19 programs would be restructured or downsized. Despite political differences, Iowans take pride that our youth attend strong public school districts and top-rated universities.

Program cuts have three impacts on our esteemed education: Fewer programs mean fewer classes; fewer faculty means poorer instructional quality; and fewer educational opportunities mean fewer job opportunities.

For students, there will be fewer majors, minors and elective classes available. Upper-level electives strengthen science and liberal arts degrees. For example, few students major in world religions, but government students learn how religion affects political systems, and business students learn how beliefs influence marketing. A resource on diversity, tolerance and ethics is gone.

No academic field stands alone, each branches to other fields. Cutting branches causes students to lose sight of how their specialty connects with the world.

Program closure means firing faculty who cultivate young professionals. Expert professors may be replaced by assistants without key work experience. Tenured professors conduct vital research; without them, UNI's research standing suffers. Class size will grow while subject variety shrinks along with the number of faculty providing career guidance.

Even if you never attend UNI, you should care about cuts because fewer educational opportunities mean Iowan's job opportunities go elsewhere. Well-educated employees make companies successful.

Agricultural businesses like Cargill need microbiology specialists; school districts need health and language teachers; family services need gender specialists; police count on criminology experts; Rockwell requires computer scientists; Pella, Amana, Quaker, General Mills all need industrial technicians.

The cost of these cuts is much greater than the money saved. And it doesn't take a management degree to fix it. What's needed is communication with faculty and student groups, alumni and political leaders.

By neglecting to ask students and faculty how to make programs cost-effective, administration overlooked the input of their greatest stakeholders. Alumni should be consulted on what's professionally necessary.

Ask the Board of Regents, which oversees our public universities, to require UNI to gather student, faculty and alumni input before cutting programs. We must ask legislators to repeal the $7 million cut, especially with a state budget surplus.

As Iowans, we make our own opportunities. We can't allow them be taken away now.

Jessica Sauer, Iowa native from Marion, is a UNI graduate who works as a proctor for the U.S. Senate. Comments: Jasauer85@gmail.com