June 5, 2012

MU’s decision to shut down the Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute was, unsurprisingly, met with opposition from professors and alumni. These individuals have a vested interest in the program, and it’s expected they would stand up for their program. What was surprising was MU’s apparent disregard for the proper process and rules that come with disbanding an MU program.

The cut won’t affect any current students or put any professors out of work. But by not following its own rules, MU has put itself into a sticky situation. To cut a program, MU must follow the Collected Rules and Regulations and go through the UM System Board of Curators in dealing with tenured faculty. By requiring tenured professors to find new department positions without getting their consent beforehand, MU violated those rules.

We understand MU has financial difficulties, and sometimes smaller programs have to go to the chopping block, but that’s no excuse for not treating faculty with respect.

With nothing but a three-day warning to faculty, MU shut down NSEI. MU said the decision was made to explore economic opportunities in the College of Engineering, and it hopes the nuclear engineering professors will benefit MU as a whole. The specialized area only employs four professors, a relatively small number compared to the College of Engineering and MU’s entire faculty. But with only four people to contact, could MU really not take the time to call those employees? If anything, the program’s size should have made this an easier transition. Instead, MU is picking on the little guy and hoping no one notices.

MU administrators should behave better than this. By violating the rules, they only showed faculty and students their disrespect for MU’s regulations and its employees. NSEI might have been small, but it still deserved the same consideration as any other MU program.