University of Florida Geology Cuts: Additional thoughts

So it's the weekend before the big day. I must hand it to our faculty, our students and our alumni for fighting hard in defense of the department. It's heartening to read the e-mails and letters of support pouring in for us and we all deeply appreciate the thoughts. The good news is that we have support. The bad news is that the plan is likely to go forward as is.

We've tried to figure out the rationale for choosing geology and quite honestly it seems to be that cutting geology will cause the minimum amount of grief to the university as a whole. There is no indication that the University is thinking about the larger impact of cutting the department, the revenue it generates or the service role it plays in a state absolutely reliant on the earth for its survival. We've made many arguments, but the bottom line is that our college feels 'stuck' to its original plan. We'll keep arguing to the Dean and to the college until the plan goes forward, but then we'll turn our attention to the Provost and president.

Anyway, for me personally (a UF alumnus and professor) the mood is hopeful and grim.

Cheers

Joe Meert