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One of the first people we connected with was Dr. David Jortner (full professor of theatre and graduate program director, Baylor University), who has been tracking the department closings for the past four to five years. In 2022, he presented on this topic at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)<\/a> conference. He addressed what he felt were the core issues of this crisis: \u201cHigher education is facing a variety of economic and social challenges, including declining state and federal funding, budgetary shortfalls, and a lack of student demand\/enrollment.\u201d He also observed what Robin Wilson (former senior writer for the Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em>) detailed in 2009<\/a> in the wake of the global financial crisis, which was that administrators were making what they call \u201cvertical cuts.\u201d Such cuts single out departments that are considered \u201cnot crucial to the university\u2019s mission,\u201d do not attract a high number of students, and bring in \u201clittle outside research money.\u201d Unfortunately, a great many administrators feel that theatre departments meet these criteria. In our conversation with colleagues, we found that design and production programs are disproportionately impacted by these cuts and mergers.<\/p>\n In her article, Wilson noted that many colleges and universities were \u201ctrying to preserve both academic programs and tenured faculty jobs.\u201d They did so by \u201claying off staff members, freezing future faculty hiring, imposing furloughs, and trimming operating expenses.\u201d They attempted to merge departments instead of eliminating them all together. Unfortunately, between 2009 and 2020, state and federal funding did not return to the levels seen prior to 2008, enrollment numbers continued to decrease, and costs continued to rise. As a result, Jortner explains, \u201cthe massive economic devastation wrought by the pandemic has accelerated budgetary difficulties and the rate of departmental closures.\u201d He also observed:<\/p>\n Theatre is often targeted during times of financial distress because of the expenses involved in operating a theatre program. Theatre classes tend to (by necessity) have small student\/teacher ratios. This may also be in contrast with large science or social science lecture classes (or even online classes). Unlike other programs in the humanities, theatre programs often have additional staff and costs such as costume and scene shop managers and technicians, as well as the physical costs of costumes, scenery, and props. While revenue from ticket sales may cover production budgets (and I know that many programs work on this model), they do not cover the salaries of additional staff and technicians. In contrast, in the sciences, the cost of lab assistants (those which are not covered by graduate stipends) are often rolled into the grants, which keep those labs open.<\/p>\n I am heartbroken for all the potential theatre students\u2026and generally horrified at how little the university seems to comprehend the value of arts education.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n After our conversation with David, we continued to connect with other colleagues impacted by their universities\u2019 program and department cuts. We hosted a listening session at the 2024 American Theatre Costumers Association\u2019s summer workshop and posted inquiries for input in several Facebook communities for theatre artists, leaders, administrators, and educators. For this article, instead of focusing on statistics and data, we wanted to focus on the human stories. So, we asked our colleagues to share what their experiences had been and what they\u2019ve been observing. Here are some of those responses:<\/p>\n Administrators at colleges and universities across the country are still crunching numbers. They are still planning for job cuts and early retirements. They are looking for more and more programs and departments to eliminate.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n So, what\u2019s next? We know that administrators at colleges and universities across the country are still crunching numbers. They are still planning for job cuts and early retirements. They are looking for more and more programs and departments to eliminate. In the face of all that\u2019s coming our way, theatre professors must be proactive. We have to assume that our department is next and be prepared.<\/p>\n We found hope and guidance in what Ludwig wrote in 2020, when he reminded us that \u201cWe can make a case for our value in a cultural context but that is not enough in the current climate for our field to thrive\u2026 We can no longer afford to be isolated and theatre-centric as we have traditionally been.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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