Would be interewsting to hear from Australia on this issue - I
understand that there is hardly a dept ofgeography (in the strictest
sense) there now: almost all hav ebeen merged in some form or other -
and much of the roblem is student recruitment in a discipline not strong
in schools.
Support the GA?!?!?!?!?
On Wed, 4 Jul 2001, Batterbury,S wrote:
> Here is my emerging list of departmental closures. I find this quite
> staggering as a list covering 18 months or so, and I wondered if anybody is
> really aware of the extent of the restructuring going on, which Alan
> described well.
>
> Loss of Geography Departments 2001
>
> 1) SOAS, Univ.of London - a merger, but Geography moving into King's
> building/department in a year, rather than the other way around.
> 2) ***** , London - a small department threatened with closure
> 3) South Bank University, London. Human Geography gone; major redundancies
> in Built Environment Faculty where many geographers reside.
> 4) Lampeter, Univ.Wales. closing down, last new undergrad entry this autumn.
> 5) Univ of Illinois, Chicago, USA - being broken up, and Department
> therefore being dissolved (I think)
> 6) University of Luton, Department of Environment, Geography and Geology -
> being closed
>
> There are also merger talks afoot between at least two universities with
> prominent geography Departments. London has already lost the Univ of North
> London, TVU and London Guildhall, but those were a few years ago now.
>
> There may be stories of growth to counter these, but nobody has mentioned
> any. There have always been rumours of new programs starting up in the
> States, but I don't think there has been any movement this year.
>
> I make no moral judgements here, but investigations, and your comments,
> reveal problems set in when:
>
> 1) under-recruitment and thus lowering of entry standards occured at 'old'
> British universities, making things even worse for struggling Departments at
> unis. outside this group
> 2) uncertainties about geography as a subject occur among applicants, linked
> perhaps to its absence on the National Curriculum (UK) and low status in
> high schools (N America)
> 3) Tensions with University managers (or communication difficulties)
> heighten, particularly in the newer universities
> 4) there are impacts of tuition fees and loss of grants on student finances
> and debt
> 5) there are bad university/departmental recruitment strategies or policies
> 6) devolved funding arrangements exist, which penalise Departments trying to
> improve but lacking the resources (Departments run as mini-businesses,
> without core funding)
> 7) "geography matters" - undergrads don't want to spend three or four years
> in certain towns and cities, especially when their choices elsewhere are
> ample. Certain universities may have tarnished reputations as well - if
> prior scandals reached the national press and thus the eyes of parents!
> 8) the fateful RAE has an impact on Departments with low scores - either
> incurring university management displeasure, or forcing a focus on teaching,
> and thus needing more students
> 9) courses of study on offer turn unpopular with students
> 10) the political economy becomes adverse to the university sector - this
> underlies a lot of the above points of course (recruitment, downsizing,
> restructuring, job loss, perceptions of finding a job after getting a
> certain degree) or certainly exacerbates them.
>
>
> Of course one kiss of death is still internal wrangling and staff problems
> within Departments. Nothing appeals less to university adminstrators than
> colleagues who cannot even sit in the same room, who are not proactive, who
> do not prioritise teaching when the chips are down, or who remain
> complacent. So 11) - bad hiring decisons now might cause problems later. [my
> least favourite hiring policy is to take the brightest researcher you can
> find - with no attention to teaching or social values and skills - this is
> common elite university policy and it usually goes wrong later].
>
> I strongly recommend the editorials by the President of the AAG in the AAG
> Newsletter on these and other matters. Prof Susan Cutter hits the nail on
> the head, repeatedly. SHe recently published a list of 10 ways to get your
> Department considered for closure or downsizing!
>
> Professional bodies can bat for Departments, even if the latter have to do
> most of the work themselves.
>
> I have taught for extended periods at a London college of higher education,
> a British red brick university, a private university in the States, a public
> university in the States, an elite British university with no recruitment
> problems at all, and soon another 'big 10' public university in the USA and
> as a visiting professor in Denmark. The 10 points above have re-appeared
> several times in different combinations. But in each case it has been the
> sheer effort of staff in geography to leap to the challenge, that has seen
> them through, whatever the political economy of higher education has thrown
> at them. The College of HE was the only one to disappear - but with our
> connivance and no redundancies, since the institution was badly run and got
> merged into a much better one.
>
> I'm getting my thoughts together on the professional ethics of academic
> geography, and would welcome further comments on the closures and related
> matters. Just personal views, mostly. And no, I've never been a Head of
> Department - heaven forbid!
>
> Simon
>
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