Marquette University cuts and the decline of liberal arts

This spring, Marquette University in Milwaukee did not renew contracts of dozens of non-tenured and visiting professors mostly in the humanities or liberal arts. Justification for the cuts were based upon declining enrollment because of the pandemic and a smaller pool of prospective students due to declining birth rates.

The Examiner has previously outlined how Nathan Grawe sent shockwaves through higher education in his 2018 book, Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education, in which he asserted that a dramatic drop in enrollment was coming due to declining birth rates. But the book only served as the latest major jolt. Other authors had sent other charges into higher education such as Thomas Frey who stated in 2013 that as many as 50% of all colleges and universities could collapse by 2030.

Meanwhile, Marquette has completed a $70 million fundraising effort for a new business college building and expanding other programs which appear to be of interest to students looking for financially rewarding careers in hopes of attracting more students from the shrinking pool.

After the recent staff cuts, the local chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has raised funds to conduct an independent audit of Marquette’s finances using publicly available documents. The university administration is not cooperating with the audit. Howard Bunsis of Eastern Michigan University will conduct the audit to be completed by Fall 2021.

Read more: https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2021/06/24/marquette-university-cuts-and-the-decline-of-liberal-arts/