When budgetary cuts become necessary at a college, the programs and departments most vulnerable are often the least fundamental to a school’s central mission. But when an institution has been ranked as the most diverse student body in higher education, it can be difficult to explain why an office that caters to multicultural students was downsized dramatically.
Rhonda Brown, the first associate vice president of multicultural affairs and director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMCA) at Temple University, said sweeping cuts to her department have crippled her operation, reducing her staff of 10 to five and relocating the program to a smaller, inaccessible office. Worst of all, Brown said, she wasn’t consulted about the deep cuts.
“There are budget crises going on everywhere and we were required to take a budget cut that was supposedly across the board — and we did,” said Brown, who lost clerical staff when she did initial cost-trimming. “Our budget was cut a second time by people above and beyond me. I found out just a few days before they were made and I was not consulted or made aware until later.”
Temple University has undergone a transformation in recent years under a new president and administration that have made clear their goals to enhance academic rigor while preserving the tradition of diversity as the school’s North Philadelphia neighborhood undergoes revitalization.
But in the aftermath of a $40 million shortfall, the school scrambled to downsize quickly and evade a sharp tuition hike for Temple’s 30,000-plus students, said Ray Betzner, assistant vice president for Communications.
“We knew that for our students and their families it was a very difficult fiscal year so we had to make sure we are as accessible as possible and cut the budget to make tuition affordable,” Betzner said, adding a bus shuttle line for students was also eliminated. “The impact has been felt across the campus in every way possible to preserve the educational experience.”
Tuition rose just 2.9 percent this year, the lowest uptick in 13 years, said Betzner, whose department lost three staff members to budget cuts. He noted, as an example of Temple’s dedication to diversity, the opening of a new academic center focused on research in diversity named ACCORD, that is slated to facilitate intergroup dialogue, among other things. As of now it’s still unfunded and has no office.
