SAS will not cut Rel. Studies dept.

Task force suggest revamping It may be small, but it has a lot of supporters. The Religious Studies Department --with a little help from a lot of its friends -- has survived the threat of closing and will remain a School of Arts and Sciences department, instead of becoming an interdepartmental program. "The school no longer anticipates closing the department of Religious Studies," Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson said at the University Trustees meeting Friday."We plan to develop that area and strengthen it." In September, SAS Dean Rosemary Stevens announced that in an effort to "streamline" education, she would disband the Religious Studies, American Civilization and Regional Science departments, and combine the Astronomy and Physics departments. But a special task force -- the University's Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility "made a recommendation to Dean Stevens and she accepted it," according to Lazerson, who said he also approved of the idea. The task force also suggested several changes in the department, to take effect this fall. Religious Studies Department Chairperson Ann Matter said this week that she and others in the department -- which contains only six faculty members and a handful of majors -- were "very pleased" at the news. "The dean had said all along that the study of religion was very important, but she said the best way to do it was with a program rather than a department," Matter said. "A department is really the best way, which is what I've been saying all along." Matter had been fighting the proposed cut since it was announced in September. She said then that Stevens' plan was a "mistake." Steven's recommendation for the cut came after a year and a half review of all 28 SAS departments, and was necessary, Stevens said, to save the school money and use resources more effectively. So far, Religious Studies is the only one of those departments to be spared. The others are still scheduled to be disbanded officially on June 30. Several University officials -- both within the department and outside of it -- rallied to save the Religious Studies from being axed. In fact, 40 of 61 SAS faculty members voted against the cut proposal at a faculty meeting in October. But Matter said this week that she was at least happy that Stevens kept an "open mind" throughout the process. "She said that she would keep an open mind and this shows that she really did," Matter said. Matter said the department will undergo a series of changes -- recommended by the task force -- starting in the fall. She added that the nature of the changes is still "confidential." Hillel Director Jeremy Brochin and Christian Association Director Rev. Beverly Dale both applauded the decision to keep the department, saying that the academic study of religion complements religious observance at the respective centers. "First of all, it adds a tremendously important comparative dimension to religion in the community," Brochin said. "Second, it's the place where people can deal with literature and text and ideas and theology in an objective academic framework. "While the religious centers have the dimensions of that, they certainly don't have it to the degree of an academic department," he added. Dale said she was most worried about the fact that "we almost lost" the department, and suggested that people concentrate on "the secularization of this culture that would mean the study of religion could be discounted and trivialized to the point that it could be scuttled." Religious Studies Professor and Undergraduate Chairperson Robert Kraft said the department's recent "crisis" has actually brought people together. "People have become much more aware of the issues and are much more willing to be participants in whatever needs to be done to make [Religious Studies] work with the limited budgets and the kinds of constraints that are present," he said. The Religious Studies Department, whose origins at the University date back to 1791, has nearly 500 students enrolled in its classes each year.