[RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE RUSSIAN PROGRAM AT SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY]
WHEREAS, San Francisco State University is considering the elimination of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Russian, quite possibly in violation of the rules and regulations of the university’s governance; and,
WHEREAS, Such a decision would destroy a program that has had tremendous success in the Northern California and one that is extremely efficient in terms of resources it requires; and,
WHEREAS, elimination of the Russian program is wrong for San Francisco State University, wrong for the state of California and wrong for the nation; and,
WHEREAS, cutting the Russian program will save San Francisco State University very little money, making the elimination of a program with such a potential an unnecessary sacrifice; and,
WHEREAS, the decision to eliminate the Russian degree programs may be a violation of the university’s policies; decisions made without the consent of the faculty as part of a larger program review to “block” the declaration of the major in Russian by BA and MA students before a program review could call for a determination based on the review of the importance of the program to the University’s mission as articulated in the mission statement, the quality of the program and the efficiency of the program; and,
WHEREAS, it is important to understand the enrollment patterns in Russian at SFSU in their historical context, i.e., nationally, enrollments in Russian plummeted in the mid-1990s and have only recently begun to come out of that tailspin: on the other hand enrollments at SFSU have been strong for the last four years, demonstrating a vibrant program drawing both on traditional learners and heritage learners of Russian (so numerous in the Bay area – 7-8% of the total population.) ; and,
WHEREAS, cutting the Russian degree programs at San Francisco State University is wrong for SFSU. The elimination of the degree programs will not result in major savings because it is currently run by only three part-time lecturers. The program is remarkably cost-efficient. The true cost of this cut is the elimination of an important program at SFSU; and,
WHEREAS, the Russian program at SFSU is the only Russian bachelor’s degree program in the Northern California State University system. It reaches out to many students, many of whom are heritage speakers. The program maintains close ties with Russian-speaking communities in the Bay Area and this allows the program to offer students the opportunity to publish articles in Russian-language newspapers; and,
WHEREAS, cutting the Russian program is wrong for the state of California. In order for SFSU students to understand the major trends of European and American art, music, literature, theater and film, they must understand Russian culture; and,
WHEREAS, cutting the Russian program is wrong for the nation: Russian is a world language of enormous strategic, cultural and economic significance. Without a Russian program, SFSU students will be less competitive for jobs in the government, private and non-profit sectors that require Russian-language training, including jobs related to the war against terrorism, the development of new sources of oil and gas in Russia and Kazakhstan as well as trade involving Russia’s natural resources; and,
WHEREAS, curtailing the Russian program will deny Russian immigrant youth access to pursuing the study of their language and culture in an academic setting. It will also deny those who plan to pursue various professions the acquisition of a language that is not only essential to close to ten percent of San Francisco’s population, but is of international importance in such areas as business, politics, humanitarian concerns, etc; and, be it
RESOLVED that the Immigrant Rights Commission strongly opposes the cutting of the Russian program at San Francisco State University and urges San Francisco State University to consider all the options it has. Cuts to larger programs are often more easily absorbed than cuts to smaller programs: with only three part-time lecturers, SFSU’s Russian program meets the needs of students not only in Russian, but also the needs of students in international studies; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED that Immigrant Rights Commission urges San Francisco State University takes whatever steps it can to preserve the quality of the excellent program in Russian at SFSU in order to maintain SFSU’s commitment to international education; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED that the Immigrant Rights Commission strongly urges the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors to urge the Administration of San Francisco State University to follow the university’s policies when considering eliminating a program, and require consent of the faculty when making a decision to “block” the declaration of the Major, in this case, in Russian by BA and MA students before a review could call for an elimination of such program.
