One-third of music school’s faculty at YSU could lose jobs
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YOUNGSTOWN -- More than a third of full-time faculty members at Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music and the art and geography departments could lose their jobs with the proposed elimination of certain degrees in those programs.
Dana alumni and community members created a website and a petition campaign to oppose the cuts and plan to protest at 4 p.m. Wednesday outside Tod Hall.
Dana School of Music Director Joseph W. Carucci said he was disappointed by the decision, especially since Dana enrollment has increased in the last two years, from 173 to 191 students in the undergraduate program and from 17 to 27 students in the graduate program.
"Right now we're kind of regrouping, looking at how we'll be able to reorganize to degrees that meet the demands of the administration and maintain the vision of a really strong, innovative curriculum that makes students better musicians and better contributors to society," Carucci said.
Former Dana School of Music Director Michael R. Crist said, "The simple fact is it's dollars and cents. A number of years ago, the state changed its funding models. Students needed to be enrolled in the program and they also needed to graduate. Tracking graduation rates over the years, for the programs they're eliminating, the enrollment was not good and the graduation rate was not good."
But alumni argue that the value of a music program can't be measured by the same metrics used for other professions.
Stephen Philip Harvey earned his master's degree in 2016 in jazz studies with an emphasis on compositions -- two degrees slated for elimination.
He called his education at Dana invaluable and said professors like David Morgan and Kent Engelhardt set high expectations and led by example, teaching him that an education doesn't end with a degree. A musician always should be learning and always should be rehearsing. The breadth of opportunities at Dana also were important.
"The way these programs work, it's not like there is one general degree you get," Harvey said. "It's a tree of degrees that creates this vibrant program."
With the elimination of other degrees at Dana in recent years, Harvey said, "I wasn't surprised, but I was extremely disappointed."
Carucci said Dana will continue to offer classes in subjects like composition and songwriting as part of a well-rounded music education, even if students no longer will be able to major in them.
As of 6 p.m. Monday, more than 9,200 people had signed an online petition at change.org to save Dana School of Music. YSU released a statement Sunday after the petition started that it has no plans to close Dana and that it values the impact it has on the university and the surrounding community.
Heather Sirney, who earned her bachelor's degree from Dana in 2002 and her master's degree there in 2004, said the university's actions are sending a different message.
"I was stunned to hear that any cuts were being considered," said Sirney, who is a band director at Warren G. Harding High School.
Using data compiled starting in 2020, the same year the COVID-19 pandemic started and affected music programs more than other academic subjects, is an unfair barometer for the value of these degrees, she said. And the negative attention the university is receiving also will affect the decisions of future students.
"I don't think students of mine could go to Dana School of Music and receive the same kind of wonderful education I received," Sirney said. "I don't know how I could recommend the university to my own students when two schools about 40 minutes away (Kent State University and University of Akron) have all of this full-time faculty ... I'm concerned the administration is going to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. You can't cut something down like this and expect people to think they'll earn an education that is worthwhile."
Madeline Grimes, who didn't major in music but studied flute when she was a student at YSU, questioned the accuracy of some of the data presented to the YSU Board of Trustees last month, and the lack of transparency in the board's hiring of U.S. Rep Bill Johnson as its next president only increases skepticism about the process being used now.
"If we can't count on these programs to be evaluated reliably, we can't be confident in the administration and trust them to make these decisions," Grimes said.
The Dana School of Music is part of the Cliffe College of Creative Arts and is housed in Bliss Hall.