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0Syracuse Drops 84 Majors Including Classics, Ceramics and Italian
Syracuse University is closing or halting enrollment in about 20 percent of its academic programs, in a move that the school’s provost said was designed to create a university that would be “more focused, more distinctive and more aligned with student demand.”
The overhaul was revealed in a letter from the provost. And while the letter did not list the cuts, a spreadsheet provided by the university showed that the humanities and the fine arts represented the largest share. Similar changes are happening at universities around the country, as students seek out fields that they believe will more directly translate into higher-paying jobs, a recent analysis by the American Enterprise Institute showed.
Though Syracuse, like all American universities, has financial challenges, the goal of the restructuring was not to cut costs, and no positions had been identified for elimination, the message from the provost said. Still, some faculty members and students were upset and said that the cuts were a sign of a reduced commitment to the humanities and could lead to even fewer students being interested in those areas.
“One of the wonderful things about Syracuse is that we were able to offer these quirky and fabulous combinations of fields, and then you attract students who are drawn to those ways of thinking,” said Romita Ray, the director of undergraduate studies in art history, a field that survived the cuts. “Will we actually be hurting ourselves in the long run with not being able to offer that kind of robust, prismatic curriculum?”
生词好句
halt 英 [hɔːlt] 美 [hɔːlt] v. （本文）暂停
enrollment 英 [ɪnˈrəʊlmənt] 美 [ɪnˈroʊlmənt] n. （本文）招生，招募，报名
move 英 [muːv] 美 [muːv] n. 行动，举措
provost 英 [ˈprɒvəst] 美 [ˈproʊvəst] n. （职位）教务长
distinctive 英 [dɪˈstɪŋktɪv] 美 [dɪˈstɪŋktɪv] adj. 与众不同的，独特的
overhaul 英 [ˈəʊvəhɔːl] 美 [ˈoʊvərhɔːl] n. 修正，重组，改革；（对于汽车、机器等）彻底的检修
spreadsheet 英 [ˈspredʃiːt] 美 [ˈspredʃiːt] n. 电子表格
position 英 [pəˈzɪʃn] 美 [pəˈzɪʃn] n. 职位
elimination 英 [ɪˌlɪmɪˈneɪʃn] 美 [ɪˌlɪmɪˈneɪʃn] n. 清除，排除
eliminate v. 清除，排除
eliminate the possibility of 排除……的可能性
quirky 英 [ˈkwɜːki] 美 [ˈkwɜːrki] adj. 独特的，古怪的
He has a quirky sense of humor.这个人有非常独特的幽默感。
fabulous 英 [ˈfæbjələs] 美 [ˈfæbjələs] adj. 绝佳的，精彩的
prismatic 英 [prɪzˈmætɪk] 美 [prɪzˈmætɪk] adj. 丰富多彩的，多元的
prism n. 棱镜
