I am devastated to see the degree program deletions at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The job I have today would not have been possible without my English B.A. degree. Now the masters program is on the chopping block, as well as the bachelor’s under review. The powers that be have managed to take the arts out of the UAA College of Arts and Sciences.
An English degree teaches critical thinking, analysis of argument, the ability to communicate effectively and generate creative thought. When we lose that, we lose a pillar of a healthy community and workforce. There’s a reason you combine the Humanities schools with the Science schools — you need both. Now, it feels like we are losing 50% of our brain trust in the academic community. We are destroying a future workforce. We are destroying one of the most sought-after degree programs UAA supports.
At what point do we realize these cuts have an exponential effect? Once you throw a rock in a pond, it ripples out to touch all shores. Once you cut a cornerstone program, the appeal of the entire college and university pales, fades, and is seen as insubstantial. Students and dollars go elsewhere. The economy starves for a dynamic workforce, our communities see increased exodus.
These cuts across the board will turn UAA and the entire UA system into a mere shade of itself that will haunt me with the memories of a wonderful, fruitful and life-altering education that gave me the success I enjoy today and supports the contributions I make to my community. I grieve that others in our state and our students will not have the same chance. We will all pay the price.
— Nikishka Stewart
Anchorage
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