Drake University to eliminate three academic programs to aid in balancing budget

Drake University will eliminate three programs as part of efforts to make up budget deficits, the university announced Monday.

University President Marty Martin said in a message to campus that the religion major, East Asian studies minor and evidence-based health care graduate certificate will be discontinued. The 14 students in the programs will be given a teach-out plan in order to earn their credentials on time.

During a time when colleges and universities are struggling with declining enrollment from lower numbers of students deciding to go to college and aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin said Drake is working to position itself to expand and thrive while remaining true to its mission.

“As the higher education landscape evolves, we too must evolve,” Martin said in his message. “This is not the first time Drake has navigated through a period of change. Each time, we’ve emerged stronger and more prepared to live up to our commitment to transforming lives and strengthening communities for generations to come.”

The private university is trying to have its budget balanced by July 2025, Martin said, but he has told the faculty senate the deadline for cuts is June 30, 2026. He said the academic review and identification of programs to be eliminated is one part of that.

According to a draft of meeting minutes for a November Faculty Senate meeting, Provost Sue Mattison told members all units of the university have made cuts in order to lower costs that, alongside putting resources into new programs to drive recruitment, still weren’t enough to fill budget gaps.

The university would need to cut around $14.3 million of its $132 million operating budget in order to get where is needed, according to minutes from a Jan. 31 Faculty Senate meeting.

After Mattison told faculty senate members in the fall that the university would conduct an academic review, she announced to the university in March that 13 majors, minors and certificates were recommended for discontinuation.

In his message, Martin said, “Since November 2023, we have worked collaboratively — faculty governance, administration, deans, and the Drake Board of Trustees — to review our academic offerings and identify areas where we can strengthen programs and better align the academic portfolio with student demand and workforce needs while staying true to our mission.”

Once the recommendations were made, faculty had the chance to provide evidence that their programs were worth keeping. The Faculty Senate voted against recommendations to do away with programs including the rhetoric major and minor, physics and astronomy majors, and masters of accountancy and public administration at its April 17 meeting.

The three remaining programs up for elimination that passed through the Faculty Senate went to the Board of Trustees, which approved the recommendations last week. Combined, eliminating the programs could save the university a minimum of almost $130,000, according to a document detailing the programs recommended for discontinuance and the rationale behind them.

One faculty line will be eliminated from the religion major, according to the rationale, and the faculty member who held that position will be moved to the Law, Politics, and Society major.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that one of two faculty lines would be eliminated from the religion major and the remaining faculty member will be moved to a different major. It has been updated to say one faculty line will be eliminated and the faculty member who held that position will move to a different major.