Two members of the Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy met with William Chafe, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, and Berndt Mueller, dean of the natural sciences, Thursday morning to discuss proposed cuts to the department's faculty.
At a department meeting last Friday, Richard Kay, professor and chair of BAA, told colleagues that the two deans had proposed cutting the tenure-track faculty from 10 to four and the research faculty from seven to two. Faculty members have said such deep cuts would mean the demise of the department and would likely endanger the Primate Center as well.
"We exchanged some really good ideas," Chafe said, noting that he would not discuss any more details in the process until after he has had a chance to talk to the faculty. Mueller, in an e-mail, characterized the meeting as "very useful."
Steve Churchill, associate professor of BAA and director of undergraduate studies, and Carel Van Schaik, professor of BAA and director of graduate studies, both said the meeting was productive, but that they did not want to reveal many details of the meeting.
"We're actively discussing these things and negotiating, and I can tell you things seem a little more positive than they did last week," Churchill said.
The department's full faculty will meet with administrators Feb. 7. Kay remained out of the country this week, visiting Japan.
Last week's announcement came as the department was awaiting a decision on how its administrative structure might be reorganized. Currently, the department is jointly administered by both the School of Medicine and Arts and Sciences because the research BAA faculty do is mostly in natural sciences, while the faculty teach human gross anatomy for the School of Medicine.
In addition to possible cuts, administrators concurrently announced that they plan to consolidate the department in Arts and Sciences. When the department split with what is now the Department of Cultural Anthropology in 1988, BAA's faculty was dispersed between the Sands Building, the Biological Sciences Building and other Medical Center offices.
The department's December 2000 external review recommended that "housing the department in one locus ought to be accomplished as a matter of first priority. The closest intellectual affinities of both faculty and graduate students lie within Arts and Sciences."
William Hylander, professor of BAA and director of the Primate Center, said he hoped that the administration would reconsider their proposal in the long-term.
"Let's let some of the fallout take care of itself and then we'll work on it," he said.
Kelly Rohrs contributed to this story.
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