The Auburn Board of Trustees voted to close the department of polymer and fiber engineering and eliminate the bachelor's degree in that field at its meeting Friday, June 5.
The decision came after reviews by Christopher Roberts, dean of the College of Engineering, University President Jay Gogue, the University senate, Provost Timothy Boosinger and other groups designed to review academic affairs.
"It is not an easy thing to recommend," Boosinger said.
The University will close the department and not accept any new students to the major, however, current students will be allowed to complete their degrees in polymer and fiber engineering.
"All the students that are currently in the program, including those that are freshman, that are choosing to pursue the program, we're committed to helping them finish that," Roberts said.
According to Boosinger, there is not enough demand for the program.
Roberts said the program is still considered high-quality, however resources need to be distributed elsewhere to serve the entire college.
"The quality of the program was never in question, it's just relative distribution of our resources and the number of students that we have to serve," Roberts said. "I'm certain the students that are enrolled will get a very good education if they choose to finish up the degree."
Faculty will be reassigned to other departments, where they can serve a larger number of students, according to Boosinger.
"A lot of time and energy has gone into helping reposition these faculty in the College of Engineering," Boosinger said.
According to Roberts, there are currently 50 students in the program.
The closure will take effect Aug. 15.
In other Board of Trustees news:
The board approved a bachelor of science degree of food science in the College of Agriculture.
According to Boosinger, the current food science program has had an "incredible amount of growth" recently.
The degree will also serve food-related initiatives on campus, according to Boosinger.
The board approved initiation of the performing arts center project.
According to Dan King, associate vice president of Facilities Management, the planned site is on South College Street across from the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.
The board approved a firm to build a new memorial to replace the existing Garden of Memory on campus. Holcombe Norton Partners of Birmingham will work on the project.
According to SGA President Walker Byrd, the new memorial will unify Auburn students, faculty and alumni.
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