Cornerstone University (CU) recently cut four humanities and media programs: public relations, photography, ancient studies and journalism. The campus newspaper, The Herald, is also to be eliminated.
These programs were not the most lucrative and had a history of sustained low enrollment.
The Cornerstone administration was exploring the possibility of expanding the science and medical divisions. Looking for funding, they discovered an opportunity in some of their less popular programs. These courses of study are to be grandfathered out, so current students in these departments can still graduate with their planned major.
But this sudden twist has caused strife in the lives of CU undergrads. Many have chosen to change their major or transfer elsewhere. Kristen Lenoir, a junior formerly in the photography department, changed her major to business administration.
She says, “I had already changed my major a few times before switching to photography, but decided to stay in photography because I felt like it was everything I wanted to do. Once it was cut, I was at a complete loss of what to do with my life and what major I should switch to.”
Katelyn Fabricatore, a journalism major, was upset by the news but is hopeful for the future:
“The humanities division at Cornerstone is absorbing the editing and publishing strand of journalism in the fall, so I will be switching to that next school year. I had thought about changing schools and sticking with journalism, but I really feel like God has a purpose for me at Cornerstone. I think it’s going to turn out to be a blessing in disguise.“
Associate professor of journalism Alan Blanchard is also disappointed to see the major disappear. Not only did Blanchard teach journalism, he established the major in 2006 and has served as The Herald’s faculty advisor for the past 20 years. Several of his alumni are now involved in well known establishments such as The Hill in Washington D.C. and WOOD-TV 8 in Grand Rapids.
He says, “It has been a privilege to invest my mind, heart and soul as I have walked alongside my students, followed their careers and stayed in touch with them. As for my current journalism students, I pray God’s best for those graduating in May, for those finishing their degree at CU and for those transferring to journalism programs elsewhere.”
CU’s situation strikes close to home. In the spring of 2015, Calvin cut several arts and humanities programs. Professors accepted voluntary buyouts to give up their full-time positions for adjunct ones or leave the school, while students were assured that their degrees could still be finished despite the discontinuation of their program. This was unsatisfactory for many students in these programs, who fought to keep their studies alive.
While there were no known buyouts offered by the administration or efforts by the Cornerstone community to bring these programs back, the loss of these programs has not gone unnoticed. Katelyn Fabricatore says “I’ve had my mind set on journalism since my junior year of high school, so this was a big mental shift […] Maybe I wasn’t meant to be a journalist after all.”
