Daily Iowan Archives - 2002-2009

Sports Briefs

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Women’s track off to Ames with an aim

While the in-state rivalry isn’t as big a deal in track and field, the competition between Iowa and Iowa State will definitely be high this weekend.

The Iowa women’s track and field team will head to Ames for the annual Iowa State Classic, which begins today.

Last weekend, the Hawkeyes had a good all-around meet at Notre Dame. Leading the way was senior Racheal Marchand, who finished 11th in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:35.25, the seventh-best in school history. As well, Iowa received solid efforts from Karessa Farley, Renee White, Rhonda Kaye-Trusty, and Bethany Praska.

The goal this weekend will be to continue along that same track on their way to the Big Ten meet.

“We are going in looking to do well,” Iowa head coach Layne Anderson said. “We’ll see where we are at the end of the weekend.”

After this weekend, the Hawkeyes will return home for the Iowa Invitational on Feb. 20.

- by Jake Krzeczowski

Softball heads back to Southwest

The Iowa softball team will again visit the Southwest this weekend to play at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

The Hawkeyes (3-2) will face Idaho State (0-5) at noon today, followed two hours later by a contest against Kent State (4-1).

From there, the competition heats up on Saturday – Iowa will face No. 3 Arizona State, the tourney’s host team. The Sun Devils, the defending national champions, come into this weekend with a 5-1 mark after losing for the first time this season on Feb. 8 to Texas-El Paso.

In last year’s Littlewood Classic, Arizona State defeated Iowa, 1-0.

Winning tournaments early on and challenging big-time opponents such as the Sun Devils are team goals this season for the Hawkeyes.

“We want to compete with top-ranked teams and play our game, even if they’re not a top-ranked team,” junior first baseman Katie Brown said. “We’re playing Iowa softball all-around, and I think progressing, getting better every time.”

- by Mike Slusark

Men’s track splits up again

The Iowa men’s track and field team will send split squads to compete in a pair of meets this weekend.

One group of Hawkeyes, consisting of mostly veteran competitors, will make the two-hour journey to Ames to compete with Iowa State as well as several national powers at the Iowa State Classic.

Events are set to kick off in the Lied Recreation Center at 9 a.m. today.

“I think what will really tell the story [for our team] is after this weekend at Iowa State,” Iowa head coach Larry Wieczorek said. “The oversized track and a tough national-level meet, so I think it’s kind of a two-week operation to get to that level where we feel like we’re ready to go into the Big Ten championships.”

The other squad of Hawkeyes, mostly underclassmen, are set to compete at the Husky Classic in Seattle.

Competition is set to begin Saturday at 8:30 a.m. PST; it will be held in the Dempsey Indoor Facility on the Washington campus.

- by Zach Smith

Women’s tennis heads south

The Iowa women’s tennis team is logging some serious frequent-flier miles. After trips to Waco, Texas, and Milwaukee, the Hawkeyes will travel for the third weekend in a row, this time to take on a pair of SEC opponents.

On Saturday, Iowa (4-2) will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to compete in a noon dual meet against Alabama. The Hawkeyes will then go to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss at 10 a.m. Feb. 15.

Iowa hopes to build on its two wins from last weekend in Milwaukee against Louisville and Marquette.

Playing well for the Hawkeyes are freshman Sonja Molnar and junior Kelcie Klockenga, who are both off to 5-1 starts in singles competition at the Nos. 1 and 5 spots in the lineup.

Iowa will return home next weekend for the first time since its Jan. 25 victory over Northern Iowa. The Hawkeyes will host DePaul on Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. in the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.

- by Robbie Lehman

Men’s tennis to play two

amie.kiehn-thedailyiowan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Tennis matches are often associated with a serene and composed environment, where the smack of ball on racquet is the primary sound.

And yet, the Iowa men’s tennis match Feb. 8 against Denver brought out an enthusiastic crowd after the match was tied 3-3 with one singles match remaining. After a 7-6 and 3-6 set, Iowa’s Reinoud Haal and Denver’s Benny Althaus faced off to break the tie in the third set.

In the end, Haal lost the final set, 6-3, and the Hawkeyes fell, 4-3.

Iowa head coach Steve Houghton anticipates more matches to be very close.

“I will expect a lot of matches like the one we had with Denver for the rest of the year,” said Houghton, who is in his 28th season at the helm for the Hawkeyes. “[There] will be a lot of 4-3 matches right down to the wire, that type of thing.”

This week, the Hawkeyes (2-1) prepared for this weekend’s home stand. Iowa will play Illinois State today at 3:30 p.m., then face Western Michigan at noon Feb. 15 in the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.

The Hawkeyes won a 4-3 match against Western Michigan last season despite losing all three doubles matches, and they also hold a 20-0 advantage against today’s counterpart. But despite that success, the Hawkeyes know no result is guaranteed.

“Every match is going to be a challenge,” Houghton said. “We actually have a few guys sick right now, and hopefully, they will be OK by then. Whether they are or aren’t, these will be two challenging matches.”

While doubles were a trial against Western Michigan last year, 2009 has featured exceptional Hawkeye doubles play. They have only lost one doubles match thus far – Reinoud Haal and Greg Holm lost to Indiana State’s Lorenz Ilg and Jon Sigurdsson on Feb. 6.

The addition of freshman Will Vasos has aided the Hawkeyes – the Fort Collins, Colo., native has been stable in Houghton’s lineup as the No. 4 singles player.

In the Feb. 8 meet against Denver, he fell to Yannick Weihs (3-6, 6-2, 6-4). After the grueling match, Vasos remained focused on improving during the rest of the season.

“[I need to] work on fighting for every point, not giving up points, and definitely work on serving,” he said. “But I would say focusing throughout the match is the biggest thing for me.”

Despite the loss against Denver, Houghton was impressed with his freshman’s performance.

“He really had solid, solid games,” he said. “You don’t have to do a lot of talking with him.”

Baseball team will try to bounce back

jeff.pawola-thedailyiowan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

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Only two years removed from claiming the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Iowa baseball team wants to rebound from the 2008 season’s last-place finish.

The Hawkeyes failed to make the Big Ten Tournament and finished 22-33, their worst finish since 2004. Yet, the Hawks are optimistic about a turnaround this year, with a freshman class touted as the best in the Big Ten and the return of senior shortstop Justin Toole, who has found his name on the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year watch list as well as a member third-team preseason all-American list, according to Ping! Baseball.

“Last year was something we can build on. Obviously, it was a disappointment, but at the same time it’s done, it’s over with, and we just have to move forward,” Toole said. “The Big Ten Tournament is something that we’re striving for, winning that Big Ten championship and getting to the postseason.”

Iowa will start the Big Ten season the same way it started last year’s, with two series against teams that finished atop the Big Ten standings – Michigan, which finished in first, on March 27 and Purdue, the runner-up, on April 3. Iowa went 1-7 against the Wolverines and Boilermakers to start the 2008 campaign and was essentially planted at the bottom of the standings for the duration of the season.

Iowa head coach Jack Dahm stressed the importance of starting strong in order to avoid the bottom altogether.

“[Michigan and Purdue are] the teams we start out with again, and we didn’t handle that very well, I’ll take the blame for that,” he said. “Instead of going out there and just playing it one game at a time, our guys were so concerned about winning three-out-of-four in a series and trying to move up and make that Big Ten Tournament.”

Iowa had trouble finishing games last year due to the absence of senior closer Mike Schurz, who redshirted the 2008 campaign because of Tommy John surgery. The Hawkeyes were 5-17 in games decided by two runs or less, but with the return of Schurz, Iowa is hoping to have a formidable closer to finish things off – the Norfolk, Va., native led the team in saves with nine, and wins, finishing 6-1 in 2007.

“[Schurz coming back is] a big help for us, too,” Dahm said. “Last year, if you look we had some tough losses last year. I can’t tell you how many times in the seventh and eight inning we had the lead, and we just didn’t have a guy that could get that last out for us.

“Mike Schurz is a proven closer, he looks healthy . To get him back our team plays a lot differently . there’s a sense of confidence from our players when you got a guy like Mike who can get that last out.”

Iowa will open play in Clearwater, Fla., at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge against Illinois on Feb. 20, followed by games against Georgetown on Feb. 21 and St. John’s on Feb. 22.

“Anytime you can get out of this cold weather for a couple days is pretty cool. We’re really looking forward to that in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge,” sophomore pitcher Zach Kenyon said. “Getting out there and seeing what other conferences can bring, it’s definitely something we look forward to do.”

Men’s gymnastics team tries to regain touch

jordan.garretson-thedailyiowan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Improvement – it’s what the Iowa men’s gymnastics team focuses on doing at each and every meet.

On Saturday, the No. 14 Hawkeyes will look to show some improvement when they host No. 6 Minnesota and No. 9 Nebraska in the Field House in their last home competition of the season. Minnesota defeated Penn State in its last action, and Nebraska is coming off a third-place finish in the Stanford Open, behind California and Stanford.

“It’s a big challenge,” head coach Tom Dunn said. “But they’re our neighbors, our primary rivals. The competitions are also pretty close, so we’re looking forward to a good meet.”

After winning its only other home meet this season, over Illinois-Chicago on Jan. 24, the Hawkeyes went to Ann Arbor, Mich., the following week looking to build momentum off their success against the Flames. However, Iowa regressed, falling to Michigan, 347.90-321.55.

“I think after the meet, we were all pretty disappointed in how we competed,” said senior Geoff Reins, a competitor in the floor exercise and the vault.

He was one of the few bright spots in Iowa’s loss to the Wolverines. The Buffalo Grove, Ill., native scored 15.65 in the vault to earn first place, while his 14.35 in the vault put him in third.

“Again, Geoff Reins is really the leader in performance so far,” head coach Tom Dunn said. “He won vault and did a real good job on floor, too.”

This week, Hawkeyes other than Reins will need to step up in order for the team to perform the way it wants to.

One thing that could work in Iowa’s favor is extra preparation – the Hawkeyes will have had 14 days since their loss to Michigan. Dunn said the break from competition has proven beneficial.

And who knows? That extra time to rest and improve routines could prove to be the X-factor the Hawkeyes have looked for.

“These past two weeks we’ve had off, we’ve been doing a lot of routines and a lot of fixing of our mistakes,” junior Reid Urbain said. “I think with this next competition, it will be a real test of how much hard work we’ve been doing, and it should be what we’re going to show the rest of the year.”

The Hawkeyes also feel being in familiar surroundings again will be beneficial. Saturday’s triangular meet is scheduled to take place in the Field House North Gym, where Iowa usually practices, as opposed to the Main Deck, where the Hawkeyes’ meet against Illinois-Chicago took place.

“Even in the Main Deck, it’s still kind of different,” junior Jonathan Buese said. “But when we’re [in the North Gym], we work out here every single day, so it’s definitely better.”

Then there’s Saturday being “Senior Night” for the Hawkeyes – they will honor Reins and Diego Mercado-Austin.

“I think I’ve kept on doing what I’ve done the last four years,” Reins said. “I do realize that this is my last year, so my goal is to help this team and hopefully, go out the best I can.”

Battered men’s basketball team faces hot Purdue

scott.miller-thedailyiowan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter left Madison, Wis., on Feb. 11 with his young team beaten up.

Freshman Matt Gatens, Lickliter’s leading scorer, caused a potential seven-point halftime deficit to balloon to 12 with a technical foul. The Hawkeyes’ second-leading scorer, sophomore Jeff Peterson, slipped on the Kohl Center floor late in the contest, injuring his hamstring. And Lickliter’s leading rebounder, senior Cyrus Tate, was unable to play against the Badgers because of recurring effects from his ankle injury.

Considering all this, it’s amazing the Iowa plane didn’t have engine failure on the way back Iowa City after the team’s 69-52 drubbing at the hands of Wisconsin.

But the Hawkeyes (13-12, 3-9) landed safely on the runway – only to have another challenge ahead of them. No. 20 Purdue (18-6, 7-4) will come to town Saturday coming off a 14-point blowout win at home over Penn State.

The Boilermakers’ sophomore duo of JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore combined to score 22 points in Purdue’s 75-53 thumping of the Hawkeyes on Jan. 18 in West Lafayette, Ind. Since then, the Big Ten’s preseason favorite lost its third-leading scorer, sophomore forward Robbie Hummel, to a hairline fracture in his lower back.

On the Hawkeyes’ injury front, Peterson said while he hoped to play against Purdue, his hamstring was “pretty sore” after the Wisconsin game.

Tate’s condition remains a mystery after Lickliter decided not play his senior because he was “concerned we were just going to give him another setback.” Iowa is 1-7 without its team captain in the lineup.

“We kind of knew that he wasn’t going to . be able to play very much,” Iowa sophomore Jake Kelly said after the Wisconsin game. “We’ve got other guys . who just need to fill his shoes.”

While Lickliter won’t know the status of Peterson and Tate until close to game time on Saturday, he’s certain his team will have to limit its turnovers against a solid Purdue defense. In the teams’ last meeting, the Hawkeyes turned it over 19 times, while only making 18 field goals.

It was a similar story against Wisconsin, when Iowa gave up the ball 14 times and allowed the Badgers to score 29 points off those turnovers.

“We shot it well,” Lickliter said of his team’s 50-percent shooting performance. “[We] couldn’t take care of it. . You’re not going to win if you have four assists and 14 turnovers against Wisconsin.”

With only six regular-season games remaining, the Hawkeyes are running out of time to improve their place in the Big Ten. Gatens contends Iowa needs to revert to the team that jumped out to a 9-2 record, and not become complacent with the squad that has lost 10 of its last 14.

“I think you can still see some good things, . but we didn’t build off our last [win],” he said. “[We need to] just keep doing the things that work.”

Hoopsters keep Jantel Lavender in check

jeff.pawola-thedailyiowan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Despite the monster game by No. 18 Ohio State’s sophomore Jantel Lavender, the 2008 Big Ten Player of the Year, Iowa managed to the hold in check the rest of the Buckeye roster just enough to claim an 85-75 victory over the Big Ten’s only ranked team.

Lavender finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, and three assists. Despite Lavender’s huge numbers, Iowa’s victory can actually be attributed to limiting her productivity.

“Jantel Lavender is a tremendous player,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “We tried to give her as much respect as we could with giving her as many people around her to help out because she is such a great player.”

It was a story of two halves for the Hawkeyes, with their second half starting at the 5:32 mark in the first half, down 34-28. At that point, Iowa finally figured out how to contain Lavender.

Of the 34 points, the Ohio State center scored 19 points, including the first 13, to start the game, while dishing out three assists, attaching her name to eight more points in the first half.

“They went to the zone, and we weren’t moving the ball, and the ball wasn’t getting in as easy,” Lavender said.

In the meantime, Iowa went on a 19-0 run to finish the remainder of the first half and headed into the locker room ahead, 47-34. Iowa switched from its man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone and gave help to the Iowa centers, senior Megan Skouby and junior JoAnn Hamlin.

“We basically went with our zone to try to add extra help around her, try to add a few more hands around her so she wasn’t able to get the ball as much,” Bluder said. “Again, she’s an outstanding player and she still ends up with 32. So I’m not sure how much we slowed her down.”

Lavender scored only 13 points in the final 25:32, forcing other Ohio State players to step up.

“Our scoring can’t be 30, 5, 2 and 3. Because they have however many people in double figures?” said Ohio State senior Ashlee Trebilcock, who finished 14 points.

Every Iowa starter scored in double figures except for senior Megan Skouby, who was guarded by Lavender and finished with nine points. Not only that, but Iowa’s reserve center and junior JoAnn Hamlin was held scoreless in part to Lavender’s defense.

“She’s a great player, there’s no refuting that, there’s no argument there,” Skouby said. “She’s just a physical body to be in there on the post, so it’s kind of brutal.”

On the year, Lavender averages the most points and rebounds in the Big Ten, with 21 points and 10.8 rebounds, and is the only player in the Big Ten to average a double-double.

“As long as we win, [Lavender] could [score] 50. I don’t really care,” Bluder said.

Wrestlers focus on foes

ryan.young-thedailyiowan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Over the last four years, Iowa 125-pounder Charlie Falck has put together an arguably enviable career. So much so he hasn’t thought of it coming to an end this weekend.

Falck said he didn’t even know Senior Day was this weekend until his mother reminded him earlier in the week. She needed him to find a picture for the program.

“I haven’t really thought about it being my last match in Carver-Hawkeye Arena,” the Hawkeye senior said. “I mean, it’s kind of hitting me right now, really.”

But that shock isn’t pulling his focus away from his upcoming challenges – No. 1 Iowa (20-0, 4-0) will face No. 25 Purdue (11-4-1, 0-3-1) at 7 p.m. today, then host No. 11 Minnesota (14-5, 4-1) on Feb. 15.

“You don’t prepare any differently,” Falck said. “It’s the same. You know, business as usual.”

Business has been pleasantly steady for the top-ranked Hawkeyes, who stand unbeaten with three weeks remaining until the Big Ten championships beginning on March 7.

With four conference meets until then, Iowa seems poised to take the Big Ten regular-season title once again after winning it outright a year ago.

But despite ample success, emphasis remains on finishing strongly. Since beginning the Big Ten season, Iowa has outscored its opponents 149-40 – a 109-point margin Falck and his teammates want to extend over the next couple weeks.

“It’s getting to be that time of year where there’s not that much time left,” Falck said. “We want to put fear in our opponents, and we can do that by going out and wrestling well and scoring points.”

On the injury front, the Hawkeyes may be without starters Jay Borschel at 174 and Dan Erekson at heavyweight this weekend.

Iowa head coach Tom Brands was optimistic about Borschel’s return to the mat after he missed his third meet of the season on Sunday against Penn State to recover from minor arthroscopic knee surgery on Jan. 29.

Brands said Borschel wanted to wrestle last weekend, but the coaching staff decided against it, supplying the junior extra time to heal. But for the two upcoming dual meets, Brands is letting Borschel decide what’s best.

“It’s up to him,” Brands said. “He’s a go more than likely. And that’s not 100 percent. That’s me talking.”

The third-year Hawkeye coach classified his 285-pound junior Erekson as being “in the middle of the road.”

During Iowa’s meeting with Michigan State on Feb. 6, Erekson sprained an ankle in the opening seconds with the Spartans’ Alan O’Donnell.

The No. 7 heavyweight couldn’t speculate about the likelihood of his return, but he said he’s hoping to make one final home appearance before the end of the season.

“That’s what I’m shooting for,” Erekson said. “So far, every day, [the ankle has] been getting a lot better.”

Brands isn’t fretting about his star-studded lineup with the Hawkeyes’ favored on paper in nearly every matchup against Purdue and Minnesota.

“The fact is that it’s not the most important time of the year,” Brands said. “And do we have to have them out on the mat? No.”

Ferentz gets contract extension

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Since becoming Iowa’s head coach in December 1998, Kirk Ferentz has been swatting away rumors left and right about his leaving the Hawkeyes for the NFL.

On Thursday, any potential rumors may have been put to rest. Ferentz and Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta agreed to terms on a new contract that extends the head coach’s tenure three years, through the 2015 football season.

According to a press release, no further details have been completed yet. However, it was made clear that Ferentz’s salary will remain unchanged under this new contract.

In 10 seasons, Ferentz has taken the Hawkeyes to seven bowl games, winning four of them. Last season, Iowa finished 9-4 en route to a 31-10 Outback Bowl victory over South Carolina.

“I continue to consider it an honor to coach at the University of Iowa, and I am very appreciative of the university extending my contract,” Ferentz said in a statement. “Gary Barta and [UI President] Sally Mason have been very supportive of our efforts. I feel fortunate to be at Iowa, and I am very excited about the future of our program.”

- by Brendan Stiles

Women’s basketball team stuns Ohio State

mike.brownlee-thedailyiowan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

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The drought is over.

The Iowa women’s basketball team beat No. 18 Ohio State, 85-75, Thursday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, picking up a victory against the Buckeyes for the first time since 2002 and with it, its most impressive win of the season.

Iowa improves to 15-9 (8-5 Big Ten) in notching its second victory of the season over a ranked team; it beat then-No. 22 Iowa State on Dec. 7. The win, coupled with Indiana’s loss to Michigan State, moves the Hawkeyes into fifth place in the Big Ten.

“This is a pretty big win for us,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “It does a lot for our psyche, being able to go into this last five-game stretch knowing we can beat anybody.”

The Hawkeyes led throughout the second half, with their biggest cushion late being a 75-63 lead with 3:31 to play.

Ohio State fought back with a seven-point spurt – punctuated by an Ashlee Trebilcock 3-pointer with 1:38 to go – to pull to within five.

From there, the Hawkeyes sealed the win at the free-throw line, going 10-for-12 over the final 1:34. Sophomore guard Kachine Alexander nailed five freebies during that stretch on her way to finishing 14-for-18 at the line. Alexander finished a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Iowa went 26-for-32 from the charity stripe, compared to 3-for-9 by the Buckeyes.

“I thought we did a good job of not letting them get to the free-throw line, sitting in our zone, and also being able to create situations to get ourselves to the free-throw line,” Bluder said. “I thought we attacked very well off the dribble.”

It was first win against Ohio State in 11 tries and the first against the Buckeyes for the Hawkeye senior class.

When the final buzzer sounded, Iowa senior Kristi Smith jumped into fellow senior Lindsey Nyenhuis’ arms in jubilation, a move Smith said was mapped out while eating hot wings the night before.

“It was a planned event,” the point guard said. “Niner and I talked about it last night. I’ve been dreaming about this win for four years.”

Smith led the Hawkeyes with 20 points, followed by freshman guard Kamille Wahlin, who scored 19 on 8-of-14 shooting and also dished out five assists.

“She’s feisty,” Ohio State head coach Jim Foster said of Wahlin. “She’s can shoot the 3, can hit the mid-range jumper, she can change speeds. She’s a real good player.”

Senior forward Wendy Ausdemore rounded out the balanced Iowa attack with 14 points.

Ohio State sophomore Jantel Lavender had a big game for the Buckeyes, scoring 32 points on 15-of-21 shooting, with 10 rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Trebilcock followed with 14 points.

Lavender dominated the first half, scoring the first 13 points for Ohio State on the way to scoring 19 in the half.

The Buckeyes pulled ahead 32-27 after a Brittany Johnson 3-pointer with 8:17 to go. The Hawkeyes counter-punched, outscoring the Buckeyes 20-2 over after the Johnson trey and led 47-34 at the half.

UI officials consider consolidating leadership in smallest departments

adam.sullivan-thedailyiowan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

To the dismay of some UI faculty members, officials are discussing a measure that would trim $250,000 from the budget of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences by consolidating leadership in some of the school’s smaller departments.

Administrators said that by fall, they plan to have some liberal-arts departments operating under a shared administration.

Linda Maxson, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said the plan is part of a universitywide effort to cut the university’s budget by 6.5 percent.

“We would retain independent academic identities of those units but have a single person to serve as head,” she said.

There are 18 “small” departments or units in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – those with fewer than 11 faculty members, Maxson said. The plan is going forward, but she said that she is still in the process of consulting faculty.

The measure would reduce faculty members serving in administrative posts, she said, freeing them up to take on more teaching responsibilities.

However, some of the consolidations don’t add up, faculty members said.

Peggy Mills, the chairwoman of the Asian and Slavic languages and literatures department, said her department is disparate from the units with which it is set to share an administration.

Maxson estimated there are four or five language units that could be put under the same governance as Mills’ department.

“The other languages that are more in favor of the division are languages from Western Europe, Central, and South America,” she said. “We have a lot of fundamental differences.”

While higher-ups have said they are in communication with faculty members throughout the university to discuss the best practices for slimming the budget, Mills said, her recommendations have not necessarily been received well.

“We have come up with our own individual ways to be more productive, to bring in more students,” she said. “Have we been vocal in our position? Yes. We’ve done everything we could possibly do.”

Other faculty members said the consolidated system will be inefficient.

“There will be somebody in charge of the department who won’t know anything about the department,” said Catherine Ringen, the head of the linguistics department. “Who would do the things I do? There are things that have to be done by someone who knows something about the discipline, about the department, and about the faculty.”

Faculty members will be pulled away from their teaching and research duties in order to make up for a head that might not be fit to serve as the unit’s leader, Ringen predicted.

“We will not be as highly ranked as we currently are,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Provost Wallace Loh said similar actions have been taken in the past, with positive results.

For example, the Division of Performing Arts – which includes theater, music, and dance – is a product of different departments operating under a single administration.

“It’s not only about cost savings,” Loh said. “It’s also that you have them all under the same umbrella, when you have meetings, you have all of them meeting together, and there’s a possibility of intellectual interchange. There are real educational benefits.”