A final plan regarding the Strategic Resource Allocation (SRA) process will be released to members of the Marywood community tomorrow.

According to Sr. Mary Persico, IHM, Ed. D., president of Marywood, the plan will include information about cuts to positions and academic programs of the university.

The document, according to Sr. Mary, is the result of information gathered from the SRA Support Task Force, Academic Task Force and Coordinating Task Force reports, four campus town hall meetings, electronic feedback from community members and meetings with people both inside of and outside of the Marywood community.

“If we have to eliminate programs and positions, it’s because we want to make the university stronger,” Sr. Mary said.

Sr. Mary explained the programs that will be eliminated will be those with “very low enrollment” in order to focus more resources on programs with a larger number of students enrolled.

The timeline for the plan begins tomorrow and is set to last until the end of June 2019.

For students in a program set to be eliminated, Sr. Mary said, the university will make sure they are able to complete their programs.

“We’re not going to hurt any students who are in a major that’s closing,” Sr. Mary said. “We’re going to make sure that they’re all graduated with a major they signed up for.”

For faculty and staff members affected by the cuts, Sr. Mary explained that severance packages will be offered, as well as health benefits and any paid vacation time left.

“The decisions to do this were very, very difficult because we love our people and we care about our people,” Sr. Mary said. “So to make these kinds of decisions was difficult, but I would say that we will still do everything we can to help them.”

The report will also include information about future studies that will take place at the university, including a study of the core curriculum.

Sr. Mary said that although she is sad cuts had to happen, she is hopeful for the future of the university.

“I feel very sad that this even had to happen,” Sr. Mary said, “but I also am very hopeful that the university will be much stronger and better and more competitive and more viable than ever before as a result of the study, the report and the work that will follow in the next two- and-a-half years.”

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