Nevada Reno To Close College of Agriculture

The University of Nevada, Reno announced plans Monday to close its College of Agriculture and eliminate some departments and degree programs to reduce its budget by $11 million to meet about a 7 percent cut higher education must shoulder under the agreement reached during the Legislature’s special session. UNR President Milt Glick said the proposals will cut $11 million from the university’s base spending budget for the next fiscal year, but an additional $3 million to $4 million still must be trimmed. The university budget has already been cut by 15.5 percent, or $33 million, bringing the total annual reduction to $44 million. The proposals, if approved at a June meeting by the Nevada Board of Regents, would result in the layoffs of more than 75 faculty and staff members, Glick said. Among the major changes proposed are closing the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources and reorganizing remaining programs under the College of Science. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences would merge into College of Science’s Department of Biology in College of Science, and the Department of Nutrition would merge into the college’s Department of Biology and Molecular Biology, retaining Agricultural Experiment Station and extension programs...read more