The College of Santa Fe, struggling with budget deficits that have grown worse over the last several years, is about to undergo major changes.

Administrators at the private, nonprofit school are in the process of developing plans that could include:

• Laying off as much as 20 percent of its faculty.

• Eliminating a number of liberal-arts degree programs.

• Concentrating the school's focus on creative arts to capitalize on what have become its most popular programs.

• Restarting an athletics program in an effort to broaden its appeal to prospective students.

Stuart Kirk, a retired business executive and former economics teacher who took over as president earlier this year, said this week that the plans are intended to address annual deficits that have ranged from $2 million to $4 million over the last four years.

This year, he said, the school faces the challenge of raising $6 million to $7 million — nearly a quarter of the $27 million it takes to run the school — to balance its budget.

In recent years, the college has looked to real-estate deals or borrowed money to help cover shortfalls. As recently as this summer, the school agreed to sell campus property fronting on St. Michael's Drive to a local bank and discussed a project to develop another parcel to generate revenue from commercial leases. Plans are still pending approval by the city.

With a multifaceted approach, Kirk now hopes to dig the college out of its financial hole and draw on the school's strengths in an effort to attract more students, something he says is at the heart of the school's problems.

"The dilemma we have had is that our liberal-arts majors have been drastically underenrolled," Kirk said. Enrollment in some programs is so low, Kirk said, that some upper-division courses are serving only a handful of students.

The college does not have the funds to support those programs, Kirk said. "In general, we are not going to be a liberal-arts college," he said.

While some liberal-arts degree programs would be eliminated, Kirk said, the school is going to maintain a strong liberal-arts component. However, he said, those classes will be structured around an arts focus.

He said students enrolled in programs that might be cut would be allowed to finish out their studies, no matter how far along they are in seeking a degree.

While the administration has not determined which programs or personnel will be affected by cuts, some staff members are drawing their own conclusions. "Every department that doesn't have a load of students is concerned," said Thomas Antonio, an associate professor in the sciences and conservation studies program.

"We're going through the raw stages of grief," Antonio said. "Some people are completely in denial. Of course, people are upset."

The loudest argument for the change in focus, Kirk said, is the overwhelming percentage of students who attend the College of Santa Fe for its art offerings.

About 85 percent of incoming freshman enroll in art majors, said Marcia Sullivan, vice president of administration and communication. While that number falls to about 75 percent for the overall population, it's clear that most students are at the school for art.

The art-related programs have grown over a period of decades with the help of large donations from benefactors such as the actress Greer Garson, who died in 1996. The buildings that make up the arts department — the Visual Art Center, Tishman Hall and Tipton Hall — were all built primarily with donations, the largest being a $6.1 million gift from arts patrons John and Anne Marion, also major contributors to the founding of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in downtown Santa Fe.

Shifting even more toward the arts could bring out more of that kind of support, Kirk said.

The liberal arts, on the other hand, don't have the same level of interest or financial support to serve the small numbers of students. The sciences and conservation studies degree program, for example, has fewer than 20 students enrolled, Antonio said.

The college's overall professor-student ratios are also affected. Kirk said those ratios at comparable schools range from 12 to 21 students per professor. At the College of Santa, the ratio is 7-to-1, Kirk said. "We simply have faculty ratios that are unsustainable," he said.

To get those ratios to a more affordable point, the school plans to downsize faculty by as many as 15 positions, about 20 percent of a total 70.

Some faculty members, though, are optimistic about the changes. "I've been around long enough to know that good can come out of change," said Ron Picco, a 30-year veteran of the school.

Picco, an arts professor, said the college has for years struggled to define its identity. The shift to an arts school, he said, has long been advocated by staff and is a long time coming. "We have to realize what our vision is and go out and make that happen," he said.

"A lot of us have thought that this is really the most appropriate thing you can have in Santa Fe," said Rick Fisher, another arts professor.

Fisher also said most staff understand the changes not only make sense, but have to happen because of the school's dire financial situation.

Regardless of their opinion, staff members willing to talk on the record this week agreed that Kirk — the college's third president in the past seven years — and his staff have at least been open about the changes with faculty and students. There have been faculty meetings, and students have received e-mails and notices. Individual departments plan meetings to discuss the changes.

Students shared differing opinions about the plans. "I think most people are pretty positive about it," said Noel Perkins, a freshman art student. "I think it's a good change, personally."

Thea Cabreros, a freshman theater major, said what she's heard about the changes have prompted her to look into other schools for next school year.

She even signed up for four science classes for next semester because she's afraid they won't be offered later. "I came here because it was a liberal-arts school," she said. "If they take away the academics, everyone suffers."

Other students said they understand why people, especially those who might lose their jobs, are nervous about the changes. "It's an uneasy feeling," said Kelcie Beene, a senior theater student.

Kirk said administration and staff are meeting to iron out the final details of the plan, including changes in curriculum, what degree programs might be cut and how the school will downsize staff.

Colleges can use a process called financial exigency to lay off tenured professors. Kirk said that is only one option, and the administration hopes to reach voluntary agreements with faculty members whose jobs might be eliminated before resorting to exigency.

Contact John Sena at 986-3079 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.

DWINDLING LIBERAL-ARTS MAJORS
Comparing enrollment in some liberal-arts and arts majors:

• ELEMENTARY EDUCATION - 4 students
• POLITICAL SCIENCE - 6 students
• COMPUTER SCIENCE - 1 student
• ENGLISH - 8 students
• MOVING IMAGE ARTS - 172 students
• PERFORMING ARTS - 87 students
• CREATIVE WRITING - 80 students
• CONTEMPORARY MUSIC - 62 students