...as another amateurish blog irresponsibly reported. I got the same e-mails about the rumors, but actually bothered to check with the department. I'm awaiting more information, but I thought I should post this given the misinformation being put into circulation.
UPDATE: Philosopher Michael McKenna (Arizona) gave me permission to share the e-mail he sent to admitted students who had not yet accepted about this unfortunate turn of events:
I write to you with some hard news. Just within the last three hours, I have been instructed by the Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, JP Jones, to withdraw financial offers to all graduate recruits, and this includes our offer extended to you in our letter of admission dated February 28, 2020. Dean Jones was acting on the authority of the Dean of the Graduate College, Andrew Carnie. To be clear, this is not a withdrawal of admission into the graduate program but instead of the offer of financial support accompanying it. Naturally, I take this to be of little use to you, as we would not expect you to fund your own graduate studies.
I can report to you that I am just sick about this. I am so terribly sorry. So is everyone on our admissions committee. Please know that we did not know this was coming. (Yesterday afternoon was the first I heard wind of it, and I spent all of last night and today exploring whether this was going to occur and how we might avoid it.) Please allow me to explain this terrible result.
You will note that there is a clause in your letter of offer that makes the funding conditional on budgetary resources. Our understanding for many years is that this is merely a formality that would not be invoked save for a truly devastating situation. Unfortunately, we are now facing one. The University of Arizona is dealing with incredible uncertainty about its financial resources as the fall 2020 semester approaches. Given the potential damage of Covid 19, there is little good data to discern whether our enrollments might plummet due to students being unable to return to school. They might not be able to do so for financial reasons; many families are likely to undergo major changes due to job loss. Moreover, many students might have family members who are directly affected and made ill by this damn virus as it spreads. In some cases, there will likely be deaths in the family. Some of these students are likely to need to remain with family to address this hardship. Other students might decide it is just unsafe to return to the university and live in dorms or student housing. And perhaps the recommended practice of social distancing will be extended through the fall, requiring online study accommodations, and so incentivizing some students living at home to avoid online study until this is all over. (Many prefer to live on campus and attend classes in an actual classroom.) On top of all of the above, our university has a significant population of foreign students, who might not be permitted to reenter the country if they are now back at home. These factors have moved administrators here to plan to cut funding dramatically given the very likely prospect of enrollment drops that are just off the charts. Regrettably, one place Dean Carnie, Dean Jones, and others chose to cut is financial commitments to graduate program recruits for this fall semester of 2020.
We are truly sorry for this. We on the graduate committee are all painfully aware that you might have already turned down other offers of admission under the assumption that you had secured a spot here at Arizona. We are simply powerless to do anything now to make good on our offer. Although I know this is likely not an appealing option, by accepting our offer now, we will permit you to defer your entry into the program until Fall of 2021 under the assumption that we will have the resources to support you properly then. If instead you would rather not commit now to a fall 2021 admission, we can at least promise you that were you to reapply for the following year, we would prioritize your application in an exceptionally favorable way.
Should you wish to talk with me by phone about this I would be more than happy to do so.
Recent Comments