Senate committee forwards recommendation to close Aviation
URBANA -- A faculty/student Senate committee dealt a blow to the Institute of Aviation Monday, recommending its closure, and also the end to its two undergraduate programs.
The Educational Policy committee voted 9-3, with one abstention, on forwarding to the full Senate a recommendation that the bachelor's program in aviation human factors and the professional pilot program be discontinued, following a report by interim Chancellor Robert Easter and interim Provost Richard Wheeler.
But the same committee voted unanimously to recommend keeping the master's program in human factors in the Graduate College for two years. It would be discontinued if it does not find a permanent home.
Institute of Aviation Director Tom Emanuel said he was disappointed, but "we plan to educate the full Senate before it votes." The full Senate vote is not yet on an agenda.
The same committee voted March 14th against the closure of the Institute of Aviation. Why was there a revote? It sounds like administration is going to get what they want one way or another. The "leaders" at the University of Illinois need to follow their own policies and procedures! Watch out other departments; you could be next.
A possible loss for Champaign-Urbana. Without the 80% of airport traffic generated by the flight school the airport's tower may be downgraded to a level comparable to Bloomington's airport or even below that. Not enough to jeopardize commercial traffic at the airport, but a blow to local pride. Also, American Airlines has already complained about losing some of the subsidy provided them for free thanks to the University and it's tuition paying students.
One winner may be the undergraduate students. Each class hour in this unit costs the University at least four times as much as an hour of instruction in the most expensive LAS program. The University has been paying this out of its disappearing pool of state money and by transferring tuition revenue from other students to the Aviation programs. It would perhaps be more fair if Aviation were given time to find a way to operate without sucking the life from student and tax dollars, but if it couldn't do that then it clearly is time to close it. Kids can become pilots in places that don't get tax dollars. I noticed that at the public hearing there was no proposal to increase fees the way they do for law, business, ACES, medicine, and other higher cost units. They seem uninterested in surviving except by getting taxpayer money.
I don't know what public hearing you attended, but you were definitely not at the same public hearing I went to. The state budget is about $2000 more per undergraduate in LAS than in AVI. So it seems to me LAS "suck[s] the life from tax dollars" to use your words. Also, if you were paying attention at that meeting, the "kids can become pilots in places that don't get tax dollars" issue was addressed and it is a fact that University educated pilots are more knowledgeable and safer than pilots who are not. I hope you feel comfortable with these less safe pilots flying you around. Perhaps you were one of the people on his/her laptop throughout the hearing and not listening as intently as I was.
I am disturbed by "Deb's" obvious attempt at misrepresentation of facts concerning costs at the Institute of Aviation. This kind of trolling serves no useful purpose. I, too, attended the public meeting. Nothing in her comments even remotely resembles the facts as presented by the university's representatives. The question becomes were they lying then or are they lying now? Either way, there remains an astonishing lack of transparency in the operation of this university.
I am reliably informed that the Illinois Attorney General will file a lawsuit against the University of Illinois that is aimed at discovering the truth. In a state where political corruption and cronyism are commonplace, this alone is cause for celebration--provided, of course, that the investigation itself isn't part of a cover-up in a state where one political party dominates.
CorruptUofI.com has more information on this topic.
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