Many salient facts about the elimination of the Department have not been mentioned yet in the media. I'll mention several, and hopefully others will step up in this blog and contribute more. We'll cover all these this week.

* The current concourse expansion project at Neyland Stadium includes the demolition of the entire facility known as South Stadium Hall. SSH was originally dormitory housing for athletes. Currently, SSH houses both the Departments of Anthropology and Audiology and Speech Pathology (ASP).

* Until both departments are removed physically from SSH, its demolition, then the Neyland Stadium expansion, cannot proceed. It is already behind schedule. Project campaign donors and alumni are pressuring UT Athletics officials for resolution.

* Although substandard in many respects, SSH could continue to be occupied and used by ASP, IF UT Athletics did not plan to tear it down to continue to add to the stadium complex.

* Dean Bruce Bursten has repeatedly claimed the Neyland Stadium project has nothing to do with the elimination of ASP. This same stance is repeated by President Petersen. That is ridiculous! It absolutely IS relevant.

* Another reason the stadium expansion is a big piece of this: the College of Arts and Science would not even save any money from eliminating the ASP program for well over two years! In two years, the state economy could improve, and the full UT funding restored, and the sacrifice of the ASP program would have been for nothing. However- this gives UT Athletics a timeline that they can work with for the completion of the stadium project. Kill the ASP program, and Bursten can guarantee that ASP will be out of SSH in a finite amount of time.

* In reality, the University should have negotiated with UT Athletics to provide the money for the building of new facilities to house the two displaced programs. You want South Stadium Hall - you pay for the new building. UT Athletics will have $79.46 million dollars in revenue in 2008 alone. Instead, the University took that on itself, with either good intentions gone bad or just out-and-out deception about building a new facility for Anthropology, and ASP.

* There is NO shortage of new building projects all across the UT-Knoxville campus. UT bought the big apartment tower in Ft. Sanders. UT is remodeling Sophronia Strong Hall. UT bought the Metron complex. It goes on and on, a staggering amount of money being spent in the last five years. How is it that they can do all this, and somehow can't either build a new building for ASP, or at least relocate them to existing space? All this construction is also the reason tuition goes up EVERY fall. UT students need a construction freeze! If tuition has to keep going up, then build ASP a new building.

This is a perfect example of politics gone completely out of control in UT.

Although there is a lot more to this situation than the facilities, this is a big piece of what is happening to ASP, and it was not covered by the media. But there is still much more to this story. If the Knoxville News-Sentinel has any investigative journalism bones left, they would jump into this with both feet and open this up as a way into the dark underside of UT/Tennessee/UT Athletics politics.

A simple thought to ponder: These three - John Petersen, Jan Simek, and Bruce Bursten, all of whom have been at UT four years or less - do they really know anything about the human impact of the Dept. of ASP, the Hearing and Speech Center, and all the graduates of the program working for area and regional schools, hospitals and private practices? More importantly, do they care?

Or is ALL of this strictly about the budget bottom line, and kowtowing to UT Athletics?

If it is, then we, the taxpayers of Tennessee, DO NOT WANT these three men in leadership in our university.

Rest assured. If Joe Johnson and Loren Crabtree were still in charge at UT, this utter crap would NOT be going on.

Thanks for starting the blog.

Luxury Skyboxes, or a clinic that provides thousands of needy patients with speech and hearing impairments with services they cannot receive elsewhere. That is a difficult choice.

Why is the Knoxville media so lame that it can't see this is an explosive issue? I bet ESPN will latch on faster than you can say Lisa Bensel-Myers?

Will someone please post a link to this blog in the comments to the articles on WBIR and News Sentinel? There are numerouse concerned patients that need to stay informed.

Are you starting a separate blog or is this new thread your dedicated blog?

Today at 5 PM, there will be a public, informational meeting regarding Dean Bursten's decision to terminate the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology.

The meeting will be held at the Scottish Rite Building on the corner of 16th street and White Avenue. Google Map Link...

There is plenty of parking and room for over 200 people to meet. Everyone with an interest in advocating for the program is invited.

Time is short to do something about this. The budget will be voted on at the next UT Board of Trustees meeting on June 19 and 20 in Knoxville.

When I first saw this story in the papers, my initial thought was that the ASP program was being served up as a political football to draw attention to the budget cuts.

It seems to have worked.

Too bad UT has to put programs like this in play to make a case for academics and public service.

Oh, wait. I forgot. UT football is a far more valuable community asset. And it pays for itself!

Unlike those other wasteful academic and public service pursuits.

I'd like to share the following several posts with Knoxviews to give more information about the ASP program, which has, for years, been one of the most successful graduate programs in the UT university system. The graduation and employment rates have always been impressive, some of the best in the system.

These are all from the publicly available Dept. facts/talking points document. This document was released last week. Due to its length, I'll break it up into separate posts for easier reading.

About Our Students

"The Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology is the largest ASP program in the state and awards 6 degrees: (B.A. in Audiology, B.A. in Speech Pathology; M.A. in Speech Language Pathology; M.A. in Audiology; Au.D. Doctor of Audiology; Ph.D. in Hearing Science). No other school in the University of Tennessee system offers these degrees. There are severe shortages of audiologists and speech pathologists in Tennessee and this program provides an essential resource for the state. Currently, there are 110 undergraduates in the major, 59 M.A. students in speech-language pathology, 40 Au.D. students, and 16 Ph.D. students.

The Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology recruits top quality applicants from Tennessee and out of state. The undergraduate program is rapidly increasing in size even though it requires a B average or better for admission. Graduate applications are also increasing and the department averages almost 200 graduate applications per year.

State of the art student education is provided, including a specialty concentration in aural rehabilitation for graduate students in audiology and speech pathology. The aural rehabilitation concentration helps supply the state with specialists who are able to work with hearing impaired children. This need and the excellence of the UT program was recognized by the United States Department of Education which provides $250,000 per year as part of a grant to support student training in this area.

In both Audiology and Speech Pathology, graduate students have a 100% employment rate at graduation.

The Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology has one of the largest graduate programs in the College (if not the largest) and has a large percentage of female graduates with M.A. and doctoral degrees."

Why are so many audiologists and speech pathologists needed?

"Across the country, there are acute shortages of Audiologists & Speech Pathologists. In the state of Tennessee, the need is felt even in well populated areas like Knox County with even greater shortages in rural areas. The need is great in the public schools as well as in hospitals and clinics. There is no program duplication – in fact the programs across the state cooperate because there is no need to compete for students. The number of applications is greater than the number of spaces available. The 100% employment rate at graduation demonstrates that the demand exceeds the supply."

In the midst of the talking points here, I'll throw out a fact that is now circulating widely via email after the Board of Trustees meeting last Friday in Nashville.

It was acknowledged by President Petersen, in the course of questioning by the Board of Trustees, that an additional one percent tuition increase would generate sufficient funding to keep the Dept. of ASP in operation.

The six percent tuition increase means about an extra $154 per undergraduate student, in-state. One more percent would be an approximate $26 more, or an $180 increase. Sounds like a lot? The total instate undergrad tuition will be about $3144. Why is Petersen worrying about an extra $26? I think that's about how much more it costs students to attend the football games this fall.

My point is not that the BOT SHOULD increase tuition by seven percent, but that if that were an option to save one of the best graduate programs in the UT system, why isn't this being considered?

Take a look at this UT Budget and Finance document. It shows tuition increases from 1982-3 through 2007-8. From 2000 through 2007, there have been SIX years that tuition was raised more than six percent. There were three years when the increase was in double digits.

If UT won't hold the line on its excessive cost increases, it shouldn't be allowed to continue to raise tuition annually without accountability for such horrendous proposals like dropping one of its flagship graduate programs.

This is confusing to break apart, but there is truly a lot going on here to think about. Petersen hopes all us will bow down to him as UT President and simply accept his oh-so-sincere promises that 'we've done all we can and sacrificing this program is the best solution for this budget crisis'. That is complete nonsense. According to people present at the BOT meeting, Petersen was unwilling to compromise, even when reasonable questions and alternatives were being posed by the Trustees.

My second daughter was 18 months old when I called our ped to, once again, ask for some sort of testing. She wasn't walking, babbling, eating, responding to others, etc. He referred us to the Department of Audiology & Speech Pathology for a hearing assessment. It was there that my prayers of help for my daughter were answered by the angels of the audiology department. I told them when I walked in the door that I didn't think she had a hearing problem but that she had autism and didn't know where to turn. They explained to me how hearing issues had to be ruled out, per the DSM-IV, along with a line of testing, where I could go for each one, and what services were available through my private insurance and TN's early intervention program. My daughter was then sent on for a speech assessment through the speech department, then on to Pediatric Language Clinic.

PLC saw other issues with my daughter, that included motor delays. As a mother, I knew something was wrong with my daughter's mouth per the absence of words. I was not prepared to hear that her body was broken; the staff at PLC understood this and was there to support me not to roll over and die but to get my daughter the help she needed. They provided me with further professionals in the area to begin to address her immune issues, her motor delays, and finally to address the autism spectrum disorder itself. My daughter was 23 months old, an age for an autism diagnosis not often given in 2001.

The professors and students through ASP taught me how to parent a child with autism. They taught me how to advocate for my daughter, and how to seek out the most help I could find for the best possible outcomes. They even inspired me to return to college to work beyond my associates degree to attain a baccalaureate in the health care field so that I can give back to a community so desperately in need. They inspired me to begin volunteering with local autism groups to reach other families.

With autism affecting 1 in 100 children, how on earth the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology can be removed from East Tennessee is beyond me. It is the SINGLE resource families have in this region that can provide effective, low-cost care to not only children with autism, but those rehabilitating from strokes, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, traumatic brain injury, muscular dystrophy, etc. The Department can serve the indigent population, a group virtually all private therapy centers ignore.

My daughter will likely be an independent adult, thanks to ASP. This means this center, for a little over one year's investment, will create a taxpayer rather than a government depender. The quality of staff and philosophy of the mission has converted me from around a $25,000/yr job to a furture wage earner of approximately $85,000 once finished with college. They have shown all three of my daughters compassion, respect for others, and the value of perseverance.

Is this contribution to our region really something we as a community can afford to give up?

"Research/Scholarship

Three programs are nationally ranked in the College of Arts & Sciences – Audiology, Speech Pathology, and Art.

The Department provides cutting edge research that is guiding diagnosis and treatment in the field. In the past 5 years, faculty have numerous national awards for outstanding articles, outstanding research and one entire issue of a major national journal was devoted to UT research. Funding is being provided by the hearing aid industry, the Department of Education, and the two primary national organizations in the discipline.

Faculty scholarship is recognized internationally and has resulted in numerous invitations for editorships, peer-reviews, grant-reviews, seminars, and research presentations.

Students in the department have received awards for their research. In fact, the Department of Audiology is the only department in the country with students winning awards for three years in a row at the American Academy of Audiology annual conference. In the last 5 years, the National Institutes of Health has awarded funding for research to students and faculty."

"Service to Our Community

As a member of the community our student training programs contribute back in the following ways:

• Over 2500 patients served by our students within our clinics in the last 14 months

• Over 17,000 assessment or treatment services in the last 14 months

• Patient base represents 25 different counties in surrounding areas

• Over 500 medical personnel refer patients to us

• Service to indigent populations (38% on TENNCARE) who are at risk for getting the services they need for 2 reasons. First, many services are highly specialized e.g., pediatric audiology and treatment services for young hearing-impaired children. Second, few service providers accept TENNCARE patients.

• Contracts with 9 different county school systems to serve children with hearing impairments

• Service to a diverse population including families who do not speak English as a primary language

• Service to patients in local hospitals and clinics through practicum placements

• In-service training to teachers and speech-language pathologists in the state of Tennessee on cutting edge techniques"

It is obvious from the facts submitted by Dept. of ASP above that this is NOT an "isolated" program, as Bursten and Petersen call it.

It is a major university program, with significant impact on human lives of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, not only in Knoxville, but in the entire region.

Public Meeting TODAY, Monday, June 8

Today at 5 PM, there will be a public, informational meeting regarding Dean Bursten's decision to terminate the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology.

The meeting will be held at the Scottish Rite Building on the corner of 16th street and White Avenue.

There is plenty of parking and room for over 200 people to meet. Everyone with an interest in advocating for the program is invited.

Time is short to do something about this. The budget will be voted on at the next UT Board of Trustees meeting on June 19 and 20 in Knoxville.

Links to local news coverage of the rally last night at Scottish Rite:

WBIR: Link...

WATE: Link... (With video)

Knoxnews: Link...

Quote from Larry Silverstein, son of the late Bernard Silverstein (Dr. Bernie on WBIR-TV for many years): "My father is telling me 'You must fight to save this program.' "

There was a great turnout of faculty, staff, parents, students, private practice owners, alumni, former Dept. officials and faculty, and media.

The coalition is growing stronger and is dedicated to getting the truth out to conteract the officialese that Bursten and Petersen has been spouting about this - WITHOUT benefit of facts, because Dean Bursten didn't care to find them out.

In reality, this whole thing doesn't have a factual leg to stand on- it only has a political leg, and that is enough. It must be stopped, and stopped NOW.

The Trustees meeting is a week from Thursday, on June 19.

BIG wrinkle in the University's plans to toast the entire program.

R. Neal beat me to the punch on the story on WBIR, but here is the link.

Basically, this throws a hitch into the University's plans. The story reads like UT still wants to cut the entire program, but somehow keep the Hearing and Speech Center. The legal ramifications of this are not going to be unraveled before June 19, when the Trustees meeting to approve the UT budget will take place. I have a feeling that the termination of the program will have to be postponed.

HOWEVER- it is way too soon to just jump to conclusions. More to come in this space as we learn more through the media.

One conclusion, very easily reached, is that Bursten didn't do ANY research into this at all or he would have discovered the agreement. So he didn't know it'd get sticky. He passed on his recommendation to kill the entire program to Simek, and thence to Petersen.

I hope Bursten pays for this embarrassment with his job. Same for Simek, and I don't think any of us have particular love for Petersen, who's already proven himself to be unfit to run this university.

Tennessee taxpayers, insist that that Petersen be deposed. Contact your representatives and senators.

Announcing a new website - Link... - The Campaign to Save UT ASP.

If you listen to what supposedly make ASP an "isolated" program and think about it, it becomes obvious that same reasoning could apply to a lot of programs. The rational is that, because none of its classes are core-requirements for majors outside the department, and few people with other major take the classes it's "isolated." Note, however, the same thing could be said about nursing, education, law, social work, or veterinary medicine. (And probably other I have not yet thought of.) Now, I would NOT suggest closing down any of those programs, but the same rationale of "isolation" as basis for termination can be made about any of them.

Now some would point out that none of those are in the college of arts and sciences, but that is really a moot point. ASP is not in Arts & Science at MOST universities -- UT-K is the odd-ball out on that. There is no reason it should be. If ASP does not fit Arts & Science than perhaps it should a different college, or have its own college (as nursing and social work both do). All these programs are at UT, and it would not make sense to move nursing to Arts & Science and eliminate it because it didn't belong there. In the end, the "isolation" argument is nothing but dishonest political bull to rationalize something Bursten, Petersen, and the other powers that be just want to get rid of.

You know, as a Tennessean, I remember the pride we took not too many years ago in being the Volunteer State. That was before football took the name from those that earned it. We were dedicated to liberty and each other. To the good of the people, not just a few. From that, we were intolerant of evil people. We took pride in the fact that we help, aided, and assisted each other. In my late forties, I would have given us more credit than to allow bad people to hold power, power over those that can not fight back. Power over our children and elderly. Power over our handicapped and power over ourselves.
I've seen a lot lately and possibly expect it from other states, just not ours. We often look at our world and know there is something wrong, but are reluctant to do anything about it. Maybe we're just too busy, too distracted, or just feel helpless. We see evil people play out these games and what starts today, if allowed, grows in power- so much so that perhaps they grow out of control. What is the power of one? Nothing, unless you begin to add ones, then it becomes an infinite number, a power number, one that can change the world. It doesn't happen though unless we quit waiting one one and become the one. Right now, if it had not been for one, the department would be cut. If had it not been for one who cared in 1966, and foresaw the cold, hard greed of men, it would not be happening. One has already stepped forward, now we only need another one and another one.
  I am amazed that nobody has called for the resignation of the ones responsible, and accountability of those who turn a blind eye. After all, bad grows into evil. We inherited the name Volunteers from those who selflessly cared more for their fellow man, more for their country, more for their children and grandchildren's future, than their own selves. I call for the termination or resignation of those responsible for this destruction of the people. Will their be another one that will call for it? It is not enough to simply beat this evil act, but to send a clear message, we will not be sacrificed nor will we allow others, at the merciless actions of bad people.  
It is very important to curb this sacrificing of the public for the few, especially those that can not stand for themselves. Perhaps we can change the world one step at a time. Like bad people grow into evil people from a small local level, we can stop them before they become too big. We can make this place better if we start small. Within our towns and communities, our cities and states, we can start small and effectively change our future.
This is a consequence of the 2008 University of Tennessee budget, recently submitted by President Petersen to the UT Board of Trustees. This budget will be voted on by the Trustees during their meeting in Knoxville on June 19 and 20, 2008. This program cut was entered into the budget by Bruce Bursten, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and accepted by both Jan Simek, acting Chancellor of the Knoxville campus, and John Petersen, UT President.
  I ask you to look at the names above and remember them, then demand their removal from office.  

Let's get the discussion about the ASP program going again. This is still current news and UT leadership is looking really bad right now.

Yet another piece of this current budget situation is the massive Cherokee Farm project now underway. This is a development of the soon to be former UT Ag Campus dairy farm on Alcoa Highway, in the bends of Ft. Loudon Lake across from Sequoyah Hills.

This development will include green spaces and athletic fields, but the long term plan for Cherokee Farm is a cluster of new buildings that will house research labs and facilities.

I have not yet seen a long-term budget for Cherokee Farm. However, in the 2007-8 fiscal year, the state of Tennessee allocated $32 million for site infrastructure construction, which includes site prep, road construction, utility lines, and so on.

Given that new academic buildings on the UT campuses are generally running anywhere from $20 to $50 million dollars, and that there will be at least four research buildings constructed, a good estimate of expenditures will be somewhere around $150 to $160 million dollars - just for the buildings. This won't include all the furniture, outfitting the labs, equipment, and many other expenditures. One could easily see a total long-term price tag of over $200 million.

Yes, Cherokee Farm is seen as a consortium of private enterprise, the federal government, and UT. There will be grant money provided to offset some of the outlays. The state of Tennessee will still be providing a great deal of the capital investment, though.

Petersen, Simek, Don Stansberry, and others are promoting Cherokee Farm as a strategic emphasis for UT. It does have the potential, someday, of technological and corporate payoffs. It would all be very well and good IF the existing programs in the UT system, particularly the main UTK campus, were in great condition and fully-funded.

However, as has been told to the public in many different sources thus far, the main campus is suffering badly. Many faculty positions are unfilled. The filled positions are underpaid and it is hard to retain quality young faculty. Basic budgetary items such as office supplies and the like are becoming harder to come by for many programs. As has already been told, Petersen is advocating the discontinuation of the ASP program, as well as two others. The Trustees are aware that state funding for the main system is going to be tight into the near future, so there will be further program terminations in the next couple of years if the ASP termination is not stopped. A bad precedent will be set.

The question we must ask is, why is UT pushing so hard for the Cherokee Farm development at the expense of the traditional, established academic programs? Cherokee got $32 million dollars for site preparation this past fiscal year. Could that not have been budgeted over a two year period? Half of the $32 million could have not only saved UT ASP indefinitely, but also the other two programs, funded the vacant faculty positions on campus, and given many deserving employees a raise.

Of couse, we have also heard of the upcoming $200 million to be spent on further expansion of Neyland Stadium. I was on campus last night, and walked around the stadium in sheer amazement. It is a massive structure, and untold total millions of dollars have been invested already in it. If outlays to date for the stadium already total, say, $200 million, then at some point in the future, it will approach and exceed $500 million. Yes, Vol fans love their football. But at what point does this lavish spending on a facility used six times per year become completely out of hand and excessive? That point has already been reached.

Other examples of excessive UT spending have come out in the media as well. Coaching salaries, the University airplane, unneeded top administration positions, and many others.

The only figure Petersen and Simek will talk about in public is the budget shortfall.. the amount the state did not fund out of the total request UT made to the legislature. They say that UT ASP must go because of this shortfall.

Well, what about these massive expenditures the UT system is prioritizing? What about the Cherokee Farm project? What about cutting some of these back, or rescheduling the timing of the outlays? If we have state sales tax shortfalls in the present, why not use the University's rainy day funds to maintain academic operations until the economy recovers? How about cancelling some of the projects completely if there is 'no money'?

There is plenty of money available to do what Petersen wants to do. But for whatever reason, there isn't enough money to run the UTK campus and things have to be cut, according to him. It is the worst sort of political doublespeak and bafflegab imaginable.

Petersen is steadfastly refusing to speak to the media about the budget cuts. He knows that hard questions will be raised, such as, are you making an effort to comply with the Board of Trustees' directive to find alternatives to cutting the ASP program?

Petersen is proving to be another in the recent succession of untrustworthy and ultimately incompetent UT presidents. His public image is taking a huge hit this year, and his refusal to talk to the public and media on these critical issues is proving damaging.

According to sources inside the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the Department of ASP, there has been NO effort to communicate with the Department made by any of the University top administration. Their goal is to convince the Trustees that there IS no alternative to terminating the ASP programs.

Everyone else knows that there are always alternatives. We are hoping that the Trustees know this as well. At some point, hopefully one of the local media goes after this story and brings it squarely into the public eye, where it belongs.

What is the real reason or reasons that the Department of ASP has to be terminated? It most definitely is NOT for the stated budgetary reasons. The official line is political BULL.

The next public meeting and rally of the supporters of UT ASP will be held Thursday, August 21 at 5:30 PM at the Scottish Rite Temple building.

On August 19 and 20, Jan Simek issued press releases to Knoxville media that indicated that UT had found a way to "save" the ASP programs.

The timing of the press releases was not coincidental. Simek had learned of the Save UT ASP rally at Scottish Rite, and was most likely hoping that such an optimistic-sounding pronouncement would reduce the turnout and enthusiasm of the rally.

Very few ASP supporters are putting credence in these announcements. First of all, Simek claims that UT officials have been working "all summer" with the ASP Department to come up with a workable plan. The problem is, no one within the Department knows of any such collaborations with Simek.

A recent visit by UT-Memphis health sciences officials was a complete surprise to the Department. In fact, they were given about ten minutes' notice that the UTM personnel were on campus.

Although it is possible that UTM will take over the UT ASP program, no details have been released.

The only acceptable scenario for Save UT ASP supporters is for the entire clinical program to be continued. All four clinical programs - Audiology Clinic, Child Hearing Services, Hearing and Speech Center, and Pediatric Language Clinic - must be continued, with all current positions, and with no reductions in services. The academic programs must all be continued- with undergraduate degrees in audiology and speech pathology, Masters in Speech Pathology, AuDs in Audiology, and PhDs in Speech and Hearing Science.

In fact, funding for the ASP programs should be INCREASED. The College of Arts and Sciences has, for years, taken the majority of income generated by the clinical services for its own use. Funding for the ASP program has been abysmal the past three years, and the Department is running on a shoestring budget- no different from anyone else on the UT-Knoxville campus who's not tied into ORNL, UT-Battelle, Cherokee Farm, or UT Athletics.

So far, Simek has not said what this new plan for "saving" ASP entails. More ominously, in the video on Knoxnews.com, he said that a "new business plan" was being worked out. Considering that ASP personnel are NOT being involved in these discussions, the likelihood of a radical change, or an unworkable business model, being forced on ASP is high.

Although clinic director Ann Michael stated on WBIR-TV that she was "cautiously optimistic" about the UT announcements, many of the supporters are very suspicious of Simek and are demanding that ASP personnel be included in further discussions.

There is no way that Simek and Petersen can come up with a fully-fleshed out plan to transfer the UT ASP programs to another UT operating unit, with all details worked out, before the October 23 Trustees' meeting. It's impossible. There is far too much that remains to be done.

It is very illuminating to watch Simek's first video from back in June: Link..., and compare what he said then to what he said in the video this week: Link.... One cannot believe that the man could do such a complete about-face.

The August 25 News-Sentinel has an article stating that UT is getting close to hiring the Knoxville campus chancellor.

Unfortunately, it looks like the new chancellor will be hired by the president and staff, and I'm not sure if the Trustees will be involved. This means that Petersen will hire someone who will be properly subservient.

Crabtree was shown the door because he was asserting that the UTK chancellor says what goes on the Knoxville campus- NOT the UT president. Many ASP supporters feel that Crabtree would NOT have gone along with Bruce Bursten calling for the ASP program to be terminated.

Since Simek is an interim chancellor, he was under no compulsion to make waves trying to save nationally-ranked programs at the expense of balancing the budget. He just went along with what Bursten recommended, and then Petersen went along with that.

Unfortunately, the new chancellor is not going to be distinguishing himself or herself by standing up to Petersen and actually trying to work out an honest effort to save the ASP programs.

Petersen, and whoever is named the new UTK chancellor, will announce to the Trustees in October at the meeting that they have been unable to find a solution that will work, and there is no option but to terminate the ASP programs as originally proposed. They will claim they've looked at it from all angles.

If Petersen was so hot to terminate the ASP programs in June, offering all kinds of reasons why this was THE best and ONLY way to solve the UT budget crisis, then if he is actually trying to save the ASP program now, how bad does this make his judgment look?

The only way out of this situation at UT is if President Petersen admits his mistakes and actually instructs his people at UTK to meet with officials of the Dept. of Audiology and Speech Pathology to work out a solution. If he is willing to make a bonafide effort to save this program, and talks about it candidly in the press, announcing details, and allows ASP personnel to be a part of this, then he can save face. If he continues on the course he is on, completely refusing to talk to the press and deal with the mess his people at UTK have made, he is going to eventually lose the support of the Trustees. He has already lost the UTK Faculty Senate.

Communication, reconciliation, and cooperation are what UT needs from its President, particularly after the previous administrations.

There is NO need for the ASP programs at UT to be sacrificed. They embody nearly everything a university would want from its academic programs. The programs make a lot of money for UT. Its graduates enjoy 100% employment on graduation. Its faculty conduct top-notch research. The clinical programs are well-regarded and serve thousands of people in East Tennessee.

The ASP programs touch so many peoples' lives in this area, that arbitrarily slating the programs for termination was guaranteed to create a public relations nightmare for those who are responsible.

Children? The elderly? The handicapped? The poor? The disadvantaged? The termination targets ALL these groups of people who are currently served by the UT ASP programs. It is political suicide.