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Show 'ir1 r The Thunderhird Thursday May 26, 1983 Page 17 -' r . Thompson sorry to see it go by Nani Lii Staheli Although the decision to phase out the anthropology minor here at SUSC has been settled for several months, the issue continues to concern several of those whom it directly influences. Courses will be offered through 1986 for those who are current anthropology minors, but some students feel that, without an anthropology program, an authentic cultural aspect of SUSC will be lost. According to Dr. Terry Alger, vice president of academic affairs, there are several reasons for this action, however. The number of students in anthropology We should emphasize our strengths and not dilute our efforts. has been relatively small, he says. Over the past five years there have e been fewer than 10 students graduating with an anthropology minor each year. Alger also stresses that SUSC data closely corresponds with national data. On a national level, 13.7 percent of all college students major or minor in one of the three principal oocial sciences: 3.4 percent in history, 3.2 percent in sociology and 2.8 percent in political science. The number in anthropology and archaelogy amounts to .5 percent. Although SUSC enrollment is steadily full-tim- increasing, Alger feels that the number of students interested in an anthropology minor will not change significantly. Our data, which confirms the national levels, indicates this, he says. The Board of Regents stressed that we should emphasize our strengths and not dilute our efforts in those areas that are not growenrolling significantly. With increasing ment, other areas are growing so fast that we simply dont have adequate resources for every area when they are offered at other places. According to the present schedule, the will be completed upon the phase-ou- t retirement of Dr. Richard Thompson of the anthropology program. Thompson has been teaching at SUSC for the past 23 years. He received his BA in U.S. History from San Jose State in 195 i his masters from Wisconsin in 1954, ana his ph.D. from Ohio State where he taught for three years before coming to SUSC. Some of his accomplishments are excavations and surveys he has conducted in the Grand Canyon, Escalante Valley, and the Roosevelt Geotheimal Field in Beaver County. Ive always liked the desert area. Ive been well satisfied here, he says. of the anOf the phasing-ou- t thropology program, Thompson says, Im sorry to see it happen. From his viewpoint, the reason for it arises from the fact that the school has the highest cost per credit of any school in the state. The Board of Regents says that we must reduce this cost by either mcreas- - (continued on page 24) Rick Thompson (rightj goes over a point with crew supervisor Dennis Weder. Todd Prince photo |