The fate of the Environmental Studies program took a dramatic turn Friday when the only full-time faculty member and chair Al Romero announced he will leave Macalester at the end of this semester. Romero will assume the position of chair of the Biology department at Arkansas State University starting in the fall.

The primary factors that influenced Romero's decision to leave the college include a strong relationship between the ASU Biology department and a well-staffed Environmental Science program as well as the attraction of a diverse student and faculty population at ASU.

"ASU is serious about the idea of diversity," said Romero, pointing to the fact that ASU has more resources for mentoring faculty of color than Mac does. Romero's announcement came as a surprise to Provost Dan Hornbach, who said, "at this point, it is impossible to search for a replacement for next semester." Hornbach and the ES coordinating committee—composed of Romero and ten faculty members from other departments—have been meeting to discuss the future of the program.

Prior to 1998, when Romero took control of the ES program, there was only one course unique to the discipline, a senior seminar. Now there are seven course offerings through the program, and a number of other interdisciplinary options.

Romero added an introductory environmental science course and a self designed course, listed as Environmental Analysis of Problem Solving.

Romero's curriculum focus centers onconference, form an environmental non-governmental organization and launch funding exercises.

The purpose of these changes was to "provide a core of courses to create a more consistent curriculum," Romero said.

"Al made very large contributions to the program," said Economics professor and committee member Sarah West.

But, there is a limit to the amount of work one person can complete. According to Romero, the program operates on an institutional budget of about $10,000, compared to $50,000 for programs of a similar size at other colleges. The success of ES relies heavily on outside funds, which are difficult to acquire without considerable effort.

The interdisciplinary nature of the ES program requires faculty with a variety of backgrounds. The ten member coordinating committee is difficult to organize because the ES chair has no ability to oversee their activities, and the members commit time at their leisure, Romero said.

"When I was hired five years ago, I was told I should place this program at the top of the liberal arts colleges in the country," said Romero, "I don't think this is any longer a possibility."

While he acknowledges the increase in the number of course offerings, Hornbach stresses that the ES program was strong before Romero arrived, and will continue to be strong. He admits however, that for students in ES, the next year will be "an interim year," and will "likely not be as strong as it has been in the past."

For current and hopeful ES majors, the news places the effectiveness of the program in jeopardy. "It makes it really difficult for new students to even have the same opportunities," said ES major Melody Sakazaki '03.

Hornbach insists, "students in the major will have the courses they need," and stresses that many of the particulars concerning the ES program are up in the air.

The ultimate fate of the program will rest in the hands of the Educational Policy and Governance committee, as well as the Coordinating Committee (EPAG) for ES, said Hornbach. The EPAG governs the structure of academic curriculum, and must approve all changes in departmental organization.

"There is a lot of conversation yet to be had," Hornbach concluded, "and we will spend a good deal of time early next year dealing with these issues."