West Virginia University president defends cuts to foreign language programs

Published September 6, 2023 at 8:20 AM EDT

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West Virginia University senior Mai-lyn Sadler leads a protest in the university's free speech zone outside the Mountainlair student union against cuts to programs in world languages, creative writing and more amid a $45 million budget deficit in Morgantown, W.Va., on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. (Leah Willingham/AP)

The leaders of West Virginia University are facing backlash for their plans to make up for a $45 million budget shortfall. One of the most extreme cuts on the table would end the advanced study of foreign languages.

The WVU Board of Governors could act on the proposal as soon as Sept. 15.

Here & Now’s Deepa Fernandes speaks with Paula Krebs, executive director of the Modern Language Association, about what’s at stake for students, and WVU President E. Gordon Gee about how he is justifying the cuts.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.