Hamline University’s Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program and its literary journal, the Water~Stone Review, are in jeopardy after the outgoing interim administration announced a plan to sunset the program and cut funding for the journal. 

According to Creative Writing Program Director Richard Pelster-Wiebe, Interim Provost Andy Rundquist informed faculty that he intends to begin sunsetting the MFA program faculty and eliminate funding for the program coordinator and the Water~Stone Review, effective July 1. 

Both Rundquist and Interim President Kathleen Murray will be replaced by permanent leadership on July 1. A provost is the superior academic officer of a university, while a university’s president is the superior administrative officer.

Pelster-Wiebe said Rundquist did not consult the department before making his decision.

Meghan Maloney-Vinz has been Hamline’s creative writing program coordinator for over 18 years. The program director is in charge of the department’s academic affairs, while the program coordinator is in charge of administration and outreach.

“There’s a process that has to happen in order for a program to sunset,” Pelster-Wiebe said. “But even before that process could start, he effectively incapacitated our program, he effectively killed our programs.”

Many of the program’s 42 graduate students are adults with full-time careers, with some recently graduated and others recently retired, Pelster-Wiebe said. Unlike other MFA programs in the area, Hamline’s creative writing program offers exclusively night classes and does not have a graduation timeline, allowing students to continue their day jobs.

MFA student Kayla Knoll, a full-time nurse originally from North Dakota, said she chose to study at Hamline because it allowed her to keep pursuing her health care career.

“I can’t imagine what it’d be like writing if I didn’t have these real-life experiences and the ability to bring them,” Knoll said.

She said she juggles working and studying by taking a light course load each semester and plans to graduate in her own time. Now in the homestretch of her master’s degree, Knoll said she was shocked to hear her program could be cut.

“Even for leadership, it was a very siloed decision,” Knoll said.

Knoll started an online petition titled Save Hamline’s MFA program and the Water~Stone Review on March 12. She said it received over 700 signatures within the first day.

Today, the petition has over 1,500 signatures.

“We’ve been pleased by, surprised by and have welcomed the immense outpouring of love and support from the broader Twin Cities community and from the faculty and staff here at Hamline,” Pelster-Wiebe.

Pelster-Wiebe said the creative writing department refrained from petitioning support from incoming leadership, Provost Wesley Kisting and President Mayme Hostetter, out of respect for the current administration’s authority.

“We really hope that the current leadership will recognize, quite frankly, the absurdity of this enterprise and put a pause on it so that we can talk with incoming leadership about the future of the program and how to move forward,” Pelster-Wiebe said.

Hamline administration declined a request for comment.