University of Minnesota art faculty say they are facing issues surrounding the faculty-to-student ratio and receiving enough department funds. 

The University’s Board of Regents approved a 7% cut across all University departments over the summer. Art department professors, faculty and students are concerned about the cuts.

Art department chair Christine Baeumler said that she noticed reductions in the department. She added that these changes impact faculty hiring. 

“We’re doing 10% one year and 9% the next year, so that’s going to mean hiring potentially fewer people to teach our classes,” Baeumler said. “That’s a concern to me as a chair because we want to serve our students.” 

Baeumler said due to budget challenges, there are few faculty members, meaning students cannot always take the classes they want. 

“There’s a high demand for our classes and a lot of times we have long waiting lists and deep waiting lists, but we are restricted on how many additional lecturers we can hire,” Baeumler said. 

Associate art professor Chotsani Elaine Dean said the art department is underrecognized. She added that in recent years Regis Center for Art has faced a reduction in its size. 

“Art is never naturally supported,” Dean said. “So even this classroom and this building that was built in 2003, I know, went through some different iterations where sizing had to be reduced.” 

Dean said she believes the University’s administration should understand how it feels to be a student in the art department.

Dean said they need to take a day to see what their cuts mean for students on campus, especially in programs facing funding issues.

“I think that the people making the cut should come and take class with me one day, and then see what it’s like when they need help,” Dean said. “What it feels like to be a student, not make assumptions about students only in terms of thinking about their success.”

In the University president’s 2026 operating budget, art courses’ consumable materials are going to face up to an 82% change, according to the Board of Regents Docket Material.  

Third-year Samantha White said the department should receive more funding for costly art materials, which leaves some funding issues up to students.  

White said that although students taking art classes do not have to pay for art supplies, the University should fund the art department more. In other majors, some students can pay a flat fee to access some materials.

“I feel like for funding-wise, definitely there can always be room for improvement because all the materials and everything we use is not cheap,” White said. “It’s so awesome that we as students don’t fully have to pay for individual clay and sculpting tools and everything, but that’s still not cheap.”

The Department of Theatre Arts and Dance has faced similar difficulties. Margaret Werry, Theatre Arts and Dance chair, said she feels her department has not received enough funding to support facilities and the theatre production for students. 

The Theatre Arts and Dance funding affects the department’s operations as it struggles with budgeting for theatre supplies for students. 

“That’s the amount of money that we can spend on sets and costumes, the labor it takes to put together productions, that’s really low,” Werry said. “Our facility costs are the amount of money we can invest in our facilities is almost nonexisten(t).”  

Werry said with the 7% cut, funding issues may become more apparent, including the student-to-faculty ratio. 

“It’s going to really impact things like student-to-teacher ratios and really impact how many courses departments can offer,” Werry said.