The KSC Senate held its first meeting of the 2026-2027 academic year on Sept. 9, with both returning and new senators coming together to discuss the current state of the college.
At the meeting, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Kirsti Sandy announced that the environmental studies major would be put on hold. This follows other majors, such as Political Science, Spanish and Legal Studies, being put on hold during the previous academic year.
Part of the decision came from the departure of Sasha Davis, former chair of the program and professor in the department, who took the buyout offered to some KSC faculty in November 2025. Sandy said that when the buyout was offered, the school didn’t know who would take it, or that “an entire department would go”.
“There were some people who told me they weren’t going to take the buyout because they were worried about their program, and I respect that. I also respect the people who did take it, who said that they didn’t want to be responsible for holding up an entire program for the foreseeable future, as an individual,” said Sandy.
Senator Amber Davisson, professor of communications, brought up the process that is often used for eliminating majors. Davisson said that she’s now seen multiple majors be removed, or put on hold, without abiding by it.
She said, “We often hear that the Senate owns the curriculum. But does the Senate really own the curriculum, if we’re not going to follow the proper procedures and these choices are going to be made at an exclusively administrative level?”
Sandy said that she had “not been clear enough” about the time the school was in. She also said she couldn’t leave it to the Senate to make all of the “bad and ugly decisions,” because it was a hard thing to do, and she needed to show leadership.
According to Sandy, the environmental studies and sustainability minors would still be available, but the major had a steady decline in enrollment from 2021-2026. Sandy said she felt it was best to put attention towards the arts and humanities, and other programs with low enrollment that were “more unique to Keene State,” such as communications and journalism. She also said there were no plans to put more undergraduate programs on hold this year.
Sandy said, “I don’t take this lightly, and I looked at everything. We are in a situation right now where we’re fighting for resources at the system level, and we have 100 fewer students, more or less, than last year. This is not necessarily a whole closure [of the major], but I don’t see a long-term future for it.”
She continued, “I know it’s difficult, but sometimes, you have to pick where you’re going to invest for the future, and where you’re not. I have to make these decisions. It’s my job. It’s not easy, but I have confidence that this is the right one.”
During the meeting’s courtesy period, Senator John Lund mentioned the recent lack of payment for adjunct faculty members on Sept. 4. Lund, an adjunct professor, said that the unpayment has caused “a great deal of hardship” for those affected.
Lund said that the issue, which was likely an error in data entry, may be resolved soon. He said that Provost Sandy had done “amazing work” while trying to fix the error, but there were still people having to make tough decisions regarding their finances.
“We’re not wealthy people, but we enjoy what we do. We’re here to make sure our students are well provided for, and some of us have been at it for a long time,” Lund said. He continued, “This isn’t the first time something [like this] has happened, and we were told in the past that it wouldn’t happen again. But we’re hopeful things will be clarified, and we’ll get paid for the work we’ve been doing.”
Additionally, Cirque Alfonse, a Quebec-based contemporary circus show, will be appearing at the Redfern Arts Center on Sept. 17 through 19, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The performance will feature original, live music that celebrates the company’s Quebecois folk roots, as well as acrobatic and aerial feats.
Faculty, staff and students have access to free tickets and are highly encouraged to attend the event and show support.
It was also mentioned that there are 3 student senator seats available, alongside the one currently occupied by student body president Josh Alsaad, who serves as a member of the senate executive committee.
Samantha Menard can be contacted at
smenard@kscequinox.com
