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The University of Montana Faculty Senate officially bucked a recommendation from Main Hall to terminate the university's minor in South and Southeast Asian Studies.

"We felt it would be an unnecessary deletion, and that ultimately, the students would lose out," said Marc Hendrix, chair of the Faculty Senate committee that recommended retention.

As part of UM's effort to fix its budget, the Office of the Provost last month proposed a series of curricular changes tied to a plan for faculty reductions. Among the changes recommended for the College of Humanities and Sciences was the termination of the Global Humanities and Religions program along with its South and Southeast Asian Studies minor.

UM has a longstanding relationship with countries in South and Southeast Asia and a stated interest in interdisciplinary education. The elimination of a minor is not the type of change that sparks protests on The Oval, but in this case, faculty leaders drew a different conclusion about the value of the minor to UM and its students.