Twenty-two years ago I moved from Washington State to St. Paul, Minnesota, starting my adult life at the small liberal arts school, Hamline University. My expectation was that I would obtain an academic education (at the time I thought I was going to be a journalist) and that Hamline was the next step in my journey.

While I did get that academic education, Hamline also provided me with community. The culture was welcoming to all and the faculty and students were phenomenal, especially putting up with my ignorant, youthful bullshit. After graduation I lived with classmates, attended their weddings and baby showers, and they attended mine. I stayed in Minnesota because of that community.

Imagine my heartbreak when I heard that that very community was under attack. Hamline’s Creative Writing MFA program, the oldest and largest in the state, as well as its literary Journal Water-Stone Review, have been told by administration they will be sunset, and that no new students will be admitted. Given the age of the program and its integration in the literary community, both in Minnesota and beyond, this abrupt decision seems unfathomable.

If you’re unfamiliar with what sunsetting a program looks like, it means that all enrolled students will finish their degree, but as more and more graduate, the variety of course offerings will diminish as will their community of colleagues, with no new students joining the ranks to collaborate and learn with each other.

Water-Stone Review won’t even have the luxury of a slow death spiral. Its budget has been cut, and unless something changes, will become the next literary magazine to die. As one of the oldest print magazines still in production, Water-Stone Review is a very well recognized and respected magazine in the literary community, receiving Pushcart Special Mentions, and appearing in Best American Essays, Best American Short Stories, Best American Poetry, and Best Nonrequired Reading. There are even undergrads who come to Hamline because of Water-Stone and the promise of being a part of its production.

I understand that literary magazines and academics programs do fail from time to time. If this was a normal situation treated fairly and transparently, then there wouldn’t be an issue here beyond dismay. But there are some serious underhanded shenanigans going on by the interim administration, who for some reason seem to have it out for the program.

The normal process for sunsetting a program is to have the faculty vote on it, and then if that’s approved, it’ll go to the board for a final decision. Instead, the administration put out an announcement saying the sunsetting was going to the board, before the faculty voted. This obviously can’t happen, but what it does is sends a message to the faculty that it’s a done deal. Those who didn’t have an opinion on the matter might be swayed by this.

Do I think the MFA will go away? Probably not. The faculty seem to be supportive of the program and will hopefully not vote for its sunset. Water-Stone Review is another matter. The literary magazine has existed on its budget, a mere $26,000 when compared with Hamline’s profit of over seven million a few years ago (I don’t have access to the most recent tax returns) and that it pays its interim president over half a million. Obviously a very fiscally focused decision.

What’s particularly galling is that this underhanded effort to destroy the program and magazine is being spearheaded by interim administrators. Interim President Kathleen Murray and Interim Provost Andy Rundquist are both on their way out, permanent positions having been hired and starting in the fall. Yet these two have taken it upon themselves to target the program before they leave.

One of my classmates actually reached out to Interim Provost Rundquist to try and get clarification and understand his position. He was dismissive and unprofessional, and when she, a grant writer, offered to get funding to save the lit mag, he wouldn’t even acknowledge the idea. Like, refused to respond and address her.

So what is the MFA program doing about this? Obviously they’re fighting it with everything they have. I’ve read some communications that aren’t open to the public, and they’re giving it their all. The only problem is there’s only so much they can do. Will they save the program? Probably. It’s within their power to appeal to faculty for that vote. What is not within their power is budget decisions. The cutting funding for Water-Stone can happen regardless of the vote.

And it’s not like the MFA is asking for a lot. They’re not demanding a larger budget (which has been drastically cut since the interims have taken charge) or for any handouts. All they want is a delay in the decision. With permanent administrators starting in the fall, it is only right that they, administrators invested in Hamline’s future and not already walking out the door, weigh in on what happens to the program. If the new administration agrees it should be sunset despite increasing enrollment, and follows the proper steps with which to recommend and enact a sunset, then the MFA faculty will work with that. They only want a fair shake.

A third thing, which may not seem as important to someone invested in the arts but not specifically to Hamline’s program, is the termination of Meghan Maloney-Vinz. She is Hamline’s Creative Writing Programs Coordinator, meaning the MFA, BFA, and MFA in Children’s Literature, the latter two not currently at risk of sunsetting. She is also the Executive Editor of Water-Stone Review. She’s a graduate of the MFA program and has been with Hamline for years. Her institutional knowledge helps maintain the three programs, and her loss would hobble the MFA as it tries to prove its efficacy and worth to the new administration. And, knowing and working with her for the past six years, she’s a wonderful person.

Hopefully, even with this brief overview, you’re somewhere between annoyed and appalled at the actions of the interim administration. You may not have the same investment as I do, may not have your heart sink as you see someone trying to rip this community apart, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do.

Sign this petition at Chage.org to show your support. If you have a personal connection, share that. The decisions haven’t been finalized yet. The board hasn’t met. If they see the community rallying around the program, they might choose to ignore the interim administration’s recommendation. And they might instruct the administration to leave Water-Stone and Meghan alone. But only if they know how important they all are. And they are important.

If you want to know more, here are some articles and a news report about what’s going on. And if you want to talk about or share a story here, by all means do so. I’ll be in LA in two weeks at AWP talking with many others in the professional writing and educational community, and hearing your and their stories will only help the MFA’s cause.

Interim-Administrators plan to sunset the Creative Writing Master’s program – Oracle

Administration makes detrimental change – Oracle

We Need Artists & Authors – Oracle

Hamline University could cut creative writing MFA – Local News