For 23 years, UNM's D. H. Lawrence Summer Programs have allowed students to spend two weeks in rustic and sometimes remote places, immersed in making art.
In recent years, budget constraints have caused the program to shrink from six sections to three, and now the program is having to adapt to survive.
Martin Facey, chairman of the Art department, said it is hard to explain to UNM's administration what makes the program unique in the United States and what makes it so valuable to students.
Because section enrollment in classes is capped at 13, the program does not make enough money, forcing the department to consider advertising it nationally and increasing the size of the classes, Facey said.
"With the current budget problems in New Mexico and the nation, dynamic programs have to stay fluid and frisky and they have to inflect toward growth," Facey said.
Associate Professor of Art John Wenger disagreed, saying that the small class sizes and individuality of the students contributes to the overall experience.
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"This is not a frivolous thing like a landscape class, by any means," Wenger said. "This is much deeper than that. Artists go out there and work on their own studio projects."
This summer the D.H. Lawrence Summer Program's workshops were in San Cristobal, N.M. and Horseshoe Canyon, Utah.
"You can't go out and take 20 students into the canyons," Wenger said of the dangers involved in the proposed changes. "It's unwieldy and dangerous."
Wenger said that because the program is not advertised nationally, most of the participants are UNM Art department students. He said he hopes the program will never be advertised nationally and will remain a gift to UNM students.
Facey said among the options for saving the program are increasing class size, combining it with the environmental arts program and advertising it nationally. The program must change to survive, and some people will not be happy with the changes, he said.
Facey said funding is available from the University for the top 50 specialized programs at UNM, but the university is "full of good-but-expensive programs."
One of the things that helps a program to qualify for the top 50 is that it is new and innovative, but the Lawrence Ranch program has been ongoing for 23 years, he said.
Facey said the University's first priority is to programs that serve large numbers of students, such as introductory art history classes. Until society decides education is more important, classes that serve small numbers of advanced students will continue to be a second priority, he said.
"I used to think there were good guys and bad guys here, but now as department chairman, I know that we are all doing our best, making hard decisions about where to spend limited money," Facey said.
