WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A sparse crowd watched the Firebirds of the University of the District of Columbia begin the men’s basketball season this week, a loss to New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce University. It just might be the last home opener the Firebirds ever play.
UDC, which for years has struggled to fulfill the role of a public flagship university, is in the midst of an intensive quest to cut costs, raise revenue and define its mission. The university’s interim president, James E. Lyons Sr., wants UDC to add students, stay affordable and prepare graduates for jobs in high-demand fields.
To reach those goals, Lyons has proposed disbanding all of the school’s athletics teams, which play in the NCAA’s Division II. Lyons also wants to end several degree programs that have drawn few students, including those in disciplines such as physics, history, sociology and environmental science.
Lyons hopes to use millions of dollars in annual savings to grow enrollment through financial aid, strengthen the faculty, expand health and career services for all students, and launch more online classes. His proposal to overhaul the 5,490-student university on Connecticut Avenue NW is scheduled for a vote Nov. 19 at a meeting of the UDC Board of Trustees.
“It isn’t about being anti-athletics,” Lyons said in ...
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