Two centers at the University of h at Lafayette — the Cecil J. Picard Center for Child Development and Lifelong Learning and the Marine Survival Training Center — have been shut down.
The closures occurred last week, according to Senior Communications Specialist Eric Maron.
While the University of h at Lafayette has faced a financial deficit resulting in cuts, Maron said closing the centers is part of an “organizational restructuring effort.”
“These decisions were not made because of the University's financial position,” he said. “The changes were part of an overarching effort to better align research programs with the University’s academic mission, address programmatic alignment and streamline operations.”
Two primary research programs at the Picard Center, Maron said, and seven researchers supporting those programs, have been moved to the College of Education and Human Development to preserve key research and outreach activities.
The university assessed the MSTC, which opened in 1989, and found that the center's operating costs consistently exceeded the industry’s support and demand for its services, leading to its closure, he said.
As a result, two administrative positions at the Picard Center were eliminated and four positions at the MSTC were cut.
The savings, Maron said, is about $300,000 a year from the Picard Center actions and about $403,000 from closing the MSTC, although those figures are not yet finalized.
“The University will provide updated information regarding its financial position and remaining shortfall as additional fiscal year-end information becomes available,” he said.