Prof Sir David Skegg
About 20 students watched from the public gallery
yesterday as the University of Otago council voted to
disestablish the department of design studies.
The students were subdued as a package of nine
recommendations was endorsed by an overwhelming majority and
they walked out quietly after voting was completed.
Only three council members, including student representatives
Harriet Geoghegan and Victoria Nicholson, voted against the
package.
Two weeks ago, more than 200 students held a silent protest
as the design studies proposals were debated by the senate,
the university's main academic committee.
That committee meets behind closed doors.
The recommendations, proposed to address financial and
academic issues, also include the end of design studies as a
study major, the transfer of clothing and textile sciences
staff to the department of applied science and the merger of
two applied science programmes into a single degree stream.
However, vice-chancellor Prof Sir David Skegg said yesterday
the move did not mean the end of design studies at the
university, calling the changes "positive and exciting".
The master of design interdisciplinary degree would continue
to be offered and design studies would be available as a
minor study subject.
Transitional arrangements would be made to enable current
design students to complete their qualifications in a
reasonable time.
Prof Skegg criticised the Otago Daily Times for what he said
was "a degree of misreporting and misinformation" about the
proposed changes and how they might impact on design
students.
Ms Geoghegan said she opposed the recommendations because of
a lack of communication with students about the changes but
noted communication "had improved vastly" since the senate
meeting.
allison.rudd@odt.co.nz
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