To some, the situation does not look good: Spending more than $1.4 million to replace the turf in Kelly/Shorts Stadium and build a new field hockey venue, while the university makes budget cuts described as the worst in CMU history.

CMU administrators say they made the best decisions possible.

Fixes to the football field had to be done because its decaying condition is a danger to athletes and the field hockey venue was needed to avoid violating Title IX, which requires gender equity in sports.

Meanwhile, CMU’s budget was cut by $10.2 million, and included the closing of four academic programs and a museum.

Those budget cuts and sports venue maintenance coinciding is “unfortunate timing,” said CMU President Michael Rao.

Still, those in academia don’t see it that way. Robert Lee, the outgoing chairman of Academic Senate, said spending so much money on athletics shows the administration’s priorities.

“There has been a lot of discussion about raising academic standards at the university,” Lee said. “We need to separate rhetoric from reality, and the budget priorities of the administration are calling in to question the priority of raising academic standards at this university.”

Rich Morrison, associate vice president of public relations and marketing, said these certainly are two recent and visible expenditures approved by the Board of Trustees, but “respectively disagrees” that the administrations priorities are not in academics.

The replacement of the turf comes from the deferred maintenance fund, “which is exactly what it was made for,” Morrison said. And CMU is still negotiating with the two bidders for the field hockey venue, which when built must be repaid by the Athletics Department.

“In no way is the academic enterprise being hurt by these expenditures,” Morrison said.

CMU is paying FieldTurf $639,000 to replace the turf in Kelly/Shorts and can spend up to $781,000 for the field hockey facility. The field hockey team was displaced because of turf replacement at Kelly/Shorts.

These were among the cuts in the most recent round: Four academic programs being phased out over two years — medical technology, nursing minor, museum studies minor and the master of arts degree in health promotion and program management; the building maintenance worker program; reduction of SAP consulting; Centralight, the alumni magazine; and other reductions in the Counseling Center, career services, orientation and in the Registrar’s Office.

There also have been 69 people affected by layoffs. Twenty-five faculty members are to be laid off, 14 are scheduled to take pay reductions, 20 are going to take over new positions and 10 positions are to be reduced or eliminated within the year. Some of which are in athletics.

CMU’s total operating budget is $225 million.

However, athletics also has seen cuts. In the most recent round of budget cuts athletics lost $225,422. And in the last 13 months has been cut more than $765,000, Morrison said. Also, about a quarter of out-of-state students attend CMU because of athletics — many of whom do not receive scholarships and pay out-of-state tuition and fees, said Derek Van der Merwe, associate athletic director.

“We feel that when one analysis our budget, we do not have a great deal of fat,” Athletics Director Herb Deromedi said. “Those have been significant dollar losses in our budget.”

Deromedi said the old surface on the field had been there for 11 years and needed to be replaced.

“We see roofing being replaced on buildings because they serve their time in which they were functional and this is just another example of this,” he said.

Lee said there needs to be a “serious examination” to determine if CMU can remain in the Mid-American Conference and to determine what it is costing the university to maintain athletic programs “at our current status.” Still, Lee said he is not opposed to athletics.

“When we have adequate money coming in we can have both a strong athletic program and quality, outstanding academic programs,” he said. “But under the current situation, cuts have to be made and the cuts are being disproportionately made in academics not athletics.”

Morrison said below all arguments about sports and education at universities is the underlying issue of whether athletics belongs at an institution of higher learning at all. He said sports are so ingrained in American culture from such things as Little League Baseball to Monday Night Football.

“It is imbued in our culture,” he said.

Often times sports is the only avenue in which people outside the university know anything about the school, Morrison said. Which is a trend not just at CMU, but throughout the nation.

“Is this the way it should be in a perfect world? I don’t know, maybe not,” he said. “I happened to think there is a place for sports” at an institution of higher learning, Morrison said.

Lee said with services being cut at the university the faculty and staff have “ to do more with less,” which is making work difficult.

“I can’t see how it cannot have but a negative impact on working conditions and morale at the university,” he said. “I think it’s going to be hard for people at this university who are here for academics to not become cynical. The university administration are going to having a more difficult time attracting and keeping quality staff.”