The historical administration master’s program at Eastern will not be admitting new students, because after this year there will be no faculty due to the Illinois budget impasse.

In the last two years, two of the faculty members decided to retire in the summer of 2018. Two other faculty members have left to go to other jobs, Nora Pat Small, the interim department chair of history, said.

After this time, there will be no faculty left for the program.

The department has existed for 42 years. Small said after this year finishes, the students will be the last to be in the program for the near future.

The program will be in hiatus after this year, Small said. “No one at the university wanted this to happen,” she said.

The program runs for a full year and then is followed by a six-month internship. Since the professors will be retiring in the summer, the program cannot accept new students because they will not be able to finish their six-month internship.

The reason for the program not continuing after this year is the budget impasse. Since the budget in Illinois has not been set, there is a lack of funding for higher education.

Small said they cannot hire new faculty because it costs a lot, and the university just cannot afford it right now.

Small said that they are all sad to see the program go. The program is nationally ranked as one of the top five in the country.

Alumni from this program have also had an impact in the field. They range from working at the Smithsonian to locally.

Alumni from the program are spread all over the United States and beyond. There are alumni in places like Canada, Mexico and England, Small said.

Bailey Taylor can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].