Uncertain future for Greek at La Trobe

Another battle may be on the cards for the Greek community as the future of the only Greek Studies program at a Melbourne university faces "imminent danger" of closure. Maria Herodotou, Greek Studies Lecturer, La Trobe University predicts that due to the financial troubles the university is facing the Greek Studies program may cease to exist.

In a speech made to the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria last week, Ms Herodotou said the program is slowly being phased out by La Trobe University by cutting staffing by half.

She said contracts of all teaching staff in Greek studies have been frozen. Dr Despina Michael, who is the only other lecturer for Greek Studies, has been advised her contract will not be renewed next year making Ms Herodotou the only lecturer for the program. She expressed that this is not a viable solution for the Greek program and will possibly lead to the programs closure as a program can not run with only one lecturer.

But a spokesperson from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, of which the Greek Studies program is part of, says that the unstable future is felt in every faculty of the university, and not just Greek Studies. They said that although they were uncertain of what the future holds for the Greek Studies program, they emphasised they were committed to it's survival.

Professor Michael Tsianikas, who heads the Greek department at Flinders University in South Australia, told Neos Kosmos that although the Greek department is running successfully at the moment, he is fearful of what may happen in the future.

"I don't know what will happen in two, three, four or five years because things change so dramatically in Australia. In Flinders university we have students for the time being, not huge numbers, but also we have the international conference, we have the centre that had an injection of $600,000 from the South Australian Government ... but still, we are a small language," Professor Tsianikas said.

"When you consider what is happening now at La Trobe ... they are trying to close down this institution. We are living in a very aggressive time: universities are trying to make millions and billions of dollars now, so why keep the Greek language with small numbers?" said Professor Tsianikas.

On another issue that relates to this matter were the funds promised by La Trobe university when the Greek Centre of European Studies and Research closed down over two years ago in Melbourne. The university had promised to fund research conducted by the Greek Studies program and still hasn't delivered, if anything they have done the opposite and cut down the program.

Ms Herodotou told Neos Kosmos that the program once had eight lecturers and now has only two. She believes the cutting down of staff, which leads to the program itself being cut down, will ultimately lead to the demist of the Greek Studies program all together.