Priorities

WSU plans to cut theater and dance department

PULLMAN — The Washington State University Department of Theater and Dance will not survive the budget ax by merging with the University of Idaho program in nearby Moscow.

By The Associated Press

PULLMAN — The Washington State University Department of Theater and Dance will not survive the budget ax by merging with the University of Idaho program in nearby Moscow.

WSU Provost and Executive Vice President Warwick Bayly said Tuesday the department, which has 105 students and was listed for elimination in a preliminary budget last month, will be cut.

Bayly says the schools, with main campuses that sit about 10 miles apart in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, are discussing how they can help each other when offering the same courses.

But Bayly told the Lewiston Tribune the proposal to merge the two theater and dance departments is a "non-starter."