AAS Department Shutting Down
After Syracuse University paused enrollment in the African American Studies major, students and faculty are speaking out about what the program means to them.
BY Parisa Nosrati ★ November 10th, 2025
Photo Credit: Parisa Nosrati
Syracuse University plans to put the African American Studies (AAS) department on pause by removing enrolling students from choosing this major due to the current low enrollment numbers.
On September 15, 2025, the faculty and staff of the African American Studies department heard the news that African American Studies will no longer be offered as a major to incoming students. The pause became active at the end of August, yet none of the chairs had heard about this news that would surely affect them and their occupations.
Syracuse University sophomore and biology major Savannah Michelle Wilson talked about what this means to her as a worker at the MLK Library in Sims Hall, and how her sense of community has been affected.
“I know that because of the lack of amount of people signing up for the majors and the minors, the department's kind of being forced to close and kind of shut [down] but I know that's a really bad thing and it really shouldn't happen because… it's such a community it shouldn't be shut down just because of the majors,” Wilson said.
Along with this affecting the student body at Syracuse, this affects the faculty massively. James Rowling, Department Chair of African American Studies and Professor, explained the logistics of what this pause means, and what it is being misinterpreted as.
“It's not like the lights are about to go off, it doesn't mean that. It doesn't mean that we're about to close our doors, it doesn't mean that we're not teaching courses, it doesn't mean that African American Studies is going to shut up the office and people are losing their jobs, it doesn't mean that at all. What it means is that there has been a pause on the ability for students on the Common App to be able to enroll as they come into Syracuse University,” Rolling said.
It is important that students recognize the availability of this major and these classes while they are still enrolled in the university. Rolling made it aware what options students still have within this department.
“Students can still take the same courses they were able to take last semester and the semester before that, and as a matter of fact, more importantly, I think that we're moving to a place where we are re-envisioning how we get the word out about African American Studies, so students are more aware of it,” Rolling said.
Rolling described what approach the university is taking when it comes to the issue of low enrollment numbers in this major.
“We know that there are a lot of different factors as to why the number of majors is low currently. We know that it can be increased, but it seems like the university is going with a lot of speed in terms of whatever decision they're going to be making about the size and the shape and look of SU,” Rolling said.
Wilson described her qualms with how the university is handling this matter, and explained different ways in which she believes they should have tried instead.
“If they're forcing this department to shut down because of the majors, instead of trying to uplift the department [in] different ways to try and get more majors I think it says a lot about the university,” Wilson said.
The classes in this department are essential to the understanding of experiences within the African American community spanning from years ago to currently. Wilson talked about the importance of these classes, and how it has enriched her experience at the university by fostering growth within these areas.
“Most people have an understanding of the slave trade [and] little things, but when you take a class like this or other classes in the department, you really deepen your understanding of like how things used to be and you can compare it to how things are now,” Wilson said.
Wilson explained why she took these classes in the first place and what she decided to focus on.
“I was really interested in the department as a whole. I was thinking about doing a minor or double majoring, whatever it might be, but I knew my focus was deepening my understanding of African American history, the foundational stuff like that,” Wilson said.
Rolling talked about why these classes are so important to the student body, and what it means to them and the department.
“There’s information that you’re going to get here in a department like this that you wouldn’t get elsewhere…. So there’s knowledge, that’s a part of it. But it’s also about identity. It’s also about the fact that there’s a history here,” Rolling said.
Students in the AAS department often see it as a safe space, and a confirmation that their stories and experiences are important and worthy of recognition. One faculty member explained how they fear the students will interpret this pause.
“It feels demoralizing because I don't know what kind of message that sends to students that a program like this is vulnerable to not having a place on this campus anymore or the place that it's had on this campus…. I feel worried that students are going to feel deterred [from taking] our classes,” the faculty member said.
This faculty member also explained what led to the creation of these programs in the first place, and why disregarding this reasoning undermines the purpose as a whole.
“It sends a message to pause programs that vocalize people that have been [marginalized], and… this department was founded on protest and student demand for courses in black studies back in like the late sixties,” they said.
Not only do these classes help students understand their identity and the history of these experiences, they also help students who are in pursuit of a different field. Rolling explained how these classes are important in a different sense, to expand one’s expertise beyond just the degree.
“My study of African American Studies informed my work as an artist, that’s my field. For someone else it might inform their work as a journalist, for someone else it might inform their work as an educator. Because once you learn about the issues that have been faced by certain social groups, and how they have remedied them, or transcended those oppressions and those really negative forces in our society, there's a lot that you can learn that it can apply to,” Rolling said.
Not only are these topics useful in the professional world, but they are also applicable to small actions we take each day. Brown talked about how important humanities courses are for critical thinking outside of the classroom.
“You can really see how useful these things become when you're out in the world, not even just the working world, but in the world, because little things like reading a map or trying to figure out where to go and eat–these are things that we do every day. These are the little things that are made easier by the things that we learn in school. It's not even just about getting more degrees or getting a nice job, although those are extremely important. It's also just about being able to function in the world,” Brown said.
This initiative was made without the consultation of the faculty, and thus many found the lack of involvement was concerning. One faculty member talked about their confusion with why the department was not involved in this decision.
“The understanding usually is that faculty control the curriculum, so for programs to be paused without any faculty consultation or knowledge is very unusual and has alarmed a lot of faculty,” the faculty member said.
Along with the faculty, the students were also not directly told about this pause. A second-year master’s student in Pan-African Studies, Tobi Brown, found out about this pause through an Instagram post from the Daily Orange, rather than hearing it directly from the source. She explained her concerns with this decision and how it will affect the humanities departments.
“It signals something very unpleasant, especially [because] the decision was made very suddenly, without anyone really knowing that it was going to happen. I think that's very concerning for the future of the department, and of humanities departments in general, in terms of what kind of autonomy these departments get,” Brown said.
Most of the courses being put on pause are humanities courses, and Rolling delved into what that reflects about our society and how that is ultimately harmful.
“There’s a reason why educators invest their careers in helping students to become well-rounded critical thinkers, it's important. Otherwise you just become sheep. You need to have access, if nothing else. It's up to students to choose what courses they take, what programs they enroll in, what programs they major in,” Rolling said.
While it is important for students to have a sense of agency in what they can study, Rolling does understand the thought behind the university’s approach. That being said, he explained what can happen if it goes too far.
“I hear the reasoning that they're trying to make sure the resources are not over-leveraged by having too many degree programs to support. I hear that, but you can't overcorrect and just drastically go to the chopping block,” Rolling said.
The pause of this department does not mean that the program is shutting down completely at this point. Rolling talked about what he plans to do with the department as of right now, and what the future steps are to ensure students still have agency to explore these classes.
“In terms of our curriculum that there's plenty to build upon, so for those reasons, no, we're not going to stop. It’s just a program pause and we're working on navigating this large effort across the whole university, and frankly, standing up, hopefully, against these larger forces nationally, which are trying to erase history and erase African American identity and argue that diversity doesn't matter and that inclusion doesn't matter and that equity doesn't matter,” Rolling said.
In order to fight back against these forces, it must begin on a smaller scale. Wilson talked about one way that the faculty and students pushed back on this decision, and stressed the importance of maintaining these efforts.
“Before fall break we had a banned book reading event. It was really nice; a lot of people showed up. I think just bringing everyone's ideas–if anyone has any ideas–about different events we can host in the library, or the department as a whole can do,” Wilson stated.
Brown encouraged students to make their voices heard through collaboration with peers, and talked about why this is important to create a statement and ultimately make a difference.
“I do want to encourage undergrads especially to talk to each other. That's really it. Talk outside of your friend groups, too. A lot of work gets done with people that you might not even like. You might be very different from them, but if you have shared interests and you have shared goals, that's an important thing to tap into,” Brown said.
These efforts are essential to ensure that this decision does not proceed without resistance. Rolling explained the importance of having this community for any students who feel they need one, and what it does for their sense of self.
“It… becomes a home base for those students who choose to access it. And even if they don’t take a lot of courses in African American studies, the fact that they know that such a department exists at the university lets them know that in a world of predominantly white institutions, at least here, there was a legacy carved out that said ‘This can be a buoy for you to stay afloat’,” says Rolling.
The African American Studies department will continue to offer classes and offer its major to any student enrolled in the university. This is not a complete shutdown, students will still have the community to go back to. Yet, it makes this community less prevalent — ultimately harming the students and their sense of belonging. Through community events such as the Banned Book reading and more students picking up majors in African American Studies, those within the university have the power to push back on this effort.
Edited by: Alexis Landrini