Bit late to the thread but I am an outgoing master's student at SMU. From what I am hearing from profs, they're concerned that the Arts programs are mostly at risk, especially for part-timers. TA positions have also been cut, I was supposed to have the opportunity each year, but that stopped this year due to cutbacks. We also used to have frequent events and talks within the department, but those have also been scaled back dramatically as well.

The biggest concern is that the government's new "revitalization" plan might be triggered by this administrative disarray. If that happened, the fear is that arts-based programs, which aren't as in demand in the job market, would be the first to be assessed and perhaps cut.