As the University of Southern Mississippi works to find ways to cut back spending, the school is likely to eliminate its economics department this fall.  Along with the department, five tenured and four tenure-track faculty positions will also be removed as part of a plan to reduce university spending by $11-12 million over the coming year. School administrators argue that the economics department has one of the lowest graduation rates in the University while faculty leaders argue that it is a disservice to the state to eliminate an economics department during a recession. 

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