By Taylor Greife / Staff Writer

Theater professor Harold Hynick has confirmed his contract was not renewed for the Fall 2024 semester, leaving students frustrated and wanting answers. 

Students are wondering what is going to happen to the theater department next year. MVC student Kaya McCory switched her minor from Performing Arts to History because of the uncertainty with the program. 

“I think it’s really frustrating that we don’t know what is happening with the department,” McCory said.

Hynick received little to no answers on what is going to happen with his position and the future of the theater department. 

“I was told that they still wanted to keep theater and that they were happy with everything I was doing but the job forecast and the numbers that we had didn’t justify my position any longer,” Hynick said. “It’s like saying we want to have cheer, but we’re not going to have coaches for it.”

Hynick expresses a sense of bitterness towards the situation because he did not feel like he was treated fairly. He simply wanted support from the school and that’s not what he received. 

“For a place that says we treat everybody like family and we’re like family, there was nothing that felt like family,” Hynick said. 

Theater major Noel Nunn-Faron is staying optimistic with the situation. She is left on edge and nervous about the future but believes everything is going to happen for a reason. 

“I think it will all work out and we just have to keep going because that is what life is all about,” Nunn-Faron said. 

Kelley D. McKay-Fuemmeler, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, explains that MVC plans to continue having a theater department but departments with a larger number of students are being prioritized over theater. 

Without Hynick being present like he has been the past sixteen years, the theater program is going to move in a different direction and it is up to the students on how they want to perceive this change.