Kean University announced that it will be cutting several academic programs due to a budget deficit brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

High school senior Madi Wade says that she was crushed to find out the college had cut all music majors. Wade is an aspiring music teacher.

“I cried. I’ll be honest. I was just hysterically crying,” she says. “I dreamed of being a music teacher since fifth grade.”

Kean made the decision to cut the music conservatory, citing a $20 million budget shortfall following the outbreak.

Singer Alan Paul of the Grammy-winning group The Manhattan Transfer is among the most successful graduates of Kean’s music program – back when it was known as Newark State College.

“I saw the entire department evolve and develop over time. Such incredible instructors and such wonderful students,” he says.

The university is also cutting the theater education major and majors in sustainability science and economics. Some professors and office managers will be laid off.

Music professor Matt Halper calls the cuts “heartbreaking.”

“It is really like being cut off from family, from a long-term relationship,” he says.

Wade says that it is too late to audition for another college’s music program. She says that she does not know what she will do.

The university says that all current students in the majors being eliminated will be able to complete their degrees.