PORTLAND (AP) — The president of University of Southern Maine says the school will stop offering degrees in physics because not enough students are interested, and other programs could follow.

The decision immediately drew a backlash from students and professors in the Portland school’s program, who vowed to fight the decision.

Associate physics professor Paul Nakroshis said a university can’t eliminate “something as basic as physics.”

Senior physics major Trevor Hamer told The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/17vltEu ) that “Isaac Newton would be rolling in his grave.”

Eighteen students are now in the program. They will be allowed to finish, but new students will not be allowed to enroll. The department has four professors.

President Theodora Kalikow said cutting physics was a financial decision and more programs may follow.