A budding Facebook group and petition is looking to reshape a recent decision to close BYU's Women's Research Institute.

Brigham Young University officials say eliminating the institute will actually allow for more overall research money.

The cost to run the institute will now be poured back into research and other resources directly related to women, said Carrie Jenkins, BYU spokeswoman. BYU announced the decision in October.

"BYU's commitment to women's studies has been deeper and broader than one institute on campus," Jenkins said.

The Facebook group, Save BYU's Women's Research Institute!, has gained nearly 1,800 members since it was launched at the end of October. Open to the public, comments have come in praising the institute and calling its demise "a big mistake."

Sara Vranes, a BYU senior majoring in sociology, said she and the group have delivered a signed petition to administrators and are awaiting a response. The petition acknowledges that the institute will be eliminated, and instead seeks to create a Women's Research Council composed of faculty and students "dedicated to furthering the dignity of women within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and across the world."

Jenkins said the director of the Women's Studies minor Renata Forste has an open door.

"We welcome suggestions and we want to hear from students," she said.

The institute will be closed in January 2010 as a result of a committee report from a yearlong review that included a survey of constituents and other interested parties.

"All of the funding, whether it was for scholarship, research or the minor, will go toward its original purpose," Jenkins said. "This was not done to save the university money."