October 3, 2024
Dear Academic Affairs Faculty and Staff,
In my previous communications, I laid out the challenges we currently face in The Division of Academic Affairs and the issues that have created the need to take two actions now: reduce our expenditures and invest in high demand academic programs. To accomplish these goals, we must create fewer colleges that have both lower administrative costs and provide more opportunities to work across programs to produce new, distinctive degrees and certifications.
Since May of this year, I have asked faculty, staff, and academic administrators to provide feedback on how we can realize efficiencies and how we can meet the future’s needs. I asked specifically how we could simultaneously reduce our administrative costs and align our programs for the future through restructuring our academic colleges. I want to thank all of you who have participated and provided input into the Transformation 2028 (T28) process.
What You Should Know ¶¶MÅ®ÆÍ the Restructure Configurations
The thoughtful insight you provided propelled the discussion and helped form five conceptualizations for academic restructuring. As you review them, please recognize that these models are concepts for reorganization—they can be altered and reconfigured based on your feedback.
These five models represent the most endorsed suggestions for (a) colleges and program collaboration and disciplinary alignment, and (b) opportunities for administrative reductions. There were many commonalities among the suggestions you provided, which allowed for these different options for your consideration. You will notice that within these models some configurations include separate and distinct academic units that maintain their identity and uniqueness, but have a common, shared administrator.
My Ask
My request to you now is to review each of these configurations and provide your feedback—in particular, I am most interested in your feedback associated with your expertise. That is, you do not need to endorse an entire configuration in its totality but may, instead, endorse or oppose the alignments of the program(s) that are most known to you.
I understand that for some, reimagining Academic Affairs may be a daunting and/or undesirable task. I ask that you thoughtfully consider the potentials and possibilities these models may yield for the future. Please be reflective in considering the curricular, research, creative, and collaborative possibilities of restructuring Academic Affairs when you provide feedback. I need your feedback about the configurations by October 25, 2024.
Our T28 Committees have been working hard to develop resources and data displays necessary to assist your review of these configurations. Please visit our to view the resources, which include static data sheets for your easy use, data dashboards, process templates to help guide implementation, maps of the proposed possible restructures, , and a survey where we ask for your feedback. To best interpret the restructuring configurations and provide meaningful feedback, please review all of the information that precedes each option. Please bookmark as we will continue to provide updates on the timeline, configurations, and survey results directly to this site.
Once you have thoroughly reviewed the restructuring models, please provide your individual feedback through our . Feedback from all of our staff and faculty is essential in guiding this process. All feedback on these configurations are due October 25, 2024.
Thank you for engaging in this important process.
My best,
Melody Tankersley, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President and Provost