UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 12, Page 1
November 16, 1995
Proposed reorganization may affect several colleges

     Under a proposal currently being considered, five of the
University's small colleges would be merged to form two new, larger
colleges.
     The proposed reorganization was one option recommended last month
to Provost Mel Schiavelli by several deans.
     The option under consideration would merge:
        * The colleges of Nursing and Physical Education, Athletics
          and Recreation into a new college for health-related issues
          and programs; and
        * The colleges of Education, Human Resources and Urban Affairs
          and Public Policy into a new college for public affairs,
          human resources and education.

     Currently, the University has 10 colleges: Arts and Science;
Agricultural Sciences; Business and Economics; Education; Engineering;
Human Resources; Nursing; Physical Education, Athletics and
Recreation; Marine Studies; and Urban Affairs and Public Policy.
     Schiavelli outlined the proposed reorganization in a letter sent
to the faculty in the colleges involved, and he has asked for review
and comments on the proposal from all deans and the executive
committees of the University Faculty Senate and the Chairs' Caucus.
     In his letter, Schiavelli said trustee bylaws call for the
faculty to be "given the opportunity to consider and make
recommendations on proposals originating outside the faculty
regarding...changes in University organization, before final action
is taken by the Board of Trustees."
     If approved, the reorganization would begin as soon as is
practical, Schiavelli said, with the names of the new colleges to be
recommended by faculty and administrators of the departments involved.
A search that had begun for a new dean of the College of Education has
been canceled.
     Earlier in the fall, the provost had questioned whether the
University is organized in the way "best designed to maximize program
strength and to effect the most intellectual synergy among related
programs."
     Before asking a group of deans to recommend the most appropriate
way to organize their colleges, the provost asked them to think about
"whether years from now [the academic programs] will have the
structure best suited to generating educational connections for
students and intellectual vitality for faculty."
     The deans concluded that the college reorganization should
"strengthen academic programs and provide new opportunities for
enrichment and growth as programs build connections with each other."
     In their report, the deans concluded that the current colleges of
Education, Human Resources and Urban Affairs and Public Policy are
linked "by the common mission of being interdisciplinary pre-
professional and professional programs with a policy and service
orientation directed to central societal issues and challenges."
     The programs are complementary, the report went on, and share
academic and professional values that emphasize interdisciplinary
research and instruction to meet societal needs, preparing
undergraduate and graduate students to provide essential community and
governmental services.
     "The proposal for college reorganization poses many challenges
and opportunities for the University as a whole as well as for the
colleges that will be directly affected," Dean Daniel Rich, urban
affairs and public policy, said. "While many questions need to be
addressed as the discussion of reorganization proceeds, I believe it
is most important to insure that any changes serve the overriding goal
of academic enrichment and that they enhance the quality of our
instructional, research and service programs.
     "My colleagues in the College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy
and I look forward to working with our colleagues in the colleges of
Human Resources and Education to explore new possibilities that may
strengthen all of our academic programs and create greater
responsiveness in key areas of societal need," Rich said.
     Dean Dene Klinzing, human resources, who said she had been
discussing the proposed merger with department chairs throughout the
entire process, said that the college faculty has met to discuss the
proposed merger. In addition, she has written letters outlining the
proposed reorganization to Human Resources Alumni Association board
members and past presidents.
     "I believe the proposed merger will enhance program development
and increase opportunities for interdisciplinary research and
outreach," Klinzing said.
     Interim dean of the College of Education William Stanley said the
faculty plans to hold a series of meetings to discuss the implications
of the proposed merger.
     "Our main concern is that any structural or program changes work
to improve teacher education at the University," Stanley said. "There
are excellent faculty in the colleges of Human Resources and Urban
Affairs and Public Policy. We look forward to meeting with our
colleagues in the other two colleges so that we can begin the detailed
examination of the proposed merger and attempt to answer any questions
or concerns our respective faculty might raise."
     The consolidation of the current colleges of Nursing and Physical
Education, Athletics and Recreation will create a single college with
a central mission related to health and fitness, the deans wrote. "The
consolidation will bring together health-related professionals and
scholars who have moved toward a wellness model that spans an
individual's lifetime."
     "With the current focus on health promotion in health care reform
movements, it's very timely for us to merge with a college that
emphasizes healthy lifestyles and fitness," Dean Betty Paulanka,
nursing, said. "Nursing faculty are looking forward to developing
multidisciplinary research projects and working together to strengthen
the health curricula of the University. I've been talking with the
faculty of the nursing and medical technology departments throughout
the process, and both groups are enthusiastic about the support we
have received from the provost for this initiative.
     "Although we realize that change can be painful in the short run,
we believe the long-term goals of such a merger will strengthen the
overall mission of each college's health initiatives," Paulanka said.
     "I have supported this philosophy since I arrived here," Dean D.
Allan Waterfield, physical education, athletics and recreation, said.
"The field of physical education has changed from when I received my
training more than 30 years ago. We look at health in a different way
now and it is more life-span oriented."
     According to Faculty Senate President Harrison Hall, the proposal
has been forwarded to the senate's Academic Priorities Committee.
"Certainly, the proposal will be made known to the senate as a whole,
and the senate will have an opportunity to give its collective
advice," Hall said.
                                                        -Cornelia Weil