UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 8
October 24, 1996
Senate meets on college merger

     More than 60 persons attended the Faculty Senate hearing
Oct. 16 on the proposed merger of the colleges of Education,
Human Resources and Urban Affairs and Public Policy.
     Margaret Andersen, vice provost for academic affairs,
presented the structure of the proposed new college, whose
default title is the College of Human Resources, Education and
Public Policy, which would include the departments of Educational
Development; Educational Studies; Hotel, Restaurant and
Institutional Management; Individual and Family Studies; and
Textiles, Design and Consumer Economics; as well as the School of
Urban Affairs and Public Policy.
     In addition to the above academic units, the new college
would likely include a Center for Teacher Education and a Center
for Student Services. The college also will have a number of
research and public service centers which are currently part of
the existing three colleges. A council of directors of these
centers would function as an advisory committee to the dean of
the new college.
     Andersen said there would be no reduction in personnel or
other negative implications because of the merger. She also spoke
about decentralization of the budget next year, which will result
in greater flexibility for all colleges.
     Among the issues discussed at the hearing were coordinating
the interaction of education, including pre-service and inservice
activities, with state government; the proposed name; the
governance; why urban affairs and public policy was named a
school; why the search for a dean is internal; why secondary
education was not included in the merger; and the role of faculty
input into the merger.
     Andersen; Daniel Rich, urban affairs and public policy;
Roberta Golinkoff, education; and Karen Stein, convenor of the
Strategic Planning Committee for the new college; were among
those answering the concerns of the faculty members present.