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Press Release:
Planning Begins Toward First-Ever Combination of Colleges at Iowa
State February 2, 2004 To the faculty and staff of Iowa State University:
I want to thank you for the support and assistance you have provided during
these times of unprecedented budgetary challenge. Your ideas and extra
efforts have helped the university manage its budget reductions in ways that
maintain our priorities, first of which is to provide our students with a
high-quality educational experience. As we work to manage these challenges,
it is also important that we look for opportunities to strengthen the
university by making us even more efficient and positioning us for greater
success in the future.Our priorities in managing the budget reductions over the past four years, including last fall's 2.5 percent cut, have been to consolidate and reduce administrative costs and ancillary services as much as possible so that we can keep our primary focus on maintaining the quality of our academic programs and services to students. We have also been working to move funds out of administration and into the front-line activities of faculty and staff to strengthen the university's academic programs. Following last fall's reduction, it became clear that additional measures would be needed because of the cumulative impact of these budget reductions. In addition to downsizing the administrative functions in the Provost's Office, I directed Provost Allen to organize committees to examine low- enrollment programs and courses and the administration of the university's many centers and institutes. I anticipate receiving reports from these committees within the next two months. I also directed Provost Allen to work with senior academic administrators to identify how our structure of colleges might be reconfigured to generate additional savings. After considering many options, Provost Allen has recommended that we begin planning to combine into a single college the programs in our College of Education with those in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, and to use some of the estimated $500,000 to $700,000 in annual administrative savings to enhance the high priority academic programs in this combined college, primarily through the creation of new faculty positions. I have accepted this recommendation along with the additional recommendation that we continue the ongoing planning for moving the Industrial Education and Technology program from Education into the Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering. Combining the programs of the Colleges of Family and Consumer Sciences and Education creates important strategic advantages for faculty and students in these programs and should position the strong programs in these two colleges for even greater success in the future. Both colleges have a strong focus on human development and on transforming lives, areas that are central to our mission as Iowa's land-grant university. The combination also builds on the synergy that already exists between the two colleges, particularly in the areas of elementary education and early childhood development, health and human performance and human nutrition, family and consumer sciences education and secondary education, and the leadership programs in both colleges. In addition to freeing up resources, combining two of our smaller colleges reduces the burden on individual faculty and staff in terms of committee and other administrative assignments, and the larger size of the new college will give it much greater influence within the university as a whole. It's important to note that no academic programs or majors are being eliminated in this consolidation. Our first priority remains our students, and we will work closely with administrators and faculty of these programs to make sure that no students are disadvantaged or slowed in their academic progress because of this change. Many other options were considered by the Provost and the deans, including several that would have much broader impact across the university. Some of these ideas may have merit, and Provost Allen has recommended, and I agree, that they should be considered as part of the longer-range strategic planning process that is now beginning. We will proceed with this reorganization following the Policy for Reorganization of Academic Units that was approved Jan. 13 by the Faculty Senate. In accordance with the shared governance principles of this process, I have directed Provost Allen to form an Implementation Committee consisting of faculty and staff to develop, in consultation with students and alumni, a detailed plan for reorganization, with the consolidation to be completed by June 30, 2005. As with all governance matters, final approval must be given by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. As a result of this action, I have directed that the search for a new dean of Family and Consumer Sciences be ended. Pam White, Interim Dean of Family and Consumer Sciences and Walt Gmelch, Dean of Education, will continue to serve in those roles until a dean for the combined college has been selected. The Implementation Committee will be asked to develop a plan and timeline for the future appointment of the dean of the combined college. I want to thank the campus community for your patience and understanding as we continue to work through these very difficult budget challenges. As we proceed with this reorganization, we will do all we can to ensure a smooth transition with minimal impact on students, faculty, staff and alumni, and we will seek broad input into the process. The focus of these efforts will continue to strengthen Iowa State's academic excellence and to position the university to be even more successful in the future. Sincerely, Gregory L. Geoffroy President President's homepage |
Office of the President, 1750 Beardshear Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011 (515) 294-2042, president@iastate.edu Ames, Iowa 50011, (515) 294-4111 Published by: University Relations, online@iastate.edu Copyright 1995-2004, Iowa State University. All rights reserved. |