Academic Affairs
Restructuring Proposal
23 April 2012
Maria Thompson
Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs
Current Structure
 Academic departments are currently organized into two academic divisions: the
Division of Behavioral and Applied Sciences (BAS) and the Division of Science
and Social Science (SSS).
 “When the Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts retired, departments in that
division were reallocated to BAS and SSS”. Organizational Structure Task Force
Report (OSTFR), p.29
 “So the names and groupings of the two academic divisions do not appear to be
based on any logical scheme. This has had ramifications on how faculty members
see themselves and how they function within the College structure”. OSTFR,
p.29
Goals of New Structure
 Enable faculty to deliver better education to our students (in a
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rapidly changing and increasingly competitive environment)
MT
Support faculty scholarship and service
Enable deans to be proactive, not reactive
Create schools with more manageable numbers of faculty and
students
Create more coherence and community within academic units
Adapted from Consultant’s Report, p. 4
Role of Deans in New Structure
 Academic Program Quality Assurance -strategic planning,
assessment, accreditation, program review, etc.
 External Relations - developing partnerships, grant proposal
writing/fund raising, alumni relations, etc.
 Resource Management – managing human and financial
resources, facilities, equipment, etc. to further the mission and
goals of the unit.
Adapted from Consultant’s Report, pp. 4 - 6.
Proposed New Dean Structure
Provost and Vice
President for
Academic Affairs
Dean of Arts,
Humanities, and
Social Sciences
Dean of
Economics and
Business
Dean of
Education and
Human Ecology
Dean of Natural
Sciences and
Mathematics
How will this be accomplished?
 Rename two existing deans positions
 Convert two existing associate dean positions to full
deans
 Hold national searches for all four deanships beginning
the search process in fall 2012.
How did you arrive at the proposed
structure?
 The following were considered.
 Consultant’s report
 Senate survey
 Information gathered during departmental listening sessions
 Organizational Structure Task Force Report
Will we hold a search for all four
positions at the same time?
 I prefer not to search for all four positions at the same
time.
 I would like to advertise for two deans in early fall 2012
and two in late fall 2012. Thus staggering the timelines of
all activities related to the search process.
How will departments be assigned to
new units?
 I have preliminarily assigned departments to their new
units (see next slide).
 If a department would like to make a suggestion about an
alternate assignment, it should be forwarded to me via
email no later than 08 May 2012.
Preliminary Departmental Assignments
School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Africana and Latino Studies
Music
Art
Philosophy
Anthropology
Political Science
Communication Arts
Psychology
Cooperstown Graduate Program
Sociology
English
Theater
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Women’s & Gender Studies
Geography
History
School of Education and Human Ecology
Elementary Education and Reading
Secondary Education
Educational Psychology, Counseling and Special Education
Office of Educational Advisement and Field Experiences
Human Ecology
Physical Education
School of Economics and Business
Economics, Finance and Accounting
Management, Marketing and Information Systems
School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Biology
Biological Field Station
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Environmental Sciences
Mathematics Computer Science and Statistics
Physics and Astronomy
How much will four deans cost?
 Salaries for four deans will total approximately
$500K.
 Salaries for four deans are equivalent to 3.2% of
faculty salaries given that faculty salaries total
$15.53M (not including part-time and temporary
full-time faculty salaries).
What about the administrative offices in
academic affairs?
 I propose to restore one associate provost position as recommended in
the consultant’s report.
 The proposed title of the position is Associate Vice President for
Academic Services (AVPAS).
 The AVPAS will supervise the following units.
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Registrar
Continuing Education and Summer Sessions
Center for Academic Development and Enrichment
International Education
Center for Social Responsibility and Community
 In addition to supervising these departments, this position would also
handle any student academic issues that reached the provost’s office from
the deans and could coordinate academic initiatives and programs
related directly to students, e.g., retention programs, honors.
What does the proposed organizational structure
for Academic Affairs look like?
Provost & Vice President
of Academic Affairs
Dean of Arts,
Humanities, & Social
Sciences
Departments
Director of Art Galleries
Dean of Economics &
Business
Departments
Dean of Education &
Human Ecology
Departments
Dean of Natural Sciences
& Mathematics
Departments
Associate Provost for
Institutional Assessment
& Effectiveness
Associate Vice President
for Academic Services
Registrar
Center for Social
Responsibility
International Education
Continuing Ed &
Summer Sessions
CADE
Director of Graduate
Studies
Director of Libraries
How will all these changes be
communicated to the campus?
 A restructuring website and communication plan will be
developed to provide updates to the campus community,
alumni, SUNY and stakeholders.
What is the timeline?
 Governance response to proposal – 08 May 2012
 Development of unit budgets, reallocating existing budget funding among the new
units – Summer 2012
 Consideration of whether (and if so, how) department locations and space might be
modified to support the functioning of the new units – Summer 2012
 Draft position descriptions – Summer 2012
 Meetings of departments in their new alignments to begin to identify common issues and
needs that will be addressed with the new deans – Fall 2012 and Spring 2013
 Advertise positions – Fall 2012
Phone interviews – Fall 2012
 Airport and phone interviews – Spring 2013
 Offers to selected candidates – Spring 2013
 Start date for new deans – no later than August 2013
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Summer 2012 is included in the timeline. How
will faculty be involved?
 I will maintain communication with governance leaders and
faculty via email for review of proposed job descriptions,
potential search committees, etc.