Newsletter — Office of the Provost

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

As the calendar turns to October and the leaves begin to turn, we get to turn our attention to the academic reorganization. I met last week with faculty and staff throughout the division to provide an update on the process. For those of you who were unable to attend or would prefer to see the information in written form, I am going to use the fullness of the October newsletter to share the reorganization plans and the timeline for implementation during the academic year.

A recap

The Organizational Effectiveness Task Force released their initial report in the Spring, took comments on that proposal, used that information to modify their proposal, and released their final proposal around April 1. Shortly thereafter, I met with the Deans’ Council to discuss options and hosted a series of open forums to gain input into the proposal. Following that, Deans’ Council once again reviewed the input and developed a two-college model that attempted to consolidate the ideas developed by the OETF, the input from the open forums and Deans’ Council, and the limitations allowed by SUNY. That model was presented in early May, with the agreement that I would meet further with chairs during the summer and work with our human resources staff to develop position descriptions for the Dean, Associate Dean, and Assistant Dean positions recommended in that proposal.

During the summer, I met with the leadership from the School of Business and Management, members of Cabinet, and several alumni and community leaders. All of them described the community relations and fundraising benefits of retaining a freestanding Business School with its own Dean. Given the overriding sentiment to not merge the School of Business and Management into a College of Professional Studies, I had further discussions with Cabinet and Deans’ Council as we investigated alternatives. That led to realization that we could retain a School as an independent academic unit while also creating Colleges. And thus, the proposal to create a School of Nursing and maintain the School of Business and Management was produced.

New Academic Structure

The proposed structure consists of two Colleges and two Schools, as shown in the table below:

The College of Arts and Sciences remains largely unchanged and is supported by a Dean, Associate Dean, and Assistant Dean, just as they are currently. Likewise, the School of Business and Management remains largely unchanged, although now supported by a Dean and an Assistant Dean. The significant change is that the School of Education, Health, and Human Services is separated into a new School of Nursing, with its own Dean and Assistant Dean, and a College of Education and Health Professions (final title still to be determined) supported by a Dean, Associate Dean, and Assistant Dean. This proposal represents new investment into areas that have seen substantial growth, especially in Nursing and Education, while retaining our investment in other critical areas that continue to be essential components of our institution.

During my presentations last week, I was asked several times about the difference between a School and a College. I have indicated that the primary difference is size and complexity. According to my favorite AI app, “schools are typically smaller and more focused in scope compared to colleges.” In addition, schools often specialize in a particular field of study, whereas Colleges tend to offer a wider range of degrees and programs. This is reflected in the new proposed structure.

Academic Leadership

We are still in the process of finalizing the specific job descriptions associated with each of the leadership positions within the Schools and Colleges. However, the current structure within the current School of Arts and Sciences provides a valuable model that we can replicate to support the new College of Education and Health Professions. Likewise, the leadership roles currently in the Schools with a Dean and Associate Dean can be adapted to the leadership responsibilities for the proposed Schools.

I have been asked about the difference between an Associate Dean and an Assistant Dean. One important distinction is the job classification assigned by SUNY, with Associate Deans being Management Confidential positions whereas the Assistant Dean is considered UUP staff. In terms of responsibility, and consistent with the information provided by my AI app, Associate Deans are involved in strategic planning and decision-making whereas Assistant Deans are more directly engaged in day-to-day operations. While these are general distinctions, each School and College will have the flexibility to arrange the specific job responsibilities to best meet their needs.

Next steps

Given the determination of the new academic structure, it is important to move forward with the next steps of implementation. There are two main tasks I foresee that must occur to allow our operation with this new model beginning in Fall 2025.

First, we need to identify Deans, Associate Deans, and Assistant Deans for each of the units. The College of Education and Health Professions, coming from the School of Education, Health, and Human Services, will be led by Dean Tom Hernandez, continuing in his current role. The College of Arts and Sciences will need a permanent Dean and thus must undergo a search. We will use an Internal/External search process, in which the position will first be advertised on campus for internal candidates only, and then depending on the candidate pool, can be opened for an external search if desired. I have asked the Director for Graduate Studies, Michael Harrison, to chair this search committee. Likewise, the School of Nursing Dean search will be through an Internal/External search process, with Dean Hernandez leading that search committee. In the School of Business and Management, we will move immediately to an external search, with the committee being led by Senior Vice Provost Eileen Daniel. Once new Deans are identified, they will lead the effort to search for and select Associate and Assistant Deans, where there are vacancies or current interims.

Second, we need to evaluate the underlying administrative activities within departments, especially around the issue of Associate Chairs and Coordinators. There are many different models currently in use across the institution, in terms of titles, responsibilities, and compensation. I plan to bring together appropriate chairs, faculty, and staff to review these models, investigate where changes need to be made, and help to bring a more equitable structure in place. That work will begin shortly so that we can provide the needed support perhaps as early as Spring 2025, but certainly no later than the Fall semester. In addition, I need to have further discussions with both UUP and CSEA leadership regarding the changes and their potential impact on each of their areas.

In conclusion

We still have a lot of work to do, but we have made great progress in reaching this point. I am pleased with the new academic structure and the positive response that I have heard from faculty and staff as I discussed it during my recent meetings. This represents new investment in the academic division, recognizing the hard work of our faculty and staff who continue to support our students. As our enrollment has grown over the past two years, and the needs of our students has changed, I am acutely aware of the time that you commit as you navigate the many challenges that you face, and I am extremely grateful for all that you do on a daily basis, allowing SUNY Brockport to accomplish our goal of being a great university at which to learn. Thank you.