The Daily Bulletin

I am pleased to announce that the Academic Affairs task forces have met and are now officially charged with their respective assignments. The teams will be working diligently on critical components of the Academic Unit Restructuring process, focusing on improving our systems, processes, and the overall structure of our academic environment.

The Co-Chairs of each task force will provide updates regularly. These updates will be shared both in the Daily Bulletin and on the Academic Affairs website.

Academic Affairs Department Merger and Curriculum Synergies Task Force

Chair: Jill Norvilitis

Co-Chairs: Carol Beckley and Elisa Bergslien

Geraldine Bard, Laurie Buonanno, Joaquin Carbonara, Catherine Cardina, Alayla Ende, Danae Hardy, Kristin Fields, Fred Floss, Andrea Guiati, Keith Fulcher, Ann Liao, P. Rudy Mattai, Dianne McCarthy, Kevin Miller, Kathleen O'Brien, Meghan Pereira

Charge is to recommend deliverables by May 2025:

• Inventory of existing courses across all programs to determine opportunities for combining similar courses into single offerings.
• Identify opportunities for course sharing, faculty collaboration, and resource optimization.
• Facilitate discussions with faculty, staff, students, and administration to gather input and feedback on proposed department mergers, curriculum adjustments, and potential impact on accreditation and compliance.
• Identify potential challenges and concerns from affected stakeholders and develop strategies to mitigate negative impact.

Student Success Task Force

Co-Chair: Tiffany Bromfield

Co-Chair: Kevin Williams

Andrew Binder, Dan Blum, Dorothea Braemer, Atta Ceesay, Jill D'Angelo, Jamayne Fleming, Judi Harris, Elizabeth Hartz, Tomas Henriques, Beth Holleran, Drew Kahn, Melissa Meehan, Sierra Mills, Josue Rosario-Caliz, Raquel Schmidt, Gary Solar, Tao Tang, Kaylene Waite, Marcus Watson

Charge is to recommend deliverables by May 2025:

• Identify student success goals for reorganization and venues for divisions to encourage open discussion about student progress.
• Communicate reorganization to students, working with institution-wide communication offices.
• Seek feedback from Academic Affairs Department Merger and Curriculum Synergies ad-hoc committee on reorganization from student government and student groups.
• Collaborate with faculty and staff to identify resources and support structures for student involvement in opportunities.
• Identify opportunities for students to engage with the two-unit structure through undergraduate research, entrepreneurship programs, community projects, experiential programs and projects.

Process Improvement Task Force

Co-Chair: Leasa Rochester-Mills

Co-Chair: Charles Lyons

Lisa Marie Anselmi, Ikhee Cho, Julian Cole, Ken Fujiuchi, Keli Garas-York, Scott Goodman, Alexis Greinert, Michelle Hockett, Matthew Karovski, Corinne Kindzierski, David Marcinkowski, Kristen Mruk, Stephanie Richards, Macy Todd, Kim Zittel-Barr

Charge is to recommend deliverables by May 2025:

• Inventory processes, systems, and functions to determine if adaptation, streamlining, or elimination is required in the two-school structure.
• Collect feedback from faculty and staff on process improvement and identify best practices for process and system streamlining.
• Update language in unit-level academic and administrative policies to reflect the two-unit organization and leadership and determine any policies that need to be rewritten entirely.
• Review faculty handbook and bylaws to identify any language referring to departments or chairs and update to reflect the two-unit model.

A Provost Advisory Committee has been formed. The committee will focus on providing advisory support and strategic suggestions for Academic Affairs organizational improvement.

Stacy Beauford, Betty Cappella, Yeshevie Hubbard, Joe Marren, Alex Matiash, Rada Montroy, Carolyn Morris-Hunt, Diane Young

Focus  is to:

• Provide Input: Offer advice and feedback on matters concerning academic policies, initiatives, and strategic priorities.
• Share Perspectives: Represent the diverse voices across the university community, ensuring that various viewpoints are considered when making decisions that impact academic affairs.
• Collaborative Dialogue: Engage in open, constructive conversations with fellow committee members and academic leadership to identify challenges, opportunities, and areas of growth within the academic sphere.
• Support Academic Excellence: Contribute to the development of strategies that enhance teaching, learning, and research, helping us fulfill our academic mission and vision.
• Advisory Role: Provide thoughtful, non-binding recommendations to the Provost and Academic Affairs leadership team.

I encourage all members of the campus community to stay informed and engage with Academic Affairs updates as we move forward with the merging of the School of Education and School of Professions. Your input and collaboration are essential to our collective success.

Stay tuned for regular updates and information from each team.