clock in tower of Ira Allen Chapel against blue sky

Please give us your feedback

This spring, the expanded Academic Reorganization Working Group will seek feedback on UVM’s academic organization. The Working Group will consider realignments that capitalize on our strengths, collective resources and academic and research synergies while ensuring a sustainable future for the university. The Working Group and Subgroups will be looking at both current successful structures and practices at other universities and ways to improve UVM that are aligned with our strategic vision and academic success goals.

Communications

Working Group and Subgroups

In collaboration with the Faculty Senate and in response to the motion regarding academic organization passed at the November 2020 Senate meeting, the Academic Reorganization Working Group will expand its membership.  Following the successful models of the General Education and UVM Strong Working Groups, we have reconstituted the Working Group and added three subgroups to examine the various facets of academic reorganization.

All members of the Working Group and Subgroups are part of the overall reorganization effort and each group has an important voice and role in the process. The membership of the Working Group, however, does not include the full membership of the Subgroups.

Academic Reorganization Working Group:

David Jenemann (Chair—Dean, HCOL/CAS)
Linda Schadler (Dean, CEMS)
Jim Vigoreaux (Vice Provost/CAS)
Mary Cushman (Faculty Senate Executive Committee/LCOM)
Adrian Ivakhiv (Faculty, RSENR)
Alan Maynard (Faculty, CNHS)
Ernesto Mendez (Faculty, CALS)
Pramodita Sharma (Faculty, GSB)
Jay Garvey (Faculty, CESS)
KC Williams (Staff/Student Services Collaborative)
Avery Rasmussen (Student, GSS)

Chris Burns (Faculty Senate President/Libraries)—ex officio

Working Group Responsibilities:

  • solicits stakeholder feedback in public meetings, focus groups, one-on-one conversations, and other avenues designed to maximize community input;
  • oversees the work of the subgroups;
  • compiles subgroup findings, community input, and other information;
  • prepares the working group’s reports

External Benchmarking Subgroup:

Pramodita Sharma (Chair—Faculty, GSB)
Jim Vigoreaux (Vice Provost/CAS)
Jinny Huh (Faculty, CAS)
Adrian Ivakhiv (Faculty, RSENR)
Jay Lashombe (Staff Council/Admissions)
Katherine Merrill (Faculty, CEMS)

Alex Yin (Executive Director, OIR)—ex officio
Kathy Howrigan (Foundation/Alumni Relations)—expert resource

External Benchmarking Subgroup Responsibilities:

  • researches other institutions of higher education who have undertaken university-wide reorganizations;
  • interviews external and internal senior administration, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders about reorganization experience at other institutions;
  • examines how reorganization might position the university in the market place
  • assesses potential impact on alumni and donors;
  • compiles any measurable outcomes resulting from reorganization that can be tracked

Internal Alignment Subgroup:

J Dickinson (Co-chair - Vice Provost/CAS)
Susan Comerford (Faculty, CESS)
Alan Maynard (Co-chair - Faculty, CNHS)
KC Williams (Staff/SSC)
Lana Al Namee (Student, SGA)
Avery Rasmussen (Student, GSS)

Kirk Dombrowski (Vice President for Research)—ex officio

Internal Alignment Subgroup Responsibilities:

  • examines barriers to student success created by our current academic alignment;
  • identifies policies and practices in place at the unit or university-wide level that promote student success;
  • examines current and potential research alignments to determine opportunities for research growth;
  • considers ways to improve the graduate experience and any opportunities to invest in our graduate offerings that would result from reorganization;
  • identifies potential opportunities and synergies for innovation/relevance/academic excellence at the undergraduate level;
  • assesses impact on students, faculty and staff

University Resources Subgroup:

Linda Schadler (Chair – Dean, CEMS)
Mary Cushman (Faculty Senate/LCOM)
Cathy Paris (Faculty, CALS)
Mary Lou Kete (Faculty, CAS)
Randall Headrick (Faculty, CAS)

Shari Bergquist (Budget Director)—ex officio

University Resources Subgroup Responsibilities:

  • analyzes and evaluates university infrastructure relative to our academic organization;
  • catalogues administrative tasks and services likely to be impacted by reorganization;
  • identifies opportunities for more effective support for academic programs that would result from reorganization;
  • evaluates the financial impact of selected organizational models

Timeline

STUDY PHASE
FY20May 2020FPPC Resolution Recommending a New Reorganization Planning Process
May 2020Initial Working Group Charged
FY21Fall 2020Working Group Initial Findings shared with President Garimella and Provost Prelock
Nov 2020UVM 2050 Conceptual Model presented to Faculty Senate
Nov-Dec 2020UVM 2050 Conceptual Model shared with Campus
Jan 2021Expanded Working Group and Subgroups Constituted
May 2021Additional Feedback Gathered from Faculty Senate

 

PROPOSAL PLANNING PHASE
FY22Jun-Nov 2021Working Group Development of Academic Reorganization Proposal
Dec 2021Academic Reorganizational Proposal Presented to Faculty Senate

Resources and Reports

View Recordings of Input Sessions