05-03-94 Ohio State proposes to streamline administration OHIO STATE PROPOSES ACTIONS TO STREAMLINE ADMINISTRATION In an effort to further streamline the administration of its academic activities, The Ohio State University is proposing a series of actions that Provost Richard Sisson says will increase academic excellence and strengthen the university. In a report that will be presented to the university's Board of Trustees at its meeting on Friday (5/6), Sisson says progress is being made in the university's efforts to restructure itself. With the approval and support of President E. Gordon Gee, Sisson is proposing several actions that would reduce and realign the number of academic and administrative units reporting directly to the provost; strengthen cooperation and collaboration among colleges with similar missions; discontinue the Office of International Affairs, and reduce and restructure the Office of Academic Affairs. All of the actions contained in the report are administrative and can be implemented by the trustees upon the recommendation of the president. "It is absolutely essential that the number of units now reporting directly to the provost be reduced," Sisson said. "That number currently approaches 40 and also approaches being unmanageable. The new structure will afford each unit the attention it deserves and will afford me a greater opportunity to concentrate on larger issues regarding academic direction and quality." He also said that the actions will better focus the talents and energies of the university's academic leadership. Under Sisson's plan, for instance, the Council of Deans would be reorganized into four groups: the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, the Health Sciences colleges, the Professional Colleges, and the Regional Campuses. The Arts and Sciences and Professional Colleges groups would be coordinated by executive deans, a role that would rotate among the deans within each group. The Regional Campuses will continue to have a coordinating dean. The Arts and Sciences group would include the Arts, Humanities, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The Health Sciences colleges would be headed by a newly created vice president for health sciences who would be responsible for providing academic and fiscal leadership for the colleges of Dentistry, Medicine (including the School of Allied Medical Professions), Nursing, Optometry, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine. The vice president for health sciences would be a position separate from the dean of the College of Medicine and would assume the duties of the present vice president for health services, a position that would be eliminated. The Professional Colleges cluster would include Agriculture, Business, Education, Engineering, Human Ecology, and Law. "These groupings will enable the deans to focus on shared interests and issues, enhance collaboration, and make more efficient use of the time and talents of the university's academic leadership," Sisson said. In another action, Sisson proposes reducing the number of units reporting directly to him. Once his plan is fully implemented: * The Office of Faculty and Teaching Associate Development will be transferred to the College of Education. * The Office of Undergraduate Studies of the Arts and Sciences will report to the executive dean of the arts and sciences. * The three ROTC departments will report to the executive dean of the arts and sciences. * University Honors will report to the executive dean of the arts and sciences. * The Office of International Affairs will be discontinued. International area study centers will be coordinated by a lead director who will report to the senior vice provost for academic affairs. The Office of International Education will report to the vice provost for academic program support. A Provost's Council on International Affairs consisting of deans and faculty will be created to guide the university's international affairs activities. * The Biotechnology Center will report on an interim basis to the vice president for research. * The Stone Laboratory will report to the vice president for agriculture. * Reorganization within the Office of Academic Affairs will result in the continued reduction of senior administrative positions reporting to the provost from the current six to five positions. All will be full partners in the decision process in Academic Affairs. Sisson's report also includes a list of actions that have been implemented or are taking place as a result of the restructuring process, noting that so far there are recommendations to reduce the number of departments by 15, just under 15 percent of the number of departments at the university. "It is difficult at this time to offer an estimate of the amount of money that will be saved and redirected in order to enhance academic excellence," Sisson says, "but there are two statements I can make with confidence. One, we expect that the long-term savings from these actions will be substantial. Two, the clarification of priorities, the enhanced support of core academic activities, and the streamlining of the administrative organization will strengthen the university." He noted that the review of additional areas of academic and administrative reorganization is on-going and that additional proposals to realign or consolidate university activities will be forthcoming. "It is my conviction that while there is much work yet to be done, The Ohio State University is facing the challenges posed by internal and external change and seizing the opportunity to position itself in the front rank of the premier teaching and research universities in the nation," Sisson says. "Our experience to date bodes well for the future." # Contact: Richard Sisson, (614) 292-5881. [Submitted by: STERRETT (sterrett@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu) Tue, 03 May 1994 17:05:58 -0500 (EST)] All documents are the responsibility of their originator.