Moving Forward with College Reorganization
Note: The following e-mail was sent on 4/25/11 to all faculty and staff.
Dear colleague,
On April 15, the Academic Senate released the results of the second referendum on academic unit reorganization. They were overwhelmingly positive. Two-thirds of the voting faculty supported this plan -- considerably more than the 50+ percent who voted for the initial proposal.
Given this strong support, which was reflected as well in the hundreds of thoughtful comments provided by faculty and staff via the online feedback tool, Provost Rosser and I are moving forward to implement the plan. As of July 1, 2011, our University will be organized into the six colleges, with their respective departments as set out in the referendum. You can review the new structure at http://www.sfsu.edu/~news/announce/sixcolleges.htm
Once this six-college structure is in place, college deans will work with their faculty to refine the internal structure of each college and to explore the educational and fiscal benefits of possible department and program mergers.
During the remainder of the semester, we will be planning for a smooth, rapid transition, keeping you informed of our progress.
When I look back on the process that started over a year ago, with UPAC, I am once again struck by the positive spirit in which our University has carried on this conversation and the high quality of what we -- together -- have been able to create. The ongoing discussion of reorganization, while spurred on by our fiscal realities, was sustained by our determination to maintain academic excellence -- and our values -- in the face of shrinking resources.
To the members of UPAC and the many hundreds of you who shared your insights, creativity, and above all, passion for our students and our University -- I thank you all.
--Robert A. Corrigan, president
