Chancellor’s message on restructuring
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| M. Roy Wilson, MD, MS Chancellor |
During my interviews for the Chancellor position here many months ago, I stated my belief that UCD has the potential to be one of the finest institutions in the world. Now that I have been here for a little over two months, I am even more convinced that we have an excellent institution with potential to be among the very best. Achieving this vision will require a tremendous amount of work, and a number of potential barriers will have to be overcome. An adequate budget is of course a major concern.
However, I am optimistic that better days are ahead of us in this regard. I believe that we are making progress in educating the state legislators of the tremendous value of our institution to the state of Colorado, the Rocky Mountain region, and the nation. With new leadership at the Foundation of the University of Colorado, our fundraising is poised to increase substantially. While we work to secure the financial resources necessary for success, it is imperative that we continue to make progress in addressing non-financial issues that require attention and, inevitably, change.
One of the important areas that I have identified as needing attention—and change—is our executive management organizational structure as a consolidated institution. A consolidated UCD is better positioned to approach the Colorado State Government, the Colorado Congressional delegation, individual donors and corporations to raise public and private funds in a unified manner. These funds are needed to successfully achieve our missions and to position ourselves as a top tier urban research university. In order to attain these goals an effective organizational structure is needed for the consolidated university.
Over the past six weeks, I have proposed possible changes and have solicited your input. After considerable thought, I have decided upon an organizational structure for the future. I realize that none of the models that were presented at the open forums are ideal—I’m not even sure such a model exists. I also realize that a number of people will have issues, and perhaps even very strong feelings, about each of the models.
The input I have received from many faculty and staff from both the HSC and Denver campuses were considered seriously. The lateral models (lateral 1 and 2) were the clear-cut favorites. The organizational model I have decided upon is most similar to lateral 1 with some minor modifications. The organizational chart is available online at http://ucdhsc.edu/chancellor/orgchart.doc or you can download it HERE.
No substantive changes were made in the responsibilities for the positions of Vice Chancellor for Administration/Finance and Chief of Staff. However other direct-report positions on the organizational chart require further explanation:
Vice Chancellor for University Initiatives:
We will commence a national search for this position immediately. A call for nominations for a search committee will go out later today. The goal will be to have the new Vice Chancellor on board by January 1, 2007.
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs:
Several academic areas will be consolidated under the Provost. Faculty Affairs will be a consolidated unit and will provide oversight and support for faculty across the two campuses. Faculty appointments, reappointments, tenure, promotion, sabbaticals, and post-tenure review will be coordinated through this office. Faculty governance interaction and support will originate from this unit, including university-wide academic policy and procedure development, review, and approval. Primary interface with the Privilege and Tenure Committee and university faculty grievances will occur here. Proposals for new degrees or changes in degrees will be managed in this office whenever such proposals require action by the Board of Regents. Program discontinuance, when necessary, will be managed by this office, along with all academic reporting for the CU-system and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. Other areas of responsibility include coordination and preparation of materials for non-disciplinary accreditation visits and Regent-mandated program reviews. Faculty development, faculty awards and recognition programs, outcomes assessment, academic technology (including Blackboard), classroom support, media production and video conferencing will be additional areas of responsibility for this consolidated office.
While all student affairs will be managed by the Provost, student services will continue to be provided by staff physically located on each of our campuses. A search for an Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, with primary responsibility for health sciences student support areas, will begin this fall to ensure on site supervision of health sciences student services. Over time, we expect to leverage the considerable portfolio of student services provided at the downtown campus to enhance the student experience at the health sciences center, including recreational and cultural programming. We plan to bring pre-collegiate program staff together into a comprehensive unit that will expand our capabilities for K-12 pipelines. We also plan to include undergraduate programs at HSC as part of a comprehensive undergraduate recruitment and admissions process, and consolidate our registrar’s office to more effectively coordinate student registration and records.
Each library will maintain a separate director, faculty, staff, and budget; however, both libraries will now be managed by the Provost. Given the unique demands of the Auraria Library and its commitment to serving three institutions effectively, and Denison Memorial Library’s commitment to providing high-quality, specialized support for research, teaching, and clinical practice in the health sciences, we will continue to operate these libraries as separate entities. National searches for the Director of the Denison Memorial Library and the Director of the Auraria Library/University Librarian will commence immediately. While each library will retain separate leadership, we expect to expand collaboration across our university libraries significantly in the coming years.
The Provost’s office will manage the office of diversity and inclusion for the downtown Denver campus. A national search for an Assistant Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion will commence this fall. The office will facilitate development and implementation of unit-level strategic plans for diverse student and faculty recruitment, retention, and success, undertake new diversity initiatives, advocate for diversity and inclusion priorities to both internal and external constituents, and seek gifts, grants, and contracts to accomplish university objectives in this critically important area.
The Deans of the downtown Denver campus will continue to report to the Provost. However, all of the Deans from both campuses will meet monthly with the meetings co-chaired by the Provost and the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs.
The consolidation of the Provost’s office will take effect immediately under the leadership of Mark Heckler.
Vice Chancellor for Research:
I received very consistent input regarding the need for a Vice Chancellor for Research who reports directly to the Chancellor. A national search for this position will commence immediately.
Vice Chancellor for External Affairs:
This position replaces the current position of Executive Vice Chancellor at the HSC. The Vice Chancellor for External Affairs will be responsible for external issues that relate to the downtown Denver campus as well as the University of Colorado Denver. Effective immediately, Jay Gershen will assume this position.
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs:
This position is responsible for HSC interdisciplinary academic/educational planning. The Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs will assume increasing responsibility for the new Fitzsimons HSC campus including relationships with our hospital partners. The VCHA’s office will manage the Colorado Area Health Education Centers (AHECs). This office will also manage the office of diversity and inclusion for the HSC campus. As with the downtown Denver campus, a national search for an Assistant Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion will commence this fall.
The Deans of the HSC schools will report to the VCHA. All of the Deans from both campuses will meet on a monthly basis and the meetings will be co-chaired by the Provost and VCHA.
The Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs is also the Dean of the School of Medicine. I realize that some faculty and staff may not be comfortable with this arrangement. A few informational items may help mitigate some of the concerns that have been expressed. First, budget allocations for all HSC schools will continue to be the responsibility of the Chancellor. Second, the reporting relationship of the HSC Deans will not change until a new Vice Chancellor is selected, which will be at some time in the future.
I have asked Dean Krugman to continue as Dean of the School of Medicine and to focus his energies on the school’s historic transition to the Fitzsimons campus. Dean Krugman has done an exceptional job leading the School of Medicine during some very difficult years. I have every confidence in his ability and strongly support his continuation as Dean until his retirement. At that time, we will select the new Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine. Until then, I will act as the de facto Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and the HSC Deans will continue to report to me.
Additionally, even with this new Vice Chancellor position, the Chancellor will need to continue to be very personally involved with the HSC campus and other affairs of the HSC in the coming years. I do not anticipate this situation changing for the foreseeable future.
With the exception of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, I plan to move quickly in solidifying the executive team according to the above organizational structure. Consolidation activities will commence in high gear in the beginning of 2007.
Thanks to many of you who attended the open forums, met with me during my open office hours, talked with me informally during events and meetings, and wrote to me about the reorganization. Your input was very important in my decision-making process and deeply valued. I have come to understand your care and concern for our university and its future success.
Now that the organizational structure and implementation steps have been determined, my energies will focus on the process for developing our institutional image and identity. I have engaged a consultant to assess our marketing/media capabilities in anticipation of this major initiative and will report our next steps to you later in the fall.
Sincerely,
M. Roy Wilson, MD, MS
Chancellor
