[Vision2020] Fw: Message from the UI Provost and Executive Vice President

[Mark Seman]

This came out ahead of  UI's The Friday Letter; an FYI for those interested.

Mark

Mark Seman
Full Circle Studios
Moscow\Prescott
msg: 208 883 3276
v: 928 541 1583
f: 928 776 9107
c: 928-925-7617
fcs at moscow.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "UI Communications" <almsrv at uidaho.edu>
To: "Mark Seman (V00009809)" <fcs at moscow.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 1:30 PM
Subject: Message from the UI Provost and Executive Vice President


> Office of the Provost & Executive Vice President
> Administration Building Room 105
> P.O. Box 443152
> Moscow, ID  83844-3152
> (208) 885-6448
>
> December 2005
>
> Observations From My First Semester,
> Doug Baker, Provost and Executive Vice President
>
> As I approach the end of my first semester at the University of Idaho, I 
> want to take the opportunity to let the University community and 
> stakeholders know how privileged I feel to be here at this period of 
> renaissance in the institution's history. In the midst of this exciting 
> time, I would like to share some of my observations and review the work we 
> have undertaken in partnership with the President, colleagues, and staff.
>
> Observations at the State Level.  One initial observation on the state of 
> Idaho is that it is increasingly aware of the need to better support 
> higher education. There is a growing understanding within the state that 
> for Idaho to prosper socially and economically in a global economy, it 
> needs the human capital and intellectual property that are created in 
> higher education institutions. This sentiment was repeatedly expressed at 
> a recent meeting of the Governor's Task Force on Science and Technology. 
> With the state's economy performing better than expected, I am cautiously 
> optimistic that we will see increased funding for higher education.  The 
> University of Idaho has identified salaries, deferred maintenance, and 
> technology upgrades as its top funding priorities.  As a step toward 
> better salaries, the state allocated a one-time, one percent increase this 
> fall.  Moreover, in recognition of the importance of increasing 
> allocations for salaries, the University of Idaho has inter!
> nally rea
> located its funding to create a permanent raise effective this coming 
> January that will average four percent for University of Idaho employees, 
> with the level of raise determined by merit ratings and retention factors. 
> Those increases will not solve our low salary problems, but they are a 
> down payment on what needs to be done.
>
> The low salaries at the University of Idaho also exist at Boise State 
> University, Idaho State University and Lewis Clark State College. Over the 
> last 20 years, the proportion of the state budget allocated to higher 
> education has declined in Idaho, as it has in many other states. To begin 
> to address this shift, higher education institutions need to come 
> together, meet state needs and show the people of the state that investing 
> in higher education creates long-term social and economic health for 
> Idaho. The other higher education institutions in the state appear to be 
> ready to join us in this collaborative effort to improve salary and 
> operations funding for all sectors of higher education. The Provosts and 
> Chief Academic Officers from the state's colleges and universities have 
> met and discussed the need to better identify Idaho's needs and then build 
> the support necessary to meet those needs. I am encouraged by what I have 
> heard to date. The University and college Presidents ar!
> e working
> in a similar collaborative manner.
>
> Systemic Changes.  The University of Idaho needs to work more efficiently 
> and effectively internally as a system to meet Idaho's needs and garner 
> the resources to make that happen. We have a strong and dedicated faculty, 
> staff and student body, and with these key components, we need to better 
> integrate the University's many departments and locations throughout the 
> state of Idaho. I have taken some initial steps to begin to address these 
> issues. This fall, Larry Branen was appointed as the Associate Vice 
> President for Northern Idaho operations. Larry is working with northern 
> Idaho communities, community leaders, advisory boards and other schools in 
> the area to develop a mission and plan for the University of Idaho. 
> Recently, he organized the visit of 18 business, government and education 
> leaders from Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls to Washington State University 
> at Vancouver. The day-long visit focused on how public and private 
> partnerships had been formed over the last 20 years!
>  to garne
> the support for establishing and growing that campus. We should learn a 
> great deal from those efforts on how we can make the University system 
> work better to meet local needs. To extend that work, a group of leaders 
> from the University of Idaho centers, as well as representatives from the 
> academic deans and budget office, have been appointed to look at how the 
> authority, responsibility, and fiscal affairs are structured for the 
> University of Idaho's centers and how they operate within the University 
> system. I have asked that group to prepare, quickly but thoroughly, a 
> white paper with recommendations for a new structure and related 
> operational policies. Once that work is completed, we will take steps to 
> improve the administrative structure, budgets, staffing, policies and 
> procedures.
>
> Strategic Planning.  To help guide those activities and other reforms at 
> the University of Idaho, the President asked me to facilitate the 
> development of a strategic plan. To do that, I have worked closely with 
> the Provost's Council and President's Cabinet. Our work has been guided by 
> 11 reports and plans, many of which have been developed in the last 18 
> months (e.g., University Vision and Resources Task Force Report and Plan 
> for Renewal).  Please see the Provost Web page for these referenced 
> documents that we drew from for our work on the strategic plan and those 
> that we created in this process 
> www.provost.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=73113. The draft strategic plan 
> that emerged from those efforts was submitted to the University community 
> on October 25, 2005. In recent weeks, I have had the opportunity to 
> discuss the plan and solicit feedback from faculty, staff, students and 
> stakeholder groups and have received additional feedback online. The 
> Provost's Council and President!
> 's Cabine
> will consider suggested changes and prepare a final version of the 
> strategic plan later this month.  We then will need to get on with the 
> important work of implementing the plan at all levels and locations of the 
> institution. That will include constituting implementation teams, 
> developing action plans, identifying measurable outcomes and timelines, 
> and coordinating those activities across organizational levels and 
> locations.
>
> Reinvestment Process.  Another important step in the renaissance of the 
> University of Idaho is the request for proposals for investment in key 
> strategic areas. The call for proposals, as well as frequently asked 
> questions related to the project, can be found at: 
> www.blueribbon.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=86835.  This is an important 
> project and has the capability to support a number of key areas for the 
> state's and University's future. On November 17, a forum was held in the 
> Student Union Building where 28 groups presented brief overviews of their 
> pending projects. I was buoyed greatly by the quality of the draft 
> proposals and by the wonderful spirit of collaboration. This spirit of 
> cross-unit collaboration is a real competitive advantage for the 
> University of Idaho. Ultimately, 43 proposals were submitted to the blue 
> ribbon review committee. That committee will vet the proposals, and in 
> late January, a smaller number of teams will be invited to submit full 
> proposals. Final !
> funding d
> cisions will be made in mid-April.
>
> Structural Changes.  To help the institution work more efficiently and 
> effectively, the President and I worked with members of the President's 
> Cabinet to reorganize the administrative structure (the University's 
> organization chart can be found on the Provost Web site referenced above). 
> This structure should help us better implement the strategic plan and 
> reflect the structure that is in place this fall. Undoubtedly, the 
> structure will change over time as we find ways to better work together. 
> One of those areas may deal with the organization of the offices working 
> on recruiting and retaining a diverse student body, critical to a rich 
> University culture, thus allowing us to implement our strategic plan. I 
> have appointed a task force, chaired by Professor Rodney Frey, to examine 
> the structure of the offices working on these issues and to make 
> recommendations for structural changes by spring break. Our hope is to 
> begin implementing changes during the summer in preparation for fa!
> ll semest
> r. Additional work on recruitment and retention also is being conducted by 
> the Strategic Enrollment Management team led by Vice Provost Linda Morris. 
> The Stamats consulting firm has been working with us on this project and 
> has completed external surveys, reviewed competitor institutions, and 
> identified our internal perceptions about the University. The Gallatin 
> Group consulting firm has been working closely with our marketing and 
> communications staff on public relations issues. This needed marketing 
> research has provided a rich source of data that will guide our 
> recruitment and public relations efforts in the coming year.
>
> Personnel Changes.  In addition to the strategic and structural reforms 
> underway, we are in the process of making administrative personnel 
> changes. In recent weeks, the President has made a number of key 
> appointments to the administrative leadership team. Nancy Dunn joins the 
> University as the new Vice President for Finance and Administration; Wendy 
> Shattuck will be the Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Strategic 
> Communications; Paul Michaud joins Human Resources as the Associate Vice 
> President; Lloyd Mues brings leadership to our auxiliary enterprises as 
> the Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services; and Carl Hunt will 
> work closely with our Athletic Department and student-athletes as the new 
> NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative.
>
> We are in the process of hiring a number of deans. This fall, we had three 
> strong candidates visit the University for the College of Engineering 
> deanship. From that pool, Dr. Aicha Elshabini has accepted our offer to 
> become Dean of the College of Engineering. Currently, she serves as the 
> department head for electrical engineering at the University of Arkansas. 
> Previously, she served a three-year concurrent assignment as interim 
> department head of the Computer Science and Computer Engineering 
> Department.  Her previous experience includes 20 years as a faculty member 
> in the Electrical Engineering Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute 
> and State University. She will begin her new leadership role in July. We 
> are thrilled to be able to attract such a high-quality person who has been 
> a national leader in teaching, research and outreach to both public and 
> private organizations.
>
> This month, we are initiating national searches for Deans in the College 
> of Business and Economics and the College of Education. In the coming 
> calendar year, we will begin searches for the Deanships of the College of 
> Letters, Arts and Social Sciences and the re-established College of Art 
> and Architecture. Relative to the latter, President White is chairing an 
> active transition team to re-establish the College. We are moving quickly 
> to fill an interim dean position for the college early in the calendar 
> year. I thank the incumbent deans from these colleges, Byron Dangerfield, 
> Jeanne Christiansen, Chuck Peterson and Joe Zeller, for their leadership.
>
> Infrastructure.   This fall, the University joined with Governor Dirk 
> Kempthorne in the opening of the Teaching and Learning Center. 
> Transforming the old University Classroom Center into a modern facility, 
> with its seamless connection to the University Commons, has been a cause 
> for celebration for students, faculty and staff.  The Idaho Water Center 
> opened and an open house was celebrated last fall in Boise. The facility 
> houses University, state, federal and private sector functions relating to 
> water, as well as the majority of the University of Idaho's other program 
> operations. It is a very impressive facility.
>
> We are in the process of reviewing and updating the Long-range Campus 
> Development Plan so that our resources for maintenance, renovation and 
> construction of facilities are focused to best meet the current and 
> long-range needs of the University. As part of this process we will 
> conduct a space audit in the coming year to ensure that we are 
> appropriately using our existing space.
>
> A Note of Thanks.  As you can see by this review of strategic, structural 
> and personnel changes underway, it has been a busy fall semester.  While 
> working on these issues, I have been very impressed with the talent and 
> motivation of the faculty, staff and students of the University of Idaho, 
> at all of its locations.  There is a very solid core to the University, 
> great support from our alumni and friends, and a desire by all to help 
> strengthen the institution and facilitate meeting stakeholder needs. I 
> thank President White for his guidance and for giving me this opportunity 
> to work with him and you during this exciting renaissance period. I am 
> especially heartened by the warm welcome I have received from the 
> University and all those who love it. I look forward to a continued 
> collaborative working environment with you to attain the University's 
> goals identified in the strategic plan.  Our future is bright.
>
> University Communications would like to continue sending you information 
> via e-mail. However, if you wish to be removed from the mailing list or to 
> receive it at a different e-mail address, please respond to this message.
>