RECOMMENDATION: ADMINISTRATIVE REORGANIZATION OF PROGRAMS IN THE COLLEGE OF FAMILY LIFE AT UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
Following several months of review, a recommendation reorganizing the programs in the College of Family Life at Utah State University was made today by Provost Stan Albrecht during a meeting with college faculty and staff and university President Kermit L. Hall.
No programs will be discontinued; no faculty and staff will be eliminated and no current degree programs will be impacted, Albrecht said.
?This opens the door for conversation among units and deans affected by this recommendation,? Albrecht said. After presenting the recommendation to faculty and staff, Hall urged faculty to assemble into ?working groups? in a timely manner and discuss how to best execute the recommendation for reorganization. A primary consideration in the recommendation to reorganize the college is the current financial crisis in which the university finds itself.
An estimated $350,000-$500,000 in savings will be realized as a result of restructuring the college. Savings will come from eliminating a dean and two associate dean positions as well as a department head position.
Huge budget cuts as a result of state revenue shortfalls have impacted all public institutions of higher education in the state. Utah State University is faced with having to make an additional $5-$12 million in cuts on top of a $6.7 million reduction in budget it has already undergone during the past year.
?If we could have, we would have preferred to expand this college, not eliminate it,? Albrecht said. ?But we simply don?t have the resources to do that.?
By moving departments and programs into other colleges, more efficient management of resources and an increased ability to sustain key academic components of the college will result. For example, the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences is currently split between the College of Family Life and the College of Agriculture. Other departments in the college already have strong ties with colleges that have existed for a number of years, such as with the College of Education, he said.
The proposal Albrecht presented to faculty is to shift the Department of Family and Human Development to the College of Education, including programs such as Early Childhood Education, Marriage and Family Therapy and Deaf Education.
Albrecht also recommends that the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences fall under the College of Agriculture.
Where to situate the college?s Department of Human Environments poses more of a challenge and will require further discussion, according to Albrecht. At question is the Apparel and Textiles program, Consumer Sciences, Family and Consumer Sciences Education and Interior Design. Some of these programs are better suited under the College of Education, others under the College of Business or the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. These questions will need to be resolved over the next few weeks, he said.
Other issues to be considered include changing the name of the College of Education to reflect its expanded role, such as to the College of Education and Human Services or the College of Education and Human Resources.
Albrecht?s recommendations will be discussed immediately among affected units, including deans of impacted colleges. A final recommendation will be made by the Provost to Hall, who will discuss the action before the university?s Board of Trustees. The university?s Faculty Senate Executive Committee will be included in the discussions.