| June
2005
War Eagle and welcome to a special edition of eCommons.
On June 17, interim AU President Ed Richardson outlined to the AU Board of
Trustees an overview of far-ranging initiatives and goals. Those matters are the
focus of this edition of eCommons.
For a complete summary of the president's
remarks to the board, click on the Summary of Remarks link at the top right side
of this page. |
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| | Interim
AU President Ed Richardson | | |
| | Richardson
Outlines Goals for Auburn University
Saying he wants to ensure that
his successor has a long and successful tenure at Auburn University, interim President
Ed Richardson presented a broad and fast-paced agenda to the Board of Trustees
and the university community on Friday, June 17.
The agenda, expanding
upon six initiatives unveiled in 2004, places major emphasis on AU creating a
comprehensive and ongoing strategic planning process, changing the concept of
the AU System, developing a process of academic program review and creating an
institute to give a new focus to AU’s programs in agriculture, forestry and
the natural sciences.
“It is important to note that many of these
proposals come in anticipation of what I believe will be a continually growing
demand for accountability from both the Legislature and the taxpayers of Alabama,”
Richardson said.
By moving quickly on the plans and proposals, Richardson
said, AU would control its destiny and overcome “disconnectedness,”
which he described as an environment in which AU constituencies see themselves
at odds with one another instead of pursuing goals for the common good of the
university. By working together in pursuit of these goals, he said, all parties
will help set the stage for Auburn’s success under a long-term president.
Richardson
said the university could make enough progress during the coming year to conduct
a search for a new president and fill the position by the end of 2006.
Faculty
and administrators began work on the strategic plan earlier this year. The plan
will guide the board’s allocation of resources, guide efforts to establish
a legislative agenda and assist the board in identifying priorities that would
aid in the search for highly qualified candidates for a new president.
Richardson
said he expects to bring a proposal to the board in November. If the board approves
the plan, the administration will immediately begin developing organizational
strategies.
Auburn University System
The strategic
plan, Richardson said, should include statements declaring an official AU System.
At present, he said, AU has operated as a system only for budgeting purposes,
missing other advantages of a system. He promised to bring recommendations for
revamping the system in September.
“Auburn University is a system
on paper but seldom in practice, which again illustrates the disconnect problem,”
he said.
Richardson said administrative titles would change under the system
model but the changes would require no additional staff or compensation.
The
title of the Auburn University president would change to chancellor of the AU
System and president of Auburn University.
The title of chancellor of AU-Montgomery
would change to president of that campus.
The executive vice president
at AU would become vice chancellor for financial and administrative services for
the AU system and would retain the current title for AU duties.
The title
of AU provost and vice president for academic affairs would be changed to vice
chancellor of academic affairs for the AU System and the person would retain the
current title for AU duties.
The title of the vice president for development
would change to vice chancellor for development for the AU System while retaining
the current title at the Auburn campus.
Richardson proposed that the board
invite the president of AUM to sit at the table as an adviser during board meetings
when the stronger system model is implemented.
He said changing to a stronger
system will result in more timely consideration and approval of academic and administrative
changes and make AU more attractive to presidential candidates. He added that
the changes would provide recognition of AUM as a major component of the AU System,
demonstrate an improved commitment to the AU mission and help strengthen both
campuses through shared resources.
Academic Program Review
In
another major initiative, Richardson said AU needs a comprehensive, coherent approach
to academic program review if the university is to maintain its academic progress.
Academic programs now undergo an array of reviews by external accrediting agencies
and various units within the university, but those reviews vary widely and often
have little in common with one another.
“How do we know if our programs
are successful and our graduates are prepared unless a comprehensive review of
academic programs is conducted?” he asked.
Richardson said the provost
will work with faculty to develop a presentation to the board in November. That
presentation will address specific criteria, objectives and timetables for conducting
academic reviews.
“There will be some cost to conducting ongoing reviews,”
he said. “But the confirmation of success, adjustments to further improve
the programs, reorganization to comply with the Auburn System’s strategic
plan and establish a more objective system of accountability should be worth the
cost and should provide valuable information to the board.”
Richardson
added that the academic review program should include a cycle of review for the
faculty, including tenured faculty. “The purpose is to support faculty development
as a basis for strong academic programming and, in addition, ensure that our students
receive a quality education,” he said.
Willie Larkin, faculty adviser
to the Board of Trustees, said faculty leaders are not sure additional reviews
of faculty performance are needed at this time but are willing to work with the
administration on the matter.
Agricultural Institute, Initiative
Meanwhile,
in a move that goes to the heart of Auburn’s original land-grant mission,
Richardson proposed establishing an institute to administer programs now under
the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, Alabama Cooperative Extension System,
College of Agriculture and School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences.
Richardson
said the institute will not be dominated by the College of Agriculture and would
be led by an administrator operating out of Samford Hall. He said the name should
reflect the institute’s broader role in natural resources and environmental
science. He will present recommendations to the board in September.
As
part of the institute development, AU needs to reduce the number of agricultural
experiment stations and have targeted objectives or specialties for those that
remain, he said. Funds generated by sale of agricultural station lands should
be earmarked in a quasi-foundation fund to help maintain the institute’s
operations, he added.
For the institute to be effective, Richardson said,
additional changes will be needed by April 2006. Those changes could follow a
review of departments and programs in other colleges and schools and decisions
on whether they would be more appropriate to include in the institute, he said.
For
a complete summary of the president's remarks to the board, click on the Summary
of Remarks link at the top right side of this page. |
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PRESIDENTIAL
INITIATIVES | | | | |
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STORIES | | | | | | | | | |
