May 15, 2006

TO:   The Fairleigh Dickinson University Community

FR:    Michael Adams, President
         Willard Gingerich, University Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

RE:    Administration Reorganization

A memo describing the evolution of the administrative organization, from a structure with an Executive Vice President to one with a University Provost, was distributed to the community in December 2004 as we were in the midst of the search for a University Provost and Chief Academic Officer.  The goal was to provide the community a rough road map of aim and intention.

Time has passed, with new people, new positions and new roles.  Moreover, there has been sufficient time for consideration of alternate models and constituency expectations of administrative roles and structure. FDU is a complex organization with a unique structural evolution and does not conform to most traditional views of the organization of higher education. Together and individually we have discussed the topic of administrative organization with a wide cross section of the university.  A campus town meeting was held at the College at Florham.  Organization has been a consistent topic at Dean’s Council, and individual members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee have offered counsel and insight.  The Middle States Self-Study and the Faculty Senate’s Handbook Committee have been especially helpful in identifying key issues with the development of the role of Chief Academic Officer.

Five guiding principles emerged from several months of discussion and advice:

1. Insure that an academic view is the predominant driving force in university decision-making.
2. Sustain the growing identities and success of individual campuses.
3. University issues should be managed centrally and campus issues managed locally.
4. Don’t change what is working or add unnecessary complexity.
5. Don’t over-burden the Chief Academic Officer position with an excessive number of reporting lines. [One proposed organization had 21 reporting lines.  That would be an impossible situation.]

The University Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs is the number two position in the University. Fairleigh Dickinson’s Chief Academic Officer must be able to prioritize and deliver on university-wide issues, ensure academic quality, confirm process integrity and consistency, and advance strategic issues and initiatives.

Attached is a sequence of charts outlining the structure that will be effective July 1, 2006. 

Historically, FDU has oscillated between a centralized university administrative structure and one that is campus-focused.  This design is a blended model, bringing strong, University-wide academic leadership through the University Provost, while sustaining individual campus identity and growth through strong, campus Provosts.

Highlights of the most important changes from the current configuration include:

• Academic Deans and the University Librarian report directly to the University Provost
• The University Provost, Campus Provosts, Academic Deans and University Librarian come together to function as an administrative academic policy council, chaired by the University Provost.
• The University Provost is co-chair of the University Planning and Budget Committee
• The University Provost is the administrative representative to the Faculty Senate
• The Deans are the chief academic and administrative officers in their colleges and as such have full academic and budget authority.

We believe this model will provide both the authority and flexibility to achieve our shared goals.