For the past three weeks, I have emphasized the importance of teamwork to the senior leadership team of this great university. In response, several members of the leadership team have stepped up to take on new assignments to make the collective leadership stronger and the cost of administration lower.
Please join me in thanking the individuals listed below for their willingness to take on these new assignments:
- Candace Campbell Jackson will become Vice President for Student Success and Vice Provost for Academic Success in the Office of Academic Affairs. Working closely with Senior Vice President and Provost Mike Sherman, Candace brings a depth and breadth of experience to ensure that our students' experiences in and out of the classroom align with and contribute to their academic success. She will continue to provide leadership in student affairs, in addition to areas previously directed by Jim Tressel, including student success and student academic support.
- To lower costs, the position of Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Chief of Staff is being eliminated. Paul Herold, Assistant Secretary to the Board and Special Assistant to the President, will provide operational support to the President's office while continuing to do the same for the Office of the Board of Trustees.
- Chief Financial Officer David Cummins will partner with information technology (IT), human resources, facilities and capital planning, and the E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Center to ensure that these areas are working together in the most cost-effective ways possible. The budget office and enrollment management will report directly to me for now.
- Communications, marketing, community relations, public affairs, alumni relations and development will join together in a new office of institutional advancement to be led by John LaGuardia, Vice President of Public Affairs and Development.
I have discussed these changes with our Board of Trustees. The Board will be asked to formally approve these changes at its July 30 meeting, and we will adjust reporting relationships after the meeting.
I continue to meet with members of the various campus constituencies who care deeply about this university. Their insights have informed my decisions about these organizational changes. I look forward to continuing these conversations and learning from this great community. There is a positive energy at The University of Akron. It is contagious!
Sincerely yours,
