Three-Year Action Plan, Reorganization, Educational Partnerships, Speakers

The University of Akron News

10/10/2018

Report to the Board of Trustees – October 2018

(Outline for delivery)

Introduction

  • Welcome new trustee, Thomas Needles.
  • My report will be brief to allow time for other speakers.

Key Topics

  1. Three-Year Action Plan
    1. Our primary focus this fall is the creation of an inclusive, realistic and actionable 3-Year Action Plan by the end of December.

    2. Our timetable is tight because the plan will inform:
      • the 2019/2020 university budget, and
      • the search for the next president.

    3. The Process
      • The 3-Year Plan process, which began October 2, will be similar in structure to the APR and AAR processes.
      • Unit-level reports – both academic and administrative – will be created then compiled into division/college-level reports. These reports then will be compiled by senior administration into a University-level report.
      • We will seek input from Faculty Senate and University Council.
      • The plan will be submitted to the Board in early December and finalized by the end of December.
      • Budget process will begin in January

    4. Data from APR and AAR will make our work on the 3-Year Action Plan much easier.

    5. Clarification: 
      • A few people have misread a recent communication about our reorganization proposals. They thought it referenced the APR and AAR processes. I repeat: those processes are complete and the AAR report is being finalized.
      • However, there is a change to the timing for consideration of the reorganization proposals.

  2. Reorganization
    1. The timeline for the reorganization planning has been extended to February 1, 2019.

    2. I want to give special thanks to:
      • Chairman Gingo
      • Linda Saliga (Faculty Senate)
      • Phil Allen (University Council)
      • Julie Cajigas (AAUP) for their input and cooperation

    3. Discussion with these and other individuals have made it clear that more time is needed to study the reorganization proposals.

    4. Many good ideas have been received from colleagues. Discussions will continue and I look forward to bringing to the February 20129 Board meeting a fully developed recommendation.

    5. For now, we will focus on the 3-Year Action Plan.

  3. New Educational Partnerships Are Helping Us To “Widen the Education Pipeline in Akron”
    1. Last month we announced a Sister University program with Akron Public Schools that includes:
      • Ellet High School
      • the National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM High School
      • and the Akron Early College High School.

    2. This program includes:
      • Closer engagement with high school faculty
      • to develop classroom lessons
      • Designing new learning opportunities
      • Implementing college admission testing preparation programs
      • Summer and college enrichment opportunities
      • Workshops for students and parents on the college admission process

    3. Another initiative is a kind of informal partnership that the Board will consider at this meeting. The Urban STEM Education Center will engage our faculty with private and public-school teachers throughout the region.
      • The Center will reside in the LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education.
      • It will benefit teachers from school systems throughout our region by offering expanded teacher education programs focusing on STEM offerings at K-12 levels, and by conducting research on the efficacy of these programs.

    4. The third partnership agreement is with Stark State College, of which I can say very little publicly at this time.
      1. We will be at Stark State’s Akron campus on Friday morning for a joint announcement.
        • The details of that announcement have been embargoed until that time.
        • What I can say is that we have had a very good collaborative relationship with that institution, and that collaboration will grow even stronger.

Introduction of Speakers:

  1. Career Services
    1. I will now turn over my time to a few other speakers who will share some important information with you.

    2. Before I do, however, I want to comment about a presentation that will be part of the Academic Issues and Student Success Committee Report.

    3. Laura Carey is the director of the Career Services Office, and she’ll tell us more about that unit and what it does.

    4. I want to point out that Career Services is one of those offices that somehow maintains a low-profile despite having a huge impact on the lives of our students and recent graduates.

    5. For example, the career fairs they put on last week were a great success, as they are every year.

    6. When I was dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, I was aware of the critical work this office does to prepare our students for what comes right after graduation.

    7. I am glad you will have an opportunity to learn more about the important, if quiet, work this office performs for our students.

  2. Joint Committee on Ohio College Affordability Report
    1. At this time, I ask Lisa Dodge, and Drew Davidson of Sean P. Dunn & Associates of Columbus to come forward.

    2. Lisa and Drew are consultants who work with our government relations team on state issues and advise us on the latest developments from the Ohio Legislature and the Governor’s Office.

    3. They will provide a summary, and answer your questions, on the recently released report by the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Ohio College Affordability.

  3. ROTC 100th Anniversary
    1. Thank you, Lisa and Drew.

    2. This year marks the 100th Anniversary of our ROTC program.

    3. Chairman, I can think of no better way to conclude my report than by honoring this venerable program.

    4. I ask Mr. Nathan Mortimer, himself a respected veteran of our nation’s armed forces, to say a few words and introduce our speaker. Nathan?
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