Realizing the Vision:
College Reorganization

Official Charge to the CCR

April 2, 2004

TO: Jon Sticklen, Chairperson
Executive Committee of Academic Council

FROM: Lou Anna K. Simon
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

SUBJECT: Request for Consultation, Proposed Committee on College Reorganization: Arts & Letters, Social Science and Communication Arts and Sciences

On February 17, 2004 I presented to the Michigan State University community my views on how we might improve the quality of liberal arts education "for all our students" at MSU. Realizing the Vision: Liberal Arts in the 21 st Century Land Grant University outlined a series of initiatives as a blueprint to further focus discussion, and it immediately prompted serious discussions among faculty, staff, and students. A time line for receiving comments and proposals was initially established for March 1, 2004 . However, in response to commentary in Academic Council, I extended the time line until the end of March for commentary and new proposals related to the initiatives for changing college structures.

It is now time to focus these discussions so that alternative concrete proposals and courses of action can be carefully evaluated and appropriately implemented. One of the four areas identified in Realizing the Vision is college reorganization. In order to reinvigorate the liberal arts and sciences in the 21 st century land grant university, Realizing the Vision advocates:

Changing college structures to promote new interdisciplinary and cross-unit dialogues as well as nurture activities related to our education, scholarly, and outreach programs.

Not surprisingly, the specific reorganization proposals affecting colleges and in Realizing the Vision generally elicited strong reactions, both pro and con, about substance and process. They also elicited a number of interesting alternative ideas and suggestions, including concerns as well as very constructive suggestions over how the process of reorganization should proceed related to the Colleges of Arts & Letters, Social Science and Communication Arts and Sciences.

In response to these events and in order to move the process of reorganization forward, I propose to form a new Committee on College Reorganization of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Committee will represent three colleges (Arts & Letters, Communications Arts and Sciences, and Social Science) identified in Realizing the Vision most likely to benefit from "new interdisciplinary and cross-unit dialogues." Additionally, the College of Natural Science will be represented as an important contributor to the overall educational experiences of our students and in recognition of the new connections between the arts and sciences that are increasingly important in the 21 st century.

The Committee's primary task will be to guide the process of reorganization so that a wide range of views can be considered carefully, not to pre-empt the faculties of these colleges or circumvent normal governance channels.

Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Philosophy Stephen Esquith has agreed to lead a small work group to begin this summer looking at the variety of organizational proposals and commentary that have emerged to date as well as to facilitate consideration of new options.

In this role, in addition to continuing as chair of the Department of Philosophy, Professor Esquith will carry the title of Special Advisor to the Provost and will report directly to the Provost for this portion of his assignment. The Committee will work together to think about connectivity broadly across the liberal arts and sciences, recognizing that college structures do not necessarily impose a limitation on collaboration. I will encourage Professor Esquith and the Committee to look at college reorganization and new structures that have the potential to enrich the disciplinary mixture of liberal arts and sciences with professional programs across college structures, as well as provide a better organizational framework for programs and resiliency during a time of constrained resources.

The work of the Committee will be the next step in establishing a set of principles to guide organizational changes as related to, for example, connectivity between the liberal arts and professional programs, undergraduate teaching, the care and mentoring of graduate students, and the expectation that faculty are able to teach and make contributions to graduate and undergraduate education beyond their areas of original specialization.

Specifically Professor Esquith and the Committee will begin work

• to continue campus-wide conversation on liberal arts and science education at MSU,
• to organize discussions among faculty and students in the colleges of Arts & Letters, Social Science, Communications Arts and Sciences, and Natural Science on the scope, values, and forms of existing and potential interdisciplinary and cross-unit forms of collaborative research, teaching, and service,
• to solicit, consider, and seek comments from faculty and students on alternative college reorganization proposals that both "nurture activities related to our education, scholarly, and outreach programs" and build "new interdisciplinary and cross-unit" connections, with special attention to the blend of college reorganization and program realignment,
• to recommend to the Provost by October 1, 2004 how college reorganization should proceed based upon these conversations, discussions, proposals, and comments.

Following receipt of the report of the Committee, there will be further consideration and appropriate review within the academic governance system. I note that any formal actions to restructure colleges will require approval by the Board of Trustees.

A memorandum from Professor Esquith is appended that provides additional detail for the context and rationale for the work of this Committee. Additionally, Professor Esquith will initiate planning for a major event associated with the time of our sesquicentennial. This event will focus on the liberal arts and sciences for the public good in keeping with our land-grant values and tradition.

I seek the advice of the Executive Committee of Academic Council as to which University-level governance committees, if any, should be consulted regarding this proposal.

c: Dean Baba
Dean and Assistant Provost Klomparens
Dean and Assistant Provost Youatt
Dean Leroi
Acting Dean Salmon
Dean Wilkins
Professor Esquith
Chairperson of the Arts & Letters College Advisory Council, Grover Hudson
Chairperson of the Social Science College Advisory Council, Merry Morash
Chairperson of the Communication Arts & Science College Advisory Council, Steve Wildman