Fwd: Economic challenges and the need for open communication

[Aaron Petcoff]

From the university president to University staff. Events/opportunities for communication with the president on university policy.


- Aaron


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Aaron Petcoff
Student Environmental Action Coalition
aa...@seac.org | 734.239.4311
http://apetcoff.wordpress.org

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: President <pres...@wayne.edu>
Date: Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 11:44 AM
Subject: Economic challenges and the need for open communication
To: ALL...@lists.wayne.edu

As you are aware, Michigan’s economic challenges have a direct impact on Wayne State University.  Not only are we subject to the same economic pressures felt by other ongoing concerns, but 25% of our revenue comes directly from state appropriations. As the state finds it increasingly difficult to create a balanced budget, appropriations for higher education will become increasingly vulnerable. 

We will be faced with many difficult decisions in the upcoming months as we learn more about the state’s budgeting outlook for 2011.  We will be guided in these decisions by the overarching principle of preserving the core educational and research missions of the University that have been entrusted to us, and which form the essential nature of Wayne State University. Budgeting by definition is often an exercise in compromise, but we cannot compromise on this principle as we are committed to maintaining our status as a premier urban research university.

At this time, we do not know the specific impact of the budget on our appropriations, but we feel we must resist the temptation to take a short term view of this situation, and instead focus on a longer term, strategic approach that will allow us to both weather this economic storm and lay a foundation for a stable future. This will not be easy, but most things worth doing are hard. If we are to control our destiny—and I am confident that we will—we must rise to this challenge rather than shrink from it. 

Times of uncertainty, like those we face today, sometimes give rise to speculation that is based more on emotion than information. While this may be understandable, it is often counterproductive and sometimes harmful. To ensure the most accurate and current information is shared among faculty, staff and administration, it is essential that we communicate openly and regularly. To facilitate this, we will continue to leverage our existing communications forums, to which we have added a number of additional opportunities for dialog and input. We also plan to institute new opportunities to share information broadly and transparently.  I will continue to be personally involved in many of these forums in order to assure that we receive input and feedback directly. I strongly encourage all participants to engage openly and provide the frank and thoughtful input necessary to not only address current challenges but to help decide our future strategy.  Among the communications forums designed to encourage dialog among faculty, staff and administration are:

• Monthly Academic Senate meetings, co-chaired by the president of the Academic Senate and the provost: The Academic Senate provides a regular pipeline of information and advice. I will continue to be present for an open dialog session for the first 15 minutes of each meeting (or longer if requested).
• Monthly meetings of the Policy Committee of the Academic Senate, where I will also attend for the first 15 minutes of open dialog.
• Attendance at all Academic Senate Policy Committee meetings by the budget work group of the Cabinet (Provost, Vice President for Research, Vice President for Finance and Facilities, and Associate Vice President for Budget).
• Monthly attendance at regular meeting of the President’s Cabinet by the President and Vice President of the Academic Senate.
• Newly formed junior and senior faculty committees to advise the president and supplement the Faculty Senate committees .
• Weekly Council of Deans meetings, chaired by the provost, with presidential attendance periodically.
• Ongoing Strategic Directions campus open forums: Several of these forums were held prior to the holiday break. Based on the input received, the content of the initial considerations is currently being revised. Each forum began with a presidential overview, and open input is encouraged both in the forums and on the Strategic Directions Web site (also being updated).
• Budget meetings: In preparation for the FY 2010 budget, regular and open budget meetings were convened to solicit broad input on budget formulation. This process will be implemented for FY11 and future budget planning, with participation from the Board of Governors, the president, students, faculty and staff.
• Faculty forums: Open discussions between the president and the faculty of each school and college.
• Ongoing dialog with WSU’s Student Council: These meetings have been very useful in helping us understand student issues and concerns, and we plan to increase their regularity and frequency.
• University task force committees to analyze and provide recommendations on key strategic issues: Committee membership is variable depending on the topic, but includes representatives from students, faculty, staff and administration. In most cases, the president of the Faculty Senate is asked to provide recommendations for faculty representation. Among the task forces are:
• Student Success Task Force
• Code of Ethics Committee
• Task Force on Online Instruction
• Research Incentive Task Force
• LEADS Task Force
• Strategic Planning Budget Committee
• Strategic Directions Task Forces:
• Teaching and Learning
• Research
• Campus Life
• Urban Engagement
• Resources
• Enrollment
• Infrastructure
• Presidential communication: In addition to the formal scheduled communications forums and e-mail updates as appropriate, I will be increasing the content of the presidential Web site and hosting a presidential blog – http://president.wayne.edu/blog - to provide updates on current issues and feedback on input received. The blog will launch the first week of February, 2010.

 

Open and ongoing communication will be a critical component in helping us meet our current challenges and map our future, and we are fully committed to making campus leadership available to engage in thoughtful and productive dialog. Considering the array of issues, challenges and opportunities, I fully expect this dialog to be deep and passionate. I encourage you to avail yourselves of the many communications opportunities so you may take an active role in shaping our future direction.  Please feel free as well to contact me at pres...@wayne.edu, members of the Cabinet (listed below), or members of the Faculty Senate/ Policy Committee of the Academic Senate at http://sun.science.wayne.edu/~senate/. 

 

Thank you for your participation.

Jay Noren
President

 

 

 

President’s Cabinet

 

Nancy S. Barrett

Provost and Senior Vice President

 

John L. Davis

Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

 

Andrea Roumell Dickson

Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff

 

Harvey Hollins III

Vice President for Government and Community Affairs

 

Louis Lessem

Vice President and General Counsel

 

Julie H. Miller

Secretary to the Board of Governors and Senior Executive Assistant to the President

 

Hilary Ratner

Vice President for Research

 

David Ripple

Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs
and President, Wayne State University Foundation