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Winona State University in the 21st Century
The mission of Winona State University is to educate and enlighten our citizenry at a distinctive institution: a community of learners improving our world.
Reorganizing the Administration: Supporting Our Mission
Rationale for the Reorganization Plan
The reorganization of the administration of Winona State University is designed to provide the capacity we need to achieve our mission by bringing together offices, services and functions that are complementary and that would benefit from closer alignment and by more tightly focusing the scope of each vice presidential area to ensure that every senior officer has a reasonable number of responsibilities and a portfolio of closely-related functions and programs. The reorganization plan is also intended to contribute to our capacity to accomplish our institutional goals and to prepare for our emergence as an institution that stands out from the crowd in a number of admirable ways. These aspirations guide our approach to innovation and program development[1].
The context for the changes that will take place in the central administration is set by our strategic goals as articulated in the FY 06 Presidential Workplan[2] and by the initial implementation of our Learning for the 21st Century plans. We intend to provide more support for the accomplishment of our goals, each of which requires a distinctive and effective infrastructure created from an integrative blending of our current capacities.
q Goal One: Provide high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs that respond to economic, environmental and social challenges and serve as a durable foundation for the acquisition of the knowledge, skills, habits and capabilities of a well-educated person.
q Goal Two: Provide opportunities and experiences that instill global competences and learning opportunities that will make a difference in improving our world.
q Goal Three: Development the infrastructure that supports a culture of change and innovation and that demonstrates new ways of working together to provide an environment that supports and sustains scholarly excellence and outstanding student experiences.
q Goal Four: Create a learning environment that promotes active learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and new ways to work together.
Although this summary is devoted to the administrative reorganization and the redesign of our most important infrastructure that will focus our capacities and underlie our investment in our future, there are also other elements to our strategy including (a) the application of the Three R’s (Redesign, Revenue generation and Cost Reduction); (b) the introduction of a strategic planning and budgeting model that will allow us to assess our progress and the quality and impact of our efforts and to make evidence-based investments in our core capacity; and (c) the establishment of an innovation fund that will be an on-going part of our annual budget. We have already experimented with the use of an Innovation Fund as we have undertaken the implementation of Learning for the 21st Century (L21) during the Expansion Phase of our approach to making Winona State University a true 21st century institution.
Implementation Plan
The implementation of the reorganization will take place in phases and will be completed over a two-year period. The reason for the extended timeline is to allow for the initial design and testing of several new integrated functions before external searches are undertaken. We are already in the process of recruiting a new Vice President for Academic Affairs and a University Librarian. In the spring we will gear up searches for a new Dean of Business and a new Vice President for Student Life and Development (replacing the current position of Vice President for Student Affairs and Facilities as Cal Winbush retires).
The first phase of reorganization will occur in June 2006 and will including the support functions that are responsible for the effective management and use of institutional resources that create our educational and scholarly environment, that enable our growing collaboration as a community and contribute to student success (i.e., people, money, space and intellectual capital [ideas].) The second phase will focus on the strengthening of the Office of Academic Affairs. It will begin in the fall of 2006 and will continue through the next academic year.
During the phasing in of the plan, several of the key positions will be filled with fixed term internal appointments. These will include the positions of Associate Vice President for Research, Graduate Studies and Assessment, the Associate Vice President for Information Technology Services and CIO, and the Vice President for Finance and Administrative Affairs. In this reorganization, we will go from six senior administrators (five vice presidents and a comptroller) to four and we will add two associate vice presidents for academic affairs.
Phase I
Timeline: Effective summer 2006.
Office of Student Life and Development
The current Office of Student Affairs/Facilities will be restructured to create an Office of Student Life and Development The facilities area will be transferred to a newly created Office of Finance and Administrative Affairs. The areas within Student Life and Development will include Integrated Academic Services (a project already underway with space to be provided in the Maxwell Renovation), an integrated wellness, health, counseling and fitness center, Residential Life, the Student Union and student organizations, intramurals, Career Planning and a new Dean of Students Office that will focus on student conduct and community relations in the neighborhoods surrounding the Winona campuses. Integrated Academic Services (IAS) incorporates Student Accounts (with a reporting line to the comptroller), Admissions, Advising and Retention, Parking (with a line to the Office of Finance and Administrative Services), Registrar and Financial Aid.
Office of Finance and Administrative Services
The new Office of Finance and Administrative Services will be put together from the current Office of University Affairs, the Comptroller and the Division of Facilities and will be headed by a Vice President. It will consist of legal affairs, a financial division consisting of a budget office that will expand to include the current business office and the bookstore, human resources, a consolidated security/safety/parking and emergency planning office and a consolidated facilities/construction management and campus planning office.
Office of University Affairs
The Office of University Affairs will become part of the new Office of Finance and Administrative Services.
Office of Advancement
The Office of Advancement, headed by Vice President Jim Schmidt, will remain essentially unchanged structurally. We are, however, putting an increasing emphasis on a culture of philanthropy as well as on community partnerships that support economic and community development. The Office of Advancement will play a crucial role as we expand our fund-raising efforts and continue to develop our capacity for effective communications both within the institution and with our many constituencies.
Athletics
The Director of Athletics will continue to report to the President.
Phase II
Timeline: Beginning in fall 2006.
Office of Academic Affairs
The reorganization will provide for the creation of new academic support within the Office of Academic Affairs. The Office of Academic Affairs will contain infrastructure that supports a stronger research and graduate studies function that can provide an appropriate environment for doctoral education, faculty scholarship, undergraduate research experiences and the expansion of our masters programming as well as a much enhanced assessment and institutional research and planning capacity. We also will support the preparation of more proposals for federally-sponsored research and educational innovation and more extensive post-award support for funded investigators. Academic Affairs will also continue to support the professional development of faculty and staff and the support of an evidence-based approach to university planning and resource allocation.
Associate Vice President for, Research, Graduate Studies and Assessment
The new Office of Research, Graduate Studies and Assessment will be created from the current areas of assessment, institutional research, graduate studies, and grants and sponsored projects. Although this office will support all four of our university goals, it is designed to serve as the core infrastructure for Goal Three by providing data, resources, and information to support innovation ranging from the work of individual scholars to the study of the university community itself. This Office will also provide support for L21-related projects that have the potential to generate external research support.
Associate Vice President for the WSU Rochester Center/Outreach
Our evolving presence in Rochester will be supported by the current Associate Vice President for the Rochester Center and Outreach. Dr. Christine Barajas. As planned in the study phase of L21, we will continue to add resources to our Rochester Center as well as to the Office of Outreach and Continuing Education (OCED). The OCED portfolio will expand to include more intensive collaboration with communities in SE Minnesota as well as an increase in our emphasis on evening, weekend and summer programming in order to diversify the number of students we serve and the educational programming we offer them. Our programming and engagement in the Rochester area will contribute to the achievement of all of our University Goals but will be especially important in addressing Goal One.
Associate Vice President for Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Our further development as a leader in the effective use of instructional technology will be assisted by the development of a consolidated Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) that incorporates the webmaster from Advancement as well as the e-Learning Center, and the laptop program within Academic Affairs in addition to the current components of ITS which are systems, technical support, classroom support and telecommunications. This new Office will no longer be free standing but will be a significant component of Academic Affairs. This consolidation reflects a growing trend toward integration of academic and administrative computing functions in institutions that enjoy ubiquitous computing. The new Technology office will also work closely with the new Office of Research, Assessment and Graduate Studies and the Center for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. This consolidated office will be headed by an Associate Vice President for Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO). In the process, the current position of Vice President for Technology will be eliminated. The Technology Office is intended to increase our capacity to provide appropriate support for all of our university Goals, with a special emphasis on Goal Three.
Executive Director of International and Domestic Study Programs
A consolidated office of international and domestic study programs will be created from the current travel study program, the study abroad program and the international office to support our growing interest in international affairs. It will be headed by an Executive Director. This consolidated office is designed to support Goal Two.
Prepared by Judith Ramaley
February 10, 2006
Revised February 27, 2006
[1] Information about Learning for the 21st Century (L21) can be found on the WSU homepage by clicking on Learning for the 21st Century.
[2] The Workplan is posted on the President’s Home Page. It represents the joint planning of the Cabinet and Council of Administrators.