March 1, 2006

Dear Colleagues, 

I am writing you to inform you of certain changes to DePaul University’s organizational structure that Helmut Epp, Scott Scarborough and I propose to make in the weeks ahead.  I am writing in advance of any final decisions in order to offer the departments that are affected, as well as the faculty and staff representative governance bodies, an opportunity to send me their thoughts.   

The purpose of these proposed changes is to better implement the goals of the new strategic plan and to better accomplish and align the university’s day-to-day activities.  In no way should these proposed changes be viewed as threatening job security in these areas.   

I have waited nearly two years to propose these moves for several reasons.  First, I was new to the organization, and it was important for me to observe and determine which structures served the organization well and which structures could be improved.  Several of the proposals below come from advice I received during my initial “listening tour” and/or subsequent conversations with many of you.   

Secondly, structure should always follow strategy.  I felt it was more important for the university to clarify its future directions before creating structures that would serve or potentially frustrate those strategies.   

Third, structure is often less important than those who lead it, and it was important that DePaul fill several open academic leadership positions - and then consult these individuals – before proposing the following restructuring.   

Permit me to list these proposed changes, and offer a brief word of explanation where needed: 

EVP for Academic Affairs and EVP for Operations 

• I propose that the EVP for Academic Affairs’ title be changed to Provost and the EVP for Operations’ title be changed to Executive Vice President.  Both the Provost and the EVP will continue to report directly to the President.
• This proposal has been advocated within DePaul since I arrived.  The change of titles clarifies that the provost is second-in-command after the president, and adopts the more classic and broadly understood title for a university’s chief academic officer. 
• Since the title “Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs” will no longer be used, it is no longer necessary to differentiate the other EVP with the words “for Operations.”  “Executive Vice President” is a commonly accepted title for a vice president with the range of responsibilities that fall under Scott’s oversight. 
• These changes of titles must be approved by the board of trustees and will be presented at the board’s May meeting. 

• Currently, the VP for Information Services (IS) reports to the EVP for Operations.  In this proposal, the VP for IS will report to the Provost. 
• At the same time, most of Instructional Technology Development (ITD) will rejoin IS, except for those ITD professionals assigned to assist faculty in course preparation. They will report to Academic Affairs and be managed by Sharon Guan under the supervision of the proposed new Vice President for Teaching and Learning Resources, Fr. Edward Udovic, C.M.
• This sector is being assigned to Helmut for supervision because of his particular expertise in these matters.  He once served as the vice president of IS, and, of course, is the founding dean of CTI.  The university also hopes that the consolidation of IS functions and realignment with the Provost will help foster new dialogue about academic technology needs, as well as align and improve IS services to the university community. 
• IS budgets, priorities and personnel decisions will be made by the Provost after consultation with the EVP.  The VP for IS will continue to attend meetings of the EVP’s division. 

• In this proposal, Student Affairs will report to the EVP.
• As you may recall, Student Affairs functioned within the Operations division until 2002-03.  The proposed return of Student Affairs to this division helps to balance the overall workload by allowing the Provost to focus on the achievement of Goal I academic and Goal IV enrollment management initiatives while the EVP works with Student Affairs to accomplish Goal II student initiatives.
• Because of the important programs that support student academic success, (e.g., Office of Academic Enhancement, PLuS Program and more), and because much of the Student Affairs programming collaborates closely with the colleges, the Vice President for Student Affairs will remain a full member of the Provost’s weekly staff meetings. 

• In this proposal, Academic Affairs will create a new centralized International Office.  Study Abroad, International Student Recruiting, and The English Language Academy (ELA) will become part of this new office. 

• These departments will report directly to the Office of Academic Affairs.

• In this proposal, the libraries and the Art Museum will report to Fr. Udovic who will replace Doris Brown, associate vice president for Teaching and Learning Resources, and will transfer to Academic Affairs as Vice President for Teaching and Learning Resources.
• Fr. Udovic will continue to oversee the Office of Mission and Values and serve as Secretary of the University.  These positions will continue to report directly to the President.

• The VP for Administrative Services position vacated by Fr. Udovic will not be filled.
• Distribution Services, Document Services and Internal Information Infrastructure will move to Facility Operations.
• The remaining departments in Administrative Services will report directly to the Office of the EVP.

• In this proposal, Loop Conference Services will join Facility Operations, where Lincoln Park Conference Services already functions.

• New associate vice president positions have been created for fiscal administration (Alyssa Kupka), Board/external relations and community outreach (Laurie Worrall), cross-college strategic plan implementation (Caryn Chaden), international programs (Joe Kinsella), and market and competitive analysis (Jackie Taylor). 
• The position of Vice President for Lifelong Learning and Suburban Campuses will be eliminated.

Truthfully, compelling arguments can be made for assigning IS and Student Affairs to either the Provost or the EVP.   IS supports research capability as well as university record-keeping.  Student Affairs cooperates closely with most university offices and colleges in order to create integrated services for student development and success.  While IS will now report to the Provost, and Student Affairs will now report to the EVP, the daily operations of both sectors will implement a matrix-model reporting structure.   The vice presidents of these two sectors will be full members of BOTH the Provost’s and the EVP’s staff meetings.  The Provost and EVP will work jointly in setting these sectors’ priorities, budgets and annual evaluations.   

In evaluating these changes, you will notice that Helmut, Scott and I have chosen to step back from the university’s commonly held assumption that the Provost’s office is responsible for all academic matters, while the EVP’s office is limited to non-academic matters.  I find this assumption unhelpful at DePaul, and at times, divisive.  Even an office as operational as “Facilities” directly contributes to the academic mission of the university through its construction of instructional and research facilities.  The financial office and decisions of the university obviously have enormous impact on the quality of our academic commitments.  Certainly, the provost’s office, colleges and faculty always will have responsibility for the curriculum and teaching experience in the classroom, but all of our offices, regardless of the reporting line or sector, work together to build an outstanding academic institution.    There is enormous overlap, and I find a hard-and-fast division of labor between “academic” and “operations” somewhat artificial.   This is yet another reason I propose that the titles EVP for academic affairs and EVP for operations be set aside.   

For the moment, all of these matters are still only proposals.  I invite those whose departments are affected, as well as any other interested parties to send their concerns directly to me by May 19^th at president@depaul.edu.  These proposed changes will be presented to the May meetings of both Faculty and Staff Councils, at which time members may submit their own suggestions and thoughts to Helmut and Scott who will be in attendance.  I will read all suggestions and then make a final determination before the Memorial Day weekend.   

Thank you in advance for your consideration of these matters. 

Sincerely, 
Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M.
President