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News

Presidential Report on Leadership and Structure

Preparing Indiana University for Future Distinction

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The following is a report from Indiana University President Adam W. Herbert to the IU Board of Trustees. Journalists who have questions about the report should contact Larry MacIntyre, IU Media Relations, 812-856-9035, or Vice President for University Relations Mike Sample, at 812-855-0850. President Herbert will not be available today, Friday, Jan. 13, for questions, but will be available to reporters after the 3 p.m. IU Board of Trustees special meeting in Bloomington tomorrow, Jan. 14.

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Preparing Indiana University for Future Distinction

Bloomington Campus Leadership Structure
The most significant problem that seems to impact perceptions and the capacity of IU presidents to exercise leadership relates to the role of the president on the Bloomington campus. I am strongly convinced that the existence of a Chancellor on the Bloomington campus is not consistent with either Board or faculty expectations of the president of the university. Simply stated, the capacity of the president to exercise campus leadership and to engage in the level of campus communication that the faculty desires is limited given the respective duties of both positions as currently defined.

Consistent with the practices of many research institutions and with the desires expressed by the faculty for an academic officer whose focus is on the campus only, I urge the Board to restructure the leadership of the Bloomington campus by: eliminating the position of Chancellor, establishing the President as the clear leader of the campus and creating the new position of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Bloomington that will serve as the chief academic officer of the Bloomington campus. A proposed position description for this new position is attached. The position of Provost will assure that the Bloomington campus has a full-time academic officer who, under the leadership of the President, will have priority responsibility for enhancing academic quality and standing of the campus.

Other University Leadership Structure and Organization Practices
The proposed Bloomington leadership changes require other structural changes at the university level to assure better alignment with institutional needs and priorities. Specifically, I would urge the Board to take the following actions.

Modify the title and duties of the Vice President for Long-Range Planning and Chancellor, IUPUI by deleting "for Long-Range Planning" and adding "Executive." The description for the Executive Vice President and Chancellor, IUPUI is attached.

Change the reporting relationship of the Dean of the Kelley School of Business from the Chancellor, IUPUI to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Bloomington.

Examine the continuing appropriateness of the university school model for Nursing, SPEA, and Social Work and of the core campus school model for the Kelley School of Business and the School of Education.

Consistent with the Board's approval of IUPUI's mission as Indiana University's academic health sciences campus, move the School of Optometry budget from the Bloomington campus to the IUPUI campus to align with other health sciences.

To provide greater clarity for the School of Medicine's budget, establish a separate appropriation request and budget reporting mechanism for the School within the IUPUI campus budget, and insure that the budget for the Bloomington Campus Medical Science program is administered by the School of Medicine.

Shift the reporting line of the Vice President and Dean of the School of Medicine to the President of the University. The Executive Vice President will be the President's liaison to the school. The Dean will coordinate medical program development with the Provost and the Chancellors of the IU campuses on which the medical school offers its programs.

Academic Enhancement and Organizational Culture
There are several current cultural conditions within the university that make very difficult the achievement of the university's potential. Although they may be sensitive matters, the failure to address them in some fashion will maintain an unstable organizational environment that will continue to delimit institutional advancement and hamper the effective exercise of presidential leadership.

It has been suggested that the structure of RCM is a major barrier to the development of campus level priorities and institutional strategic directions. The current system focuses priority attention on enrollments for every academic unit and may pit some of them against each other. As structured, it gives the President and campus leadership limited flexibility to shift priorities or make important strategic investments. A study of RCM is currently underway and will be completed during the 2006 Spring term. It is essential that the administration and Board carefully consider the results of that study to determine whether changes are necessary to address institutional, campus and academic unit needs as we seek to enhance academic quality throughout the institution.

The university currently operates as an education confederation rather than as a contemporary university focused on high academic standards and total development of the students we serve. The academic units operate with a mind set that they own the degrees offered and that there is no room for campus or university-level academic requirements. This is best illustrated by the fact that unlike most major research universities, the faculty has been unable to agree on a set of general education courses or principles. The failure to take this action is educationally unsound, is a disservice to our students as they change majors or transfer to other university campuses and is a powerful statement that the faculty, administration and trustees cannot identify the core elements of an IU education about which we are so proud. I urge the Board to establish fall 2008 as a date certain for implementation of a general education curriculum on each campus that is consistent with standard practices in the academy and would apply to every student entering IU without an Associates degree from another institution.

The university is committed to enhancing the quality and reputation of each IU campus. The achievement of this quality enhancement objective must begin with specific actions initiated at the academic unit level. Because this has been expressed as a faculty priority particularly on the Bloomington campus, the initiative proposed below should be implemented there first. I urge the Board to direct the administration to develop, in consultation with faculty, a comprehensive longitudinal accountability program that assesses academic quality on an annual basis for every academic unit on the Bloomington campus. At a minimum, the program should provide the Board with an on-going picture of the quality of academic programs offered, graduation rates, unit productivity, faculty scholarship and research, student quality, national ranks and other relevant data. I urge the Board to direct that this initiative be fully implemented no later than the 2008 fall term.

Although there is no formal written policy at this time, it is important that the Board make clear that it does conduct an annual evaluation of the president of the university. That review process should be more formalized in writing and speak to the establishment of metrics that will be used at the beginning of each year. The priorities discussed by the Board during its retreat are illustrative of the types of metrics that might be considered each year, along with any special matters that the Board feels should be addressed. I also urge the Board to seek formal faculty input into the annual evaluation through the faculty-elected co-chairs of the UFC.

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Bloomington
Reporting directly to the President, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Bloomington is the chief academic officer of the Bloomington campus of Indiana University. The position has direct responsibility for IUB academic and professional school education and several non-academic operations and for graduate education throughout the university. The Provost has final responsibility for recommending decisions to the President related to: IUB campus tenure and promotion; and the appointment of campus deans and directors. The Provost supervises and conducts regular reviews of their performance; and administers budget allocations to academic and non-degree granting units of the campus. He/she is responsible for many service units including extensive auxiliary operations, and SES, and is expected to maintain a close working relationship with campus deans, faculty, students, staff members, and their respective organizations. Along with the Executive Vice President of the University, acts as liaison to the Board of Trustees on academic matters. By interacting with members of the surrounding community as well as with local and state officials, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Bloomington helps the President to embed the institution into the life of the Bloomington community and the state.

Executive Vice President and Chancellor, IUPUI
Reporting directly to the President, the Executive Vice President assists the president in addressing the full range of university-level policy and administrative issues and has university-wide responsibility for providing coordination and consultative services to campus chancellors and academic vice chancellors. The Executive Vice president is also responsible for: monitoring the conduct of all undergraduate academic programs, program reviews, reviewing proposed new undergraduate academic programs and organizational units, accreditation reviews, and for acting as liaison to the Board of Trustees and the Higher Education Commission on academic matters. He/she reviews promotion and tenure dossiers from all campuses except IUB and makes recommendations about them to the President. The Executive Vice President also represents the university in a wide range of state and local professional, political and community settings. The Chancellor is the Chief Executive Officer for IUPUI and is charged with academic leadership and general supervision of the Indianapolis-based operational functions that provide support services. By interacting with members of the surrounding community as well as with local and state officials, the Executive Vice President and Chancellor, IUPUI helps the President to embed the institution into the life of the Indianapolis community and the state.