Beginning this summer, five joint task forces approved by SUNY Fredonia’s University Senate will begin a process that fewer than a dozen universities nationwide have undertaken: the restructuring of Academic Affairs into a new organizational model of multiple schools instead of traditional academic departments. The decision, announced by Provost Terry Brown, Ph.D., just before commencement, has been a contentious one, as faculty members have expressed concern and support for the plan. Many have also questioned the manner in which Brown made her decision — without the University Senate’s support — and fear that the move diminishes a critical principle in higher education: shared governance.

More than just “college politics,” Brown’s decision and the strong feelings it has generated signal a major change for the college, the biggest employer in northern Chautauqua County.

Background

“University political issues often look mysterious from outside the school,” said Darrin Rogers, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology. “One area of nearly constant discussion is how to best structure our teaching and scholarly work. Another is who gets a say in university decisions like these.” Rogers explained that today, most American colleges model a “labor/management” structure, wherein the faculty and staff are the labor and administrators are management.

Differently, however, many college administrators come to their roles with little or no business experience, and colleges don’t make or sell regular products or services. “We provide educational opportunities and do scholarship,” Rogers explained. “Universities serve their constituents better, and work more effectively, with faculty participating in decisions.” At Fredonia, this shared governance takes the form of Senate and department chairpersons, among other bodies, Rogers said.

Like most universities, Fredonia’s current structure includes a provost, two associate provosts, four deans, two directors, two associate deans, 23 chairs, assistant and associate chairs, program coordinators and 31 secretaries and office assistants. Brown’s new plan involves no more than six cross-disciplinary schools (no departments), run by full-time directors and associate directors who oversee faculty coordinators in charge of programs and curricula.

For Brown, the urgency of the college’s financial situation motivated her decision; however, she explained that working across disciplines will have several more benefits for faculty in their research and teaching. Students will stand to gain much from this model that she feels most resembles the real world, which she explained to college council members on May 8.

University Senate’s vote

In her proposal to Senate for their advisory vote, submitted on April 5, Brown stated, “Fredonia faces serious budget challenges and must immediately reduce expenditures in order to minimize the loan to be borrowed from SUNY.” Importantly, the proposal adds that “Fredonia must demonstrate to SUNY that we are taking decisive action to reduce our operating budget and structural deficit” and that Academic Affairs needs to permanently save over $1 million.

Brown went on to present the multiple schools model, followed by a clause that would invoke an alternative plan (two schools and 12 departments) should the multiple schools model fail to receive the University Senate’s support. “Because of this construction, some Senators worried that a failure to endorse Plan A (multiple schools model) could be seen as a tacit endorsement of Plan B by the Senate,” Rogers said. An outside SUNY expert on Parliamentary Procedure confirmed that a proposal could not contain such a contradiction and should be split into two independent proposals for consideration.

However, by May 13, Brown’s proposal was unchanged, so Senators voted only on Plan A and an alternative plan proposed by Neil Feit, Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy, and other Senators. The alternative plan proposed a similar cost savings, but involved linking some existing departments, sharing chairs and secretaries when possible and allowing for voluntary mergers between departments. A total of 48 votes were cast (one member abstained) and both Brown’s and the Senators’ resolutions failed by two votes and four votes, respectively. On May 17, Brown sent a faculty-wide email announcing her decision:

“After consulting with University Senate, President Horvath and her Cabinet, and SUNY Provost Tod Laursen, I have decided that the Division of Academic Affairs will reorganize into multiple schools. The five joint task forces, approved by Senate, will begin their work of designing the new structure this summer.” The upcoming 2019-20 school year will see the transition to Brown’s new structure with full implementation of the new model by fall 2020.

Faculty reactions

“At a senate meeting in April, she explicitly said she will support ‘whatever the senate decides,'” said Feit. “On May 13, the senate voted against her resolution, but she has announced plans to go forward with her reorganization plan. This suggests that she never intended to have good faith in shared governance or pursue any other plan.”

Bruce Simon, Ph.D., associate professor of English and University Senate Faculty Senator, pointed out, “The University Senate vetted and debated the merits of various reorganization proposals over the course of the spring semester. … The Provost’s reorganization proposal came the closest to approval, falling short by two votes. University Senate’s recommendations are just that: recommendations to the President or designee (in this case, Provost Brown). The Provost was within her rights to make her own decision.”

Rogers expressed concern that the new plan eliminates a crucial part of shared governance, faculty chairs, especially since faculty members have to live with university decisions for a long time. “Because of the business culture prevalent in university administration, administrators tend to stay only a few years at a university before the next career hop, but faculty tend to stay decades, often leading to more conservative decisions about our universities and communities,” he explained.

His concerns have been echoed by others, including Feit, who fears Brown’s decision is “morally problematic.” According to Feit, “She is actively seeking campus president jobs and has been a finalist this spring for at least two president positions, including one at another SUNY campus. In itself, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. … However, when you combine this with initiating an extreme leap in the dark with little advance planning, knowing we will have a new interim president of our own next year, it’s a big problem.”

Brown, however, refuted the rumors of her plans to leave. “I am not leaving Fredonia to take a position as president at another campus,” she told the OBSERVER in an email on Friday.

Robert Rogers, Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics, expressed disappointment in the lack of detail in Brown’s proposal, which he said may be due to her not having the details at this time. “The only sure savings would seem to come from cutting the secretarial staff, which in my opinion would be a big mistake,” he said. “…All of the cost reduction that she has talked about has been from the dean’s level down. I’ve asked her about any cuts that are coming from her office. She says she will not address this until the lower level reductions are in place. To me, this is backward.”

Robert Rogers referenced administration reports that show Fredonia went from 1,900 students per academic administrator in 2011-12 to approximately 600 students per academic administrator in 2016-17. “To me, looking for cost savings should come from there (the provost’s office) first,” he said.

Others, however, are optimistic about Brown’s multiple schools model and see her decision as a responsible one that protects faculty. “So many colleges and universities are facing many financial challenges today and while more than a few are choosing to remove academic programs and fire faculty members, Provost Brown has chosen to remove several administrative positions and to engage faculty and staff to reimagine how our academic units could relate to each other,” said Rob Deemer, Ph.D., professor of Composition and Theory. “It’s scary for a lot of us at the university because this new concept is so different than how things have worked in the past in most departments, but the School of Music has been working for decades under this ‘school’ model to great effect.”

Other faculty members are looking forward to opportunities for collaboration and creativity among the disciplines that the new model affords. English professor Jeanette McVicker, Ph.D., said that not only is the current model “fiscally untenable,” but not reflective of the real world. “The solutions to the world’s complex problems cannot come from any one discipline,” McVicker explained. “The faster we move to an interdisciplinary model, the better for our students. I’ve seen students in interdisciplinary programs and classes thrive and believe that faculty and professionals can thrive in such a model as well.”

Sue McNamara, Ph.D., associate professor of business administration, noted that the changing world calls for a change in higher education, too. “Companies continue to evolve and tend to be successful when the change is driven by a strong vision,” said McNamara of Brown’s plan. “As Fredonia involves all of its constituents in visioning and strategizing for the change, it will indeed be able to transform to best prepare our students for the ever changing world.”

Others recognize the college’s serious financial challenges and the urgency of cutting costs as soon as possible. “Fredonia has been and continues to be in a structural deficit,” said Michael Metzger, Ph.D., vice president for Finance and Administration. “All functions either have or will reorganize to reduce administrative costs. I totally support Provost Brown’s Academic Affairs reorganization.”

Outgoing President Virginia Horvath, Ph.D., believes that not only is Brown’s plan financially responsible, but protective of Fredonia’s future. By eliminating department chairs, the plan allows faculty to focus on teaching, learning and research rather than administrative duties, which will now be handled by directors. “The financial model in SUNY and in public higher education continues to be a source of strain, but Provost Brown has proposed an innovative way to move forward and retain what is best about Fredonia: small class sizes, faculty who are engaging with their fields and eager to share their knowledge with students, and cooperation and collaboration across campus,” Horvath stated.

Some fear the new model is simply too much change at once and that Fredonia’s reputation — and future — are on the line. “We are talking about a large sum of public money here, and the best that can be said for the Provost’s plan is that it is radical and risky,” said Feit. “Traditional academic departments will be abolished and collections of programs will be grouped together, taking curricular and other decision-making power away from experts and likely resulting in Fredonia appearing more like a community college.”

While some fear the new structure is a threat to shared governance, others see it as an important opportunity to have a say in university decisions. “Keep in mind, the shared governance process is not over,” Simon said. “Senate approved the membership and basic charges of a steering committee and five joint task forces in its final meeting of the semester. These groups will receive their project charters from the provost and senate chair and start working during the summer.”

McVicker sees the transition as an opportunity for progress and cooperation between faculty and administrators. “Obviously, making sure the transition is smooth is key, but if everyone can work towards the same goal, this next year of planning could be productive and even regenerative,” she said.

Moving forward

Brown realizes the coming year will be a challenging one, but that the need to address the structural deficit is paramount to the college’s future success. She believes it is also an opportunity to lead the way in changes she believes all universities will eventually have to make. “I do believe that these types of organizations are the future,” she said to college council members last month. “More and more universities are going to say that they are no longer able to sustain the layers of administration that they have. They can no longer be successful with silos they have in place and the moats around disciplines.”

In a statement to the OBSERVER following the announcement of her decision, Brown said, “While I realize that we have hard work ahead of us, I am looking forward to doing this creative work with our faculty. Bringing our talents and expertise as scholars and artists to this work, we will create a distinctive structure that will encourage us to work together, across our disciplines, to continue to prepare students to succeed in a complex world.”