Chancellor's Announcement: Faculty Fellow for Intercultural Initiatives

Dear Campus Community:

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Paula Pedersen, Assistant Professor of Psychology, has accepted the new cabinet-level position of Faculty Fellow for Intercultural Initiatives. In addition to being an accomplished teacher, scholar and diversity trainer, Paula is a licensed psychologist and carries the Intercultural Development Inventory Administration and Interpretation Certificate.

Paula has served on the Campus Climate Change Team, Diversity Commission, GLBT Advisory Board and University of Minnesota Intercultural Competence Work Group.

She helped spearhead the theme of "how did you come to be here?" bringing together the community and campus in an exploration of cultural self-awareness and identity. Paula has done significant research on intercultural development as a student learning outcome in study abroad and first year experience programs.

Her dedication to diversity, inclusion and intercultural understanding goes far beyond UMD. She works closely with ISD #709 on helping the intercultural leadership and curriculum integration efforts in Duluth high schools. Paula is well known in the community for her involvement in organizations such as Mentor Duluth, YMCA and True North Americorps.

In her role as Faculty Fellow for Intercultural Initiatives, Paula will help facilitate campus climate training and development activities for faculty, staff, administration and students. She will oversee the planning, execution and assessment of campus-wide intercultural initiatives, work on increasing intercultural student learning outcomes through the International and Study Abroad programs and serve as a key community liaison.

The Faculty Fellow for Intercultural Initiatives is a one-year renewable appointment that is part faculty and part administrative. The Fellow will serve as co-chair for the Campus Climate Change Team along with Susana Pelayo-Woodward.

Please join me in welcoming Paula to this new role. I look forward to having her expertise and perspective on the campus senior leadership team. She will begin in August.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Campus Governance

Dear Campus Community:

We are pleased to be moving forward with a new governance structure. We will need to move quickly in order for committees to begin their work. A draft version of bylaws will be started over the summer in the EVCAA office. The bylaws form the basic structure describing each of the committees, membership, how bylaws are amended, etc. The actual "working rules" (or operational guidelines) that each committee follows will be developed by the committee membership.

The bylaws will be posted for review and comment immediately upon return fall semester. The process for populating committees will begin shortly thereafter, with a goal launch date of October 1. We look forward to working together as a campus community to put our new governance system in place. Thank you all for your engagement in this important process.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Program Prioritization Initiative

Dear Campus Community:

I wish to share with you plans for a new Program Prioritization initiative at UMD. As we reflect on the past year and look to years ahead, I think one thing that we all expect is a first-class educational experience for UMD students combined with financial stability for our university.

Through this Program Prioritization initiative, we will closely examine the programs, courses, and services that we deliver to see how they align with our mission and how they position UMD for growth. The goal of this initiative is to use limited financial resources in ways that will best meet the needs of our students and our community, as outlined in our Strategic Plan.

This initiative is timely given lower state funding over time, a decline in last year's new student enrollment, a challenging economy, and a shrinking Minnesota high school student population. We need to be relevant, we need to be mission-driven, and we need to fiscally responsible.

To truly utilize our resources to their fullest potential, we need to review all of our programs in relation to how they support UMD's mission. This includes all programs and services on campus - academic and non-academic. Instead of moving forward without the resources to support programs to their full potential, we can provide much needed resources to our priority areas. While the budget situation underscores the need for prioritization, it is also crucial to evaluate our priorities with respect to quality, demand, reputation, and many other areas.

I will be leading UMD through this Program Prioritization initiative with the help of the Vice Chancellors, Deans, and Directors, but everyone on campus will be involved at their program level. Criteria and weights for the criteria will be developed collaboratively in alignment with UMD's strategic plan, mission, and vision, with an additional focus on financial sustainability.

We will all be in this together. This initiative will spark innovative thinking and new approaches to accomplishing our mission and vision. We will emerge from this activity with a stronger, more robust UMD.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Campus Governance Results

Dear Campus Community:

I am pleased to report the results of our recent vote on campus governance.

Results are as follows:

Yes - 79
No - 2
Abstain - 0

Soon there will be another communication which will describe transition plans for our new governance system.

Thank you for your patience and perseverance as we have discussed a new governance structure for UMD. I look forward to even greater collaboration as we continue to build an outstanding shared governance process.

Sincerely,

Lendley "Lynn" C. Black
Chancellor

Revised Proposal for a New Shared Governance Model

TO: UMD Campus Community



RE: Revised Proposal for a New Shared Governance Model



Attached you will find the most recent revised proposal for a new shared governance structure for UMD. The proposal is based upon feedback we received from faculty, staff, and students since the last proposal was distributed on March 22. We will discuss this latest proposal at the Campus Assembly meeting on May 14, and it will be voted on by Campus Assembly members soon after that meeting.



Some people have asked why we need to keep voting on a change in campus governance and why only members of the Campus Assembly can vote. Our current Campus Assembly governance structure is imbedded in the UMD constitution, and the constitution is referenced in the UEA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Any change in the constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the members of Campus Assembly. Even though the actions of the Campus Assembly are advisory actions to the chancellor, the chancellor cannot unilaterally change or void UMD's constitution. A change can only be made by a two-thirds vote of the current Assembly members.



You will note that this latest proposal returns to a system of voting membership on all committees. Although some people liked the non-voting aspects of the March 22 proposal, there was significant opposition to a system that eliminates voting from the work of the committees. We can make this voting system work well, if we focus on a collaborative shared governance process that values diverse opinions.



The attached documents include: 1) committee descriptions and membership, 2) the comparison of representatives in the current and proposed structure, and 3) a new graphic display of the proposed structure. Please review these documents and contact me or a member of the Campus Assembly if you have questions or comments. A list of the Campus Assembly members and our current constitution may be found at: http://www.d.umn.edu/committees/



The Campus Assembly meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14th at 2:00 p.m. in the Kirby Ballroom. There will be a social beginning at 1:30. After this Assembly meeting, we will conduct another vote of the Assembly membership, using the same electronic voting process we used before. It is important that every member of Campus Assembly vote. Since we need two-thirds of the membership to approve the constitutional change, if you do not vote or if you abstain, it's the same as a "No" vote.



Thank you again for your input and for your interest in having an effective and collaborative shared governance process at UMD.

<Governance Comparison of current and proposed 0Governance Structure 050813.pdf50813-1.pdfGovernance Comparison of current and proposed 050813-1.pdfCommittee Descriptions and Membership 050813.docx

Graduate Rates Improve at UMD

To UMD Faculty and Staff,
You are to be congratulated. Thanks to your hard work and support, UMD has experienced an increase in graduation rates. Comparing data reported in 2011 and 2012, our campus has achieved a four and a half percent increase in our four-year graduation rate and a six percent increase in our five-year rate. Without you, this significant change in graduation rates would not have been possible.
Along with your efforts working with students on an individual basis, a concerted effort has been made to engage students in planning their degree progress using tools such as the Academic Progress Auditing System (APAS), the Graduation Planner as well as the 30-60-90 Student Success Roadmap. This fall, 68 percent of students were enrolled in 15 or more credits and more students are meeting the 30-credit annual benchmark, a key measurement in the 30-60-90 Roadmap. The use of APAS and the Graduation Planner confirms to students that they are taking the correct credits. It is through the individual conversations taking place between students and their faculty and advisors that these tools become meaningful and support our ongoing goal of increasing student success.
Finally, we must not forget about students' own desire and dedication to reduce their time to graduation to help lessen their educational costs. The quality learning experiences you provide continue to validate that persistence to graduation is a worthwhile investment for our students and their families.
I want to thank all of you for giving your time and energy to this effort. I am proud of you and these excellent results.

Chancellor Lendley C. Black

Campus Governance

Campus Community:

A site has been set up for those who wish to provide anonymous feedback on the revised governance proposal that was sent last week:
http://www.d.umn.edu/vcaa/governance_comment_form.html

The email that was sent last week along with links to the proposal structure and committee details can be found here:
http://www.d.umn.edu/vcaa/campus_governance.html

Please take a few moments to review this proposal and provide feedback. The deadline for comments is April 1st.