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Good morning!

I appreciate your support for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and want to share with you an update on some of our recent news.  Please know I welcome your thoughts and comments on these and other topics.

Polymers

The College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering recently hired four new faculty members as well as five technical support staff, all with PhDs. This is a significant addition, reflecting the University’s commitment to invest in strategic areas of importance and distinction. The College is of great importance to this region as well as to our University.  We were saddened by the announcement from Dr. Matt Becker, one of our renowned polymer researchers, that he will be leaving for Duke University, but we wish him and his family well. As I said in several news interviews, it is a testament to the strength of our polymer program that an institution like Duke would seek one of our professors. We will be working with the College to determine the best way to fill this position.

Voluntary Separation or Retirement Program

Earlier this week the UA Board of Trustees announced a voluntary separation or retirement program (VSRP) for full-time faculty who are not in our areas of strategic investment. All faculty in Engineering, Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering and the School of Law are excluded, as well as those in fifteen departments in other colleges. These areas include such popular disciplines as chemistry, communication, computer science, marketing, accounting, criminal justice, music, nursing and finance, among others. Details are available here.

“Buyout” programs have been offered by several other Ohio public universities in recent years, including Ohio State, Kent State, Ohio University and Wright State, to strike a balance between the number of students, the courses offered and the number of faculty members to serve those students and the institution.

UA faculty will have from April 1 to May 31, 2019 to make their decision. The separations would not become effective until a year from now, giving us ample time to make plans on the best ways to meet the education needs of students.  It is not known how many faculty members will choose this program, but if 15% of those who are eligible do so, that would represent approximately fifty (50) of the more than 1,500 full- and part-time faculty members at UA (about 3% of total faculty). 

Addressing financial challenges

The VSRP action is just one step in our continuing efforts to improve University finances. We also have taken action to revise our research grant submissions so that they cover more of the University’s associated costs, as many of our sister institutions do. Our fundraising efforts, especially for scholarships, continue to show very significant increases over last year. We expect they will succeed even more as we move into our Sesquicentennial celebration year.

Growing Partnerships

The University has strengthened its partnerships with other vital institutions and organizations in the community, notably with the City of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, Summit County and the Greater Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Chamber to help implement the Elevate Greater Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ economic development strategy. In addition, the linkage between the University and Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Public Schools has been deepened, with UA becoming APS’ first sister university. UA also has created the Urban STEM Education Center to advance STEM education and research in urban schools and communities. We also are continuing our cooperative relationship with Stark State through the Direct Connect dual admission program, which makes it easier for students to continue to pursue a four-year degree after starting at Stark State.

Reorganization Paused

Last year we began a dialogue on some proposals to reorganize our academic units to make UA’s academic programs more distinctive, foster greater faculty collaboration and address enrollment challenges to achieve financial sustainability. After discussions within the colleges, I presented a set of revised reorganization proposals earlier this month. Subsequently, many faculty members expressed a strong desire to work together on ways to achieve those goals without trying to reorganize our structure.

That is a very encouraging development and I decided to pause the reorganization discussions for six months. We have begun work immediately with the deans, department chairs and school directors to develop those plans.

Presidential search

The University’s search firm is actively in the process of accepting nominations and seeking candidates to become UA’s 18^th president. Current plans are to begin interviewing identified individuals in June. An improved sense of shared governance on campus has resulted from the Board’s initiative to meaningfully involve the leadership of campus constituencies throughout this process. 

Enrollment

We are making good progress on freshman enrollment for next fall. Initial reports from admissions counselors show a noticeable increase year-over-year in both the number of confirmations and in the academic preparedness of those future Zips. We will continue our extensive efforts to bring them into the UA family. We also are working very hard to increase the retention and graduation rates of students already enrolled, which is good for both them and the University as we move forward.

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Thank you for your continuing support of our students and this University. I appreciate your taking a few minutes to read this message and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Dr. John C. Green
Interim President
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