Iowa State University


Inside Iowa State
January 21, 2000

Provost requests additional reallocation for U-wide academic priorities

by Anne Krapfl
An academic plan proposed by Provost Rollin Richmond would reallocate an additional one-half of a percent annually for three years for academic priorities that support the university's new strategic plan. Richmond gave a brief summary of the planning process to members of the Professional and Scientific Council during its Jan. 6 meeting.

The academic plan is intended to serve as a bridge between the university's strategic plan and colleges, he said. Two committees currently are assembling components of the plan, with the goal of finishing in time for preliminary budget discussions that begin in March.

The first, chaired by Education dean Walt Gmelch, has been asked to develop a list of academic priorities for the university and the rationale for each. Richmond said the list would be reviewed by a team of deans and others -- a group that "sees the perspective of the entire university to help make these decisions and put some of these things in place." It's his intent, he said, that the initiatives on the list would have a university-wide impact and not be college- specific.

Richmond has asked a second group, chaired by Business dean Ben Allen, to outline a method for reallocating one-half of 1 percent each year for three years to a central pool in the Provost Office. This reallocation would be cumulative -- or 1.5 percent in the third year. Central pool funds would be spent to address goals on the academic priorities list. Part of the group's assignment, Richmond said, is to define "reallocation" -- what it consists of and what the criteria are.

"I suspect we have a rather heterogeneous interpretation on this campus of what the regents mean by reallocation," Richmond said. "Some are less adventurous than others. It's my hope this group will help us determine what values we all should bring to the reallocation process."

Richmond noted that the new reallocations -- which apply only to units under the Provost Office -- would come in addition to the 2 percent university-wide, internal reallocation currently done each year at the request of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. Some units' cumulative reallocation, then, would be 2.5 percent the first year, 3 percent in year two, and 3.5 percent in the third year of Richmond's proposal.


In other council business:

The next council meeting will begin at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, in the Memorial Union Pioneer Room. A noon open forum, also in the Pioneer Room, will feature a discussion on violence in the workplace led by Gene Deisinger, manager of the behavioral science unit in ISU's department of public safety.

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