Inside Iowa State

January 14, 2005

College combination moves ahead

by Anne Krapfl

Work has begun to combine Iowa State's colleges of Family and Consumer Sciences and Education into the College of Human Sciences by July 1. The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the proposed combination with little discussion at its Dec. 15-16 meeting in Ames.

Dean search

Earlier this week, associate provost Susan Carlson sent an e-mail to members of the two colleges requesting nominations for members of a dean search committee. The goal is to assemble an approximately 17-member committee by the end of January. The search committee will include students, faculty, staff, alumni and stakeholders, Carlson said. A chairperson has not been announced yet.

The search committee's work will be guided by two protocols: the normal guidelines for recruiting and hiring ISU administrators, and a final report submitted in November by the work group (in the combination planning process) that developed procedures for selecting a new dean.

"This committee will be asked to work aggressively," Carlson said. "If the process goes well, it is possible to have a new dean named by July 1, even if she or he has not arrived on campus yet."

Implementation planning

Planning to implement the combination will occur this spring and summer on two levels, Carlson said. First, much work can be done within the two colleges and coordinated by the two interim deans, Pam White (FCS) and Jerry Thomas (Education), and their staffs. This will include everything from ironing out differences in academic advising models, to creating student recruitment publications, to hanging college dean portraits, to networking two computer systems.

"It's important that we deal with all the short-term issues we can think of between now and July 1," Carlson said. "Some of the long-term issues can be addressed after July."

Carlson will chair a university-level implementation steering committee that will coordinate issues involving units outside the two colleges. Membership will include the two interim deans, and others from both colleges and the larger university.

As with the planning process that began last February and concluded this fall, nearly all the implementation work at the university level will be done within work groups. Members will be recruited from across campus for their expertise. So far, six work groups have been identified, with responsibilities for:

• Administrative systems (university account numbers, human resources, etc.).
• Information management, both paper and electronic.
• Space, equipment and moving. This group also will develop plans for a $0.5 million renovation in MacKay Hall for new student services offices for the new college.
• Student records, and recruitment and admission processes and records.
• Personnel, including hiring processes for affected positions in the dean's office and student services.
• Public relations and special events to celebrate the colleges of Education and Family and Consumer Sciences, and the new College of Human Sciences.

More information about implementing the combination will be shared as the process evolves.

Work has begun to combine Iowa State's colleges of Family and Consumer Sciences and Education into the College of Human Sciences by July 1. A search committee for a dean for the new college is expected to be formed by the end of the month. Other implementation plans will occur this spring and summer.