April 28, 2023
Summary
It’s Friday again, and time for another message, this time from the real thing – an actual Dean instead of the fake one you’ve been putting up with for the past few months. I’ll follow the same format I did last week, business items above the line, and non-business below it. I’ve been musing on how I could have more than one item at the top of the list in the business section, so nothing gets buried. In pursuit of that goal, today’s message introduces a pie-chart version (you’ll see it below the line) so that everything AND nothing is at the top. So bear in mind that the items below are in random-ish order, not order of importance, and you would ideally read through to the end. To help you, here is a clickable table of contents.
Full Description
Dear all,
It’s Friday again, and time for another message, this time from the real thing – an actual Dean instead of the fake one you’ve been putting up with for the past few months. I’ll follow the same format I did last week, business items above the line, and non-business below it. I’ve been musing on how I could have more than one item at the top of the list in the business section, so nothing gets buried. In pursuit of that goal, today’s message introduces a pie-chart version (you’ll see it below the line) so that everything AND nothing is at the top. So bear in mind that the items below are in random-ish order, not order of importance, and you would ideally read through to the end. To help you, here is a clickable table of contents.
A&S end of year party
Next year
Teaching Faculty Framework approved
Department of Theatre and Dance
Steering Committee for the Computing, Data and Applied Sciences Initiative
A&S end of year party You should all have received an invitation to a party after the FAS meeting on Tuesday, May 2nd (ie 5 pm) in and around Ewell. Please come and celebrate the imminence of the dog days of summer with friends and colleagues. The drinks will flow, and the food will stay absolutely still, until it makes its way into your mouths.
Next year Now that I am in this position long-term, I wanted to give you a heads-up about some ideas I have for work we can do together next year and beyond. I mentioned some of these in last week’s message, but because it wasn’t a pie chart (or even better, an actual pie), not everyone saw it.
Strategic visioning for A&S With the Provost’s blessing, we will be starting a strategic visioning process for A&S in the fall. We don’t have a strategic plan, and I think it’s really important for an organization our size that operates in a fast-changing environment to have a shared sense of future directions. Up for discussion will be the structure of A&S (several divisions within a single A&S school, or a graduate division, or some other option – including no change at all). I want this process to be faculty-driven as the curriculum steering committee was long ago. I plan to research different ways to do this over the summer and then ask you for ideas and inputs as we re-convene in the fall, so be thinking about what you’d like to see happen. No decisions about membership of the committee or process will be made over the summer.
A&S budget analysis The Provost has graciously agreed to fund a consultant to conduct a zero-sum analysis of the A&S budget next year. We were planning our own internal analysis and we’re really grateful for this resource. One question I am curious about is: Is the current budget allocation to A&S well aligned with our operational needs? There will be lots more we want to know about, of course, and I look forward to the conversations.
Teaching faculty framework approved One very important thing that happened this week was that University Counsel and HR approved the Teaching Faculty Framework (attached). There are one or two very small edits since we last discussed it, but nothing significant. Thank you so much to the many people who put time, effort and energy into this crucial process. We will be sending out placement notifications next week and new contracts should be issued by the end of June, if not earlier. The next step is to create a similar framework for Research Faculty, based (as this document is) on the original document created by Maria and others, which included both Teaching and Research faculty.Department of Theatre and Dance The 2022-2023 external department review of Theatre, Speech, and Dance recommended that the department reorganize as the Department of Theatre and Dance prior to the inauguration of the new Arts Quarter. An ad hoc committee was created in the Fall to advise on opportunities and challenges resulting from this reorganization. I am now pleased to share that beginning with AY 2023-24, and with the full agreement of the faculty in Theatre, Speech and Dance, Speech will function as a stand-alone unit under Interdisciplinary Studies led by Prof. Len Neighbors and will continue to offer an array of courses that fulfill the Arts Proficiency. There are no changes to the BA in Theatre or the Minor in Dance as a result of this reorganization, which under our policies can be made at the department/unit level. We hope this change will better help the Speech faculty, the Department of Theatre & Dance, and the broad Arts & Sciences community build into the future.
Steering Committee for the Computing, Data and Applied Sciences Initiative Thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to give us feedback and to share their opinions. Our second survey is now live. In this survey, we ask for your opinion of various possible models. We ask you to please complete it by midnight on May 4th. The steering committee has begun work on the final report, which will be submitted to the Provost by May 31st and shared with the community shortly thereafter. We will then provide an opportunity for you all to give feedback on the report to myself and David Yalof, co-chairs of the CDSAS steering committee, which we will share with the Provost. The Provost will come to the first meeting of the Faculty of A&S in the fall, when she will share her thoughts on the best way forward and then work with Faculty Assembly on implementation. The earliest that the proposal could be presented to the Board of Visitors would be the November Board meeting.
Best wishes, Suzanne
Suzanne Raitt
Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Chancellor Professor of English
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Now, for those of you who like this kind of thing: here is the message above in pie-chart form so that no items are prioritized over any others and none are buried in the middle. Plus, I have provided an additional circular thing.
Don’t forget the circular thing below. It refers back to an earlier message, as you’ll see. Happy Friday!!
