I hope this message finds everyone enjoying the summer and looking forward to the start of the fall semester in a few short weeks. I have completed my first month as your president, and I want to share some changes I have made regarding how the university’s senior administration operates.

The President’s Cabinet has been renamed the President’s Council. The purpose of this name change is twofold. First, the new title is meant to reflect a different approach to decision-making and resource allocation. The core functions of the President’s Council will be to:

• Share information with the Council and across the institution
• Coordinate actions, tasks, and projects that cross divisions to improve institutional performance
• Facilitate consultation within and outside the President’s Council, enhancing the transparency of our decision-making processes and improving the quality of our decisions

The President’s Council will not make collective institutional decisions. There will be robust communication, coordination, and consultation within the Council, but the group will not be asked to vote on institutional matters for the purpose of defining a course of action. Instead, the authority and responsibility for making decisions will lie with the relevant division, following appropriate engagement with the Council and the president. For example, matters regarding an academic program will be fully within the purview of the president’s and provost’s offices working with deans and others in the academic division. The provost will brief the President’s Council on matters that require coordination and that would benefit from consultation, but those issues will not be presented to the Council for the purpose of reaching a decision. That authority will stay within the academic division’s hierarchy.

Second, I have expanded the membership of this group to include my direct operational reports so as to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of my office. This means that Shannon Cofield, Senior Advisor for External Affairs; Chris Gill, Chief Information Technology Officer; Teresa Krejci, Chief Financial Officer; and Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer, will attend President’s Council meetings along with those who were already serving on the President’s Cabinet (see the full membership at the end of this message). These positions are not new to the institution; rather, they are existing positions that either already reported to the president or are new direct reports.

To further enhance engagement between the President’s Council and the community, we will regularly hold our meetings at various locations across campus. This will, in some small way, make our work more visible, and it will create opportunities for informal interactions with colleagues as we travel to our meetings. Additionally, the Council will invite others to present on topics instead of Council members always doing so, and Council members will regularly brief their divisions on the Council’s agendas and activities. Finally, the President’s Council will meet every other week instead of every week.

These changes should bring greater transparency to the work of the President’s Council, strengthen campus communications, and improve institutional performance. I will be testing these presumptions as we move forward and welcome any feedback that will help us improve the operations of my office and the President’s Council.

Best regards,

Marty

President’s Council Membership

Sandy Hatfield-Clubb, Director of Athletics
Shannon Cofield, Senior Advisor for External Affairs
Tom Delahunt, Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid
Chris Gill, Chief Information Technology Officer
Teresa Krejci, Chief Financial Officer
Joe Lenz, Interim Provost
Debra Lukehart, Vice President of University Communications
Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer
Lynda Ryan, Executive Assistant to the President and Secretary of the University
John Smith, Vice President for Alumni and Development
Bob Soltis, President of Faculty Senate