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2009 Fall Convocation Speech - Organizational Structure

Speech Segments

  1. Introduction and Appreciation
  2. Achievements: Year in Review
  3. Furloughs
  4. Quick Wins
  5. Diversity
  6. Community Needs
  7. Organizational Structure
  8. Growth
  9. Planning and Vision
  10. Cofrin Gift
  11. Budget Recovery
  12. Conclusion

Fall 2009 Convocation Video

‘Organizational Structure’ Video Transcript

Let me move on to organizational structure. And I’m going to talk about this and I hope it’s not taken as I have ideas already in my mind, because I don’t. But I have a question. What logic underpins the structure, the organizational structure of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay? And does this structure best meet our needs and ensure we are making the best use of our resources?

There’s a lot of new work that’s being done in higher education to look at alternative kinds of organizations. I don’t have anything in mind by saying that. But, we have a somewhat unusual organization here and I’ve commented on that a couple times and I don’t want to harp on that, because I’m not that terribly upset by it or anything like that, but I think we do need to look at the organization. Is it efficient? Is it offering to our students and to our people who work here what it should be doing?

We have a number of different kinds of units. We have Interdisciplinary units and programs and professional programs. We have either one or two colleges, and when I look at one thing I don’t think we have but one college. I look at other things I think maybe we have two colleges. It’s professional studies and LAS. I read something else and LAS is not referred to as a college. What is it? I don’t know. So lets find the data out. Let s find out what our structure really is.

And I’ll just point out a couple other things. In 1969, and I’m not saying we should proliferate units. I’m not saying that at all. But in 1969, we didn’t have this structure. We had four colleges in one school in 1969.

I’m not professing we go back to that, but it doesn’t have to be the way it is right now. And it’s not only academic programs that I’m thinking we should take a look at. I think it’s some other areas of our organizational structure that really could be looked at.

Is our structure arbitrarily, chosen, or a compromise? And if it’s chosen, good. If it’s arbitrary, that’s not so good. And if it’s a compromise, that might not be working so well. Is it working? But let’s look at this with open minds.