As we begin the Winter Quarter together, a brief look back:
I am very grateful for a number of special projects and events hosted by different groups this past fall. Here is just a sample:
- “Hide and Seek: Photography and the Body” (Art)
- “Sacred Sounds” (Music)
- Community of Practice group of pastors, seminarians, and business leaders (SBE and SOT)
- “Management as a Liberal Art – The Work of Peter Drucker” conference (SBE)
- “Blurred Lines? A Forum on Sexual Assault and Media” (ASSP)
- “Urban Involvement Urban Plunge” (Perkins)
- “Death By Design” (Theater)
- “Fifth Graders Go Straight to College” (SOE)
- “Justice Speaks Forum: Disunity in Christ” (Perkins)
- “Helping Teens Through Turbulence” workshop (SPFC)
- Big Party and Involve-O-Rama (reaching an estimated 1,600 students) (STUB)
- Six new clubs launched (total of 61 student clubs and orgs) (Student Life)
What We Are Working on Now
Global Initiative Task Force launched
On January 1, the Office of the Provost launched the Global Initiative. Dr. Ross Stewart has agreed to serve as the faculty champion for this initiative and will be giving leadership to this effort for the next three years. This initiative is intended to cut across all curricular and co-curricular programs and will look at current curricular offerings in both the general education offerings and in various majors and other programs. The initiative will also consider study abroad offerings, co-curricular offerings including SPRINT trips, the recruitment and nurture of international students, the establishment of relationships with international universities, creating opportunities for faculty and student involvement in international research opportunities, student and faculty exchange programs, the possibility of securing regular visits from international scholars, and the advisability of opening an international campus.
Reconciliation Task Force launched
On January 1, the Office of the Provost in concert with the John Perkins Center also launched the Reconciliation Initiative. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil and Susan Okamoto Lane will be co-chairing this initiative. Early work will focus on a campuswide assessment of racial and ethnic reconciliation efforts. Subsequent work will include scoping the reconciliation project as a whole and developing a plan to be implemented in curricular and co-curricular settings. Funding for this initiative is being sought from the Stewardship Foundation.
Campus Ministry task force to complete its work
We anticipate that the work of the Campus Ministry task force will be completed by mid-February. This task force has been working diligently all fall under the able leadership of Dr. Doug Strong and has been charged with developing a mission statement and set of objectives for the Campus Ministry programs at SPU. The work of this task force will inform the development of a job description for a new head of Campus Ministries. We anticipate posting the position later in the Winter Quarter and hopefully will have hired someone into this role by the start of school in September.
Provost Gateway launched
As promised at the Fall Retreat, the Provost Gateway web page has been launched. While it is still a work in progress, when fully functional it will serve as a single point of access for faculty for a variety of resources including information about current projects, committee activities, Deans’ Cabinet agendas, budget discussions, and various statistics. While more resources will be added, there is already plenty to work with. Check it out.
Accreditation report to be filed with NWCCU
Under the direction of Dr. Cindy Price, we are nearly finished with the preparation of our third-year accreditation report. Many different leaders on campus have contributed portions of the report, and the report as a whole has now been edited by Dr. Luke Reinsma. The report will be filed with our regional accrediting body, NWCCU, in February, and we anticipate a “virtual visit” by an accrediting team later in the spring.
Faculty Winter Tea and presentation
This year we are moving the traditional Faculty Spring Tea to the Winter Quarter. This is in part to accommodate a retirement dinner in the spring for a number of our faculty. The Winter Tea will be held on February 18, at 3 p.m., and in addition to good eats and good fellowship, I will be making a presentation that will focus on some of the economic and pedagogical challenges facing our University. I’m hopeful that all faculty will be able to join me for this gathering.
2014-15 Guideline Budget process
The Guideline Budget process is underway and will occupy a great deal of my time and the time of the finance office between now and the February board meeting. This is the phase of the budgeting process where key decisions (e.g., the size of the tuition increase, the target size for the freshman class, the proposed increase to the faculty salary pool, etc.) are typically made. The process includes multiple consultations with the Faculty Budget and Stewardship Committee, as well as the Student Finance Committee before the budget is sent to the Board.
Multiple task forces launched to work on strategies and action plans
At the request of President Martin, a number of faculty and staff members are directing small task forces charged with developing strategies and action plans to begin to flesh out strategic objectives that have been identified so far in the strategic planning process. The work of these various task forces is expected to conclude by the end of Winter Quarter in time to allow the Senior Leadership Team to bring the various suggestions together and present a “final” strategic plan to the Board of Trustees at its May meeting.
Preparing a five-year plan for graduate budgets
A significant portion of the Deans’ Cabinet agenda for Winter Quarter will focus on the development of a five-year plan for graduate budgets. In the 2012-13 academic year, a number of our graduate programs saw significant dips in student credit hours. While most of the programs have rebounded — at least to some extent — there remains a gap between anticipated revenues and expenses. The deans are committed to working together to collectively close this gap.
Curriculum Enhancement Committee
This committee, formed earlier in the year by Faculty Council, has been hard at work considering various options for integrating and implementing the recommendations of the cultural competency, digital competency, and writing task forces. Chaired by Gaile Moe, the committee has been looking primarily at aspects of the first-year general education curriculum. A report is anticipated later this year.
Posting position for Director of General Education
In response to several different faculty recommendations, we have secured funding for a .5 FTE director of general education. The position has very recently been posted and applications are currently being sought. We hope to be in a position to identify a new director later this quarter.
Finalizing consideration of the faculty compensation model
Faculty Affairs and the Faculty Budget and Stewardship Committee are nearing completion of a good deal of their work addressing issues of faculty compensation. A preliminary report was brought to Faculty Senate last December and various aspects of this report are now being clarified and put into final form. Much of the work has focused on clarifying “goal salaries” and considering how best to routinely report our progress toward these goals.
Design of a separate Graduate Commencement service
Upon recommendation from Faculty Affairs, the Undergraduate and Graduate Commencement services are being split this year. The Undergraduate Commencement will proceed in Key Arena as it has in the past. The Graduate Commencement, however, will be held on campus in Tiffany Loop in the afternoon of Friday, June 13 (the same day as Ivy Cutting). A faculty and staff task force has completed the “design” phase for the new commencement service and implementation is now being turned over to the Commencement team. More details to follow.
Upcoming Provost-Faculty breakfasts
Finally, we will continue the practice of gathering with interested faculty once a month in the Lake Union Room for breakfast and conversation. This quarter we will be meeting at 8 a.m. on January 14, February 12, and March 13 to talk about the vocational initiative, our preferred approach to “selectivity” and the meaning of “excellence” at an institution such as ours. I hope all interested faculty members will make plans to join us.
And a Few Notes to Make You Proud
- Over 50 percent of our 180 athletes made the Dean’s List this past quarter (GPA’s of 3.5+).
- Three of five fall sports earned bids to NCAA post-season play.
- Ashley Reese, a coordinator for the Multi-Ethnic Programs in Student Life, was honored as “Volunteer of the Year” by Urban Impact for her work at the Rainier Health and Fitness Club.
Jeff Van Duzer
SPU Provost
President’s Update | Provost’s Update | CFO’s Update