Greetings,

In mid-October, we proposed strategic priorities for the Division of Academic Affairs.  Utilizing the revitalized mission, vision and strategic planning framework established this year by President Lefton and the Board of Trustees, our Deans’ Council has envisioned a number of dynamic academic opportunities summarized in six broad categories.

Our six strategic priorities are:

• Kent State will be a nationally prominent public research university
• Kent State will be committed to advancing student success
• High-quality teaching and learning will drive student success and academic excellence
• Kent State must engage the global, national and regional communities in its initiatives
• Kent State will operate as an integrated eight-campus system, and
• Financial stability will ensure the sustainability and quality of our academic plan.

Each of these priorities is discussed in depth in a white paper entitled “A Renewed Spirit of Academic Excellence:  Six Strategic Priorities for Academic Transformation.” I invite your close reading of it, and I look forward to your response.

The Deans’ Council also welcomes your feedback, specifically on a series of next steps derived from the six priorities.  These commitments, metrics and methods are posted online at http://www1.kent.edu/Administration/provost/Initiatives-and-Announcements.cfm, along with an interactive feature for recording your input.  Your thoughts are important as we prepare for discussion in each college on these priorities.  The period for comments will close on November 24.

In addition to the announcement of our new strategic priorities for Academic Affairs, a number of critical initiatives across the division have been taking place.

College of Public Health

Work in the College of Public Health is steadily progressing. I am pleased to share that the Ohio Board of Regents has approved our proposal for a Bachelor of Science degree in public health. This degree will equip entry-level practitioners with the skills and knowledge demanded by today’s public health agencies.

In addition, the EPC and the Faculty Senate have approved proposals for the Master of Public Health and the Ph.D. in public health. The next step for these proposals is presentation to the Board of Trustees. The Board will vote on the resolutions for the two degree programs at their November 17 meeting. We anticipate forwarding the full proposal to the Board of Regents after we receive approval from the Board of Trustees.

Regional College

Another important agenda item going before the Board of Trustees on November 17 is the establishment of a Regional College. The proposed college will serve as the administrative home for programs and associated curricular issues unique to the Regional Campuses.

In addition to enabling us to move forward with the statewide priority of providing bachelor’s degrees on Regional Campuses, a Regional College will provide many other important opportunities, including:

• Accelerating the transformation of our Regional Campuses
• Establishing a seamless, integrated, university-wide system for curriculum
• Providing Regional Campuses greater autonomy in establishing degrees unique to the Regional Campus system, and
• Enabling the campuses to better meet the needs of the students and the local communities that they serve.

Our regional footprint is one of our greatest assets. Now is the time to move our strategic agenda forward and enable the Regional Campuses to reach their full potential by serving their local communities in developing an educated and enlightened workforce.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration – Medieval Drama Boot Camp

North America’s oldest and most prestigious dramatic society: the University of Toronto’s Poculi Ludique Societas (Cup and Game Society) will stage a newly edited version of the complete Chester Cycle of processional plays as it was performed in the city of Chester, England until 1575. Kent State University has been invited to contribute one of the 24 plays that comprise the cycle. Honors faculty members Don-John Dugas from the Department of English and Chuck Richie from the Department of Theatre have agreed to mount one of the most demanding: The Raising of Lazarus; Jesus at the Home of Simon the Leper; The Entry into Jerusalem/Judas’ Plot.

In a fine example of linked courses, Professors Dugas and Richie will team-teach two consecutive, linked Honors classes over the 2009-2010 academic year. Twenty-eight Honors students and students from a wide variety of majors have been selected to participate in this extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime experience. The year-long class includes traditional coursework in medieval English language, drama and theatre history, acting, voice and movement training and rehearsals as well as the design and construction of the costumes, set and props for the performance. This is truly an innovative interdisciplinary collaboration.

Kent Core

In September, the University Requirements Curriculum Committee and the Educational Policies Council approved the proposal to establish the Kent Core Requirements for Undergraduate Education. After the input of more than 200 faculty members throughout the proposal development process, and the approval by the URCC and EPC, it is my hope that the Faculty Senate will approve the model and allow our students the opportunity to earn their undergraduate degrees with greater ease.

The Kent Core is a vital and central component to achieving that priority. Let me note that we have not undertaken a complete overhaul of the LERs since the internet was in its infancy. Given both national and international trends, to remain competitive, it is essential that we complete the important task of general education reform.

The easily navigable Kent Core will:

• Align LERs with the faculty generated 21^st Century Philosophy Statement, which was approved at all levels of shared governance
• Build on examples of excellence in LER courses across disciplines and campuses
• Address weaknesses of LERs identified in the 2007 URCC review
• Create a campus-wide emphasis on learning outcomes, and
• Enable us to assess learning outcomes of the program as a whole.

By ensuring all Kent Core courses can be aligned to any major, we will, at the very least, have reduced the major navigability problem for our students.

The probability of LERs not transferring between majors is as high as 50% in our social science courses. In math and the humanities, the probability ranges between 33 and 38%. Consider those percentages with the fact that over half of our students change majors throughout their academic career, with 35% of them changing colleges in the process.

The Kent Core model will enable us to take the first step towards improving the pathways to graduation for our students. It is a big step on the way to allowing students to complete their degrees in four years without having to take additional LERs every time they change majors or degree focus.

Fund Balances

In addition to our many successes over the past year, it is ironic that we now are feeling the brunt of last year’s market failures. Across the nation, higher education institutions have been bracing for the continuing effects of significant portfolio losses. Earlier this fall, we saw Harvard and Yale report significant portfolio losses of 27.3% and 24.6%, respectively.

Although Kent State has also experienced a significant portfolio decline, the losses are not as great as some institutions have faced. In a recent letter to unit leaders, Vice President Gregg Floyd stressed the fact that Kent State’s investment portfolio is comprised of all fund balance resources across the university including the Regional Campuses and true auxiliaries like Residence Services, as well as the divisions and colleges on the Kent Campus. As such, the losses must be proportionately distributed among all fund balances.

After a year of such great success, it can be disheartening to see the results of last year’s market decline across all units. We must now account for some of the losses we experienced. Waiting for further improvement is not an option. However, I would stress we are fortunate that because of the recent market recovery, the $100 million portfolio loss of last fall has improved to approximately $62 million. The university remains optimistic that further recovery will be experienced in the current fiscal year, so the write-down in each respective fund balances of 21.8% reflects only one-half of the loss.

Coordinated Hiring Initiative

I am pleased to end my newsletter by noting the success of the first iteration of the Coordinated Research Hiring Initiative. As you will recall, the Coordinated Hiring Initiative is designed to enhance research and extramural funding through the investment in multiple faculty hires in a specific thematic or academic area.

Nine full proposals were received, all of which were very strong. Through a difficult process, three finalists were chosen, and ultimately, the proposal from the Departments of Psychology and Biological Sciences was selected for funding.

The coordinated research hires for the Department of Psychology and Department of Biological Sciences will consist of six new tenure-track faculty members to work in the field of mental and physical health consequences of trauma and adversity. Psychology hires will focus on the areas of behavioral neuroscience, adult psychopathology and child clinical or pediatric psychology. Biological Sciences hires will focus on the areas of neurological/mental health disorders, developmental processes and molecular bases of health and disease. All positions will begin August 2010.

This is an extraordinary opportunity for developing new collaborations and new approaches to the study of trauma and health.

In closing, as Thanksgiving draws near, I wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday season and look forward to working with you over the remainder of the year.

With warmest regards,

Robert G. Frank
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs