 
University to the Next Level, University President Says  |
University President Lawrence Biondi, SJ, announced a University-wide reorganization to employees in a memo sent out on May 8. The text of the message is reprinted here.
In my "State of the University Address" on April 29, I indicated that moving the University to the next level requires that we focus our efforts in the next five years on building on the strengths of the University while identifying and eliminating the weaknesses that plague every complex organization. I indicated several goals that must be accomplished to move Saint Louis University to the next level. That list included a strengthened commitment to academic excellence, a leaner administrative structure and a commitment to examining every aspect of what we do to find better, more efficient and more responsive ways to carry out our work.
It is important to remember that the reason the University exists is to educate and to serve - our students, our community and society at large. In particular, we need to rededicate ourselves to this primary goal of service. I see a University in which the interests of our students are paramount as we create both academic and administrative structures, and then function within those structures every day. This fact is at the heart of the changes that will take place in the coming months - changes that emphasize in organizational terms the commitment to academic excellence that all of us share. It sometimes is tempting to focus on each of our specific niches in the University and lose sight of our larger responsibilities. If we are to enter the next century as the leading institution I believe we are becoming, then we must be sensitive to the changing expectations of students, parents and society, and we must be organized in a way that allows us to respond to their needs and the changes coming in higher education in the information age.
The University makes a major contribution to its students, its community and society through research. Across our entire University, faculty and others are engaged in groundbreaking research that promises new resolutions for persistent problems and new insights into the human experience. A rich research agenda contributes to the education of our students, as faculty are able to bring more to the classroom and as we create opportunities for the students themselves to participate. Our organizational structure must encourage ambitious research efforts.
Today I am announcing key administrative changes that are in concert with the needs articulated in my "State of the University Address." These changes represent a substantial break with the past and are the first steps toward structuring the University for the next millennium. These changes are, in my view, essential for the University to reach the next level, and I trust they will be embraced by the entire community and that each of you will lend your support to the individuals who will assist me in this important and complex task of "inventing the future" for Saint Louis University. As you know, Rev. Michael Garanzini, SJ, will leave his position of academic vice president after being granted permission to teach education courses as a visiting professor at Fordham University for the 1998-99 academic year. Today I also am announcing that Dr. Richard Breslin will leave his position of executive vice president and provost on May 18, 1998, and will join our department of education as a faculty member beginning in the 1998-99 academic year.
In an effort to streamline administrative structure, a layer of management is being eliminated, moving every employee and program a step closer to the president. Effective May 18, 1998, the positions of academic vice president and vice president for health sciences will be eliminated. In addition, the position of executive vice president and provost as it has existed for the past decade also is being eliminated. The responsibilities that each of these positions, and the individuals who served in them, have carried out for the University are being redefined and reassigned to a smaller number of senior managers in the University structure. The two new senior management positions - both of which report directly to the president - are those of executive vice president, and provost.
The executive vice president of the University will be responsible to me for all University operations and business units (such as the University Medical Group). There is clearly room for increased efficiency and decreased bureaucracy in the University's operations. Furthermore, there is a need to improve both our planning and budgeting processes and to link them, one to another, if we are to move forward as one University. The executive vice president will have specific responsibility for a University-wide effort focused on improving our services, both internally and externally. This individual will directly supervise the University operations that support both academic and business activities, including legal services, facilities services, human resources, finance, development and University relations, information technology, and civic and governmental relations. Further, the executive vice president will assure that the support functions are responsive to, and flexibly adapt to, the core academic mission of the University, and that there is a high degree of coordination and cooperation between the academic units and these services.
I have asked Dr. James R. Kimmey, M.D., vice president for health sciences, to serve in this new position, and he has agreed. Dr. Kimmey brings a wide range of experience in government, the private sector and academe to this leadership position. For the past 11 years, he has been a key member of the University administration, first as director of the Center for Health Services Education and Research and founding dean of the School of Public Health and, since 1993, as vice president for health sciences. During the past year, Jim has been a key participant in the successful effort to secure a strong network partner for the Health Sciences Center and its schools and centers, culminating in the sale of Saint Louis University Hospital and the formation of a network with Tenet Healthcare Corp.
The provost will be the chief academic officer of the University, reporting directly to me for all academic matters affecting teaching, research and service to the community. Over the past year, the deans and directors of the schools, colleges, centers and institutes have expressed concern that the central academic mission of the University was insufficiently visible at the top of the organization, and that the allocation of responsibilities among the academic vice president, the vice president for health sciences, and the executive vice president and provost was unclear and led to confusion and inefficiency. They recommended that any reorganization provide a clear focus for academic matters with a direct reporting relationship to the president. The provost will provide that focus. The provost will have duties that combine responsibilities that have been carried out by the executive vice president and provost with others previously held by the academic vice president and the vice president for health sciences. This individual will deal with all aspects of the University's academic core, including student matters, faculty, research, curriculum and academic policy. Responsibilities include recruitment and retention of students, student financial aid, faculty governance liaison, promotion and tenure matters, and research administration. In an effort to provide closer coordination between academic and student formation functions, the senior officers for student development and for mission and ministry will report to the provost.
I have asked Professor Sandra H. Johnson to accept this position on an interim basis, and she has agreed. Professor Johnson has been a member of the faculty of the School of Law since 1978 and holds faculty appointments in the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health. She has served as interim dean of the School of Law, as associate dean for academic affairs at the school, and as director of the Center for Health Law Studies. She has served as president of the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics and is currently director of a major research project for the society. Professor Johnson chaired the University committee on academic rank and tenure for a number of years and has served in several other capacities, including as a member of the provost's committee on the Faculty Manual, a member of the University's Institutional Review Board, and a committee chair for the University's strategic plan implementation committee. She is currently a member of the SLUCare Ethics Committee. Professor Johnson served on the executive committee of the University's Faculty Senate for several years. She has published and lectured extensively, and her legal treatises are referenced worldwide by legal and health care scholars and practitioners. Sandra brings to this position a keen understanding of, and a strong commitment to, the academic mission of the University.
In order to achieve a high level of coordination across all University activities, Sandra, Jim and I will meet regularly to ensure that the complex activities of the institution are integrated and synergistic. We will begin by reviewing the entire organizational structure to assure that it functions to support our core mission and is ready for the challenges of the future.
These organizational changes represent the first steps in developing a more effective University. In the coming months, Sandra, Jim and I will seek counsel from individuals throughout the institution as we identify the best ways to achieve my vision of Saint Louis University as the finest Catholic university in the United States. I am confident that the entire University community will rally behind this effort and these leaders and make positive contributions to the task ahead.
  |