Article published August 19, 2008
UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO BOARD OF TRUSTEES
University of Toledo college of arts, sciences will have external review
By MEGHAN GILBERT
BLADE STAFF WRITER
The University of Toledo has finalized an agreement with a Pennsylvania organization to review the college of arts and sciences this fall.
The Learning Alliance for Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania was selected to conduct a series of campus interviews, facilitate discussions, and generate a report, UT Provost Rosemary Haggett said yesterday during a UT Board of Trustees committee meeting.
"We want the college to continue to move forward and continue to implement the strategic plan," she said.
The external review stems from a faculty vote of no confidence in Dean Yueh-Ting Lee, which led to his resignation from the post and the recent naming of chemist and UT alumna Nina McClelland to interim dean.
| SEE LETTER |
 VIEW: letter of agreement between University of Toledo and The Learning Alliance for Higher Education (TLA) |
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"It has admittedly been a year of turmoil," the provost said.
UT will pay the Learning Alliance an estimated $75,900 to cover professional service fees for the five-person staff. It also will pay additional costs for travel expenses and those associated with the planned campus discussions, according to a letter of agreement finalized earlier this month.
The review process will begin with a six-member steering committee that will include Ms. Haggett, Ms. McClelland, and others who will determine the 30-35 people to represent a diverse sampling from the college in the "roundtable discussions."Those participants would be interviewed Sept. 15-18 to generate a starting point for the first roundtable discussion Oct. 21-22. Another session is scheduled for Dec. 2 and 3.
The assessment will be complete when the Learning Alliance generates a "benchmarking study" based on those interviews and discussions in a report to be complete in February.
The trustees in the academic and student affairs committee where yesterday's discussion took place said they were excited about what could come of the review - and the possibility of developing goals and benchmarks for all the university's colleges.
"Turmoil is not all bad," said trustee Tom Brady, chairman of the committee. "What it does is promote positive change."
UT President Dr. Lloyd Jacobs said there should be a focus on the college's strategic plan, rather than previous issues with Dean Lee and personalities.
"I think there's just going to be a lot of work to be done in the next several months," he said.
Lawrence Anderson-Huang, the current chairman of the Arts and Sciences Council faculty group that voted no confidence in the dean, said while it is skeptical, the group looks forward to participating in the review process.
"Since the dean issue has been semi-resolved, we're sort of going ahead with this," said Mr. Anderson-Huang, a professor of physics and astronomy.
Faculty members, though, don't "see a whole lot of use" for the assessment other than to inform the administration of the college's standing, but can see the benefit of looking at how the college is structured to carry out its strategic plan, he said.
Ms. McClelland will lead the college through the process and the search for a permanent dean will begin after the university receives the final report from the Learning Alliance, Ms. Haggett said.
Contact Meghan Gilbert at:
mgilbert@theblade.com
or 419-724-6134.
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