Provost John Wright’s recommendations to President Selma Botman for the restructuring of academic departments within USM’s three new colleges, which Wright said were expected last week, have been delayed until early May.
The recommendations from Wright will be made with consultation from the deans of USM’s three new colleges
“Our faculty governance guidelines call for an oppurtunity for faculty discussions and recommendations when we change or move academic departments,” Wright wrote in an email Friday. “Various models required further development/discussion, extending our timeline.”
The three new colleges are the College of Science, Technology and Health; the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; and the College of Management and Human Service. They were created and named as part of the ongoing academic reorganization process.
Wright said the recommendations should be presented to Botman during the first week in May.
Controversy has arisen in this stage of the reorganization over the administration’s push for a minimum of 12 full-time equivalent faculty in each academic department. Some members of the faculty have said this could lead to departments being forced together to meet the requirement.