Southern considers merging colleges
Southern University is tentatively proposing merging eight academic colleges and schools into five as the university begins its reorganization process.
The proposed plan would consolidate engineering with architecture, agriculture with the natural sciences, and business with public policy, among other changes. The plan also would set the table for upcoming faculty and academic program cutbacks.
The Southern Faculty Senate met Thursday to begin debating the preliminary plan that was disseminated to faculty on the same day.
Faculty members also discussed a potential vote of “no confidence” in Chancellor James Llorens and whether to start a legal defense fund for a possible lawsuit to cease the university’s recent declaration of a financial emergency, called exigency.
Exigency, generally considered a serious blemish to a university, gives the Southern administration more leeway in laying off faculty and axing academic programs.
No faculty votes were taken on a “no confidence” consideration or a lawsuit. Several faculty members said it is too soon to have a vote against Llorens.
As for the reorganization, the merged academic colleges would be:
College of Education and Liberal Arts.
- College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.
- College of Business and Public Policy.
- College of Agricultural and Natural Sciences.
- College of Nursing and Allied Health.
The potential changes would consolidate many parts of the current and separate College of Education, College of Arts and Humanities, College of Engineering, School of Architecture, College of Business, Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, School of Nursing, College of Sciences and the College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences.
The mergers would reduce the number of academic deans on campus.
The proposed plan would change the Graduate School into the Institutional Research and Graduate School. The Southern Honors College was listed as an “Honors” offshoot of the office of academic affairs in the plan.
Llorens and interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Janet Rami did not respond to interview requests Thursday.
Southern spokesman Ed Pratt said the chancellor does not want to publicly discuss the plan until it is further along.
The next step would be to identify which academic programs and tenured faculty within the colleges are slated for termination. The Southern Board of Supervisors could consider the proposed changes as soon as Nov. 25, but it could be delayed into December.
Faculty Senate President Sudhir Trivedi said he suspects the final approval will wait until next month. Trivedi said he expects roughly 50 of the university’s 270 or so faculty members could be targeted for firing. He said he thinks the college consolidation plan is “shortsighted,” especially when it is being done with little faculty input.
The Faculty Senate did approve a request to form a committee with a majority of faculty members that would have final review of the academic reorganization. Trivedi said that if the administration ignores the faculty requests it could be a violation of the university’s academic accreditation.
Rami’s email sending out the proposed reorganization asks for faculty input to be completed by noon Friday. Faculty members complained they were only given a day and a half to study the changes. They asked to be given at least until Wednesday.
“We cannot accept this as is without more time for a thorough review,” said mechanical engineering professor Patrick Mensah, who argued architecture would fit better with public policy than engineering.“I think it’s by design,” added criminal justice professor Shanika Jones, contending that the administration does not want much faculty input.