Published: Feb 8, 2007
Students will have four colleges to choose from at The University of Tampa starting this fall semester.
On
Jan. 26, the UT Board of Trustees approved the creation of three new
colleges: Arts and Letters, Natural and Health Sciences, and Social
Science, Math and Education. The new structure will help the University
retain its small-school ambience despite its rapid growth, said provost
Dr. Janet McNew.
“What we have is a two-college model that was
the result of establishing a separate College of Business nearly 20
years ago,” McNew said. “So, we had the [John H.] Sykes College of
Business and the college of everything else.”
The college of
everything else, or the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, contains
traditional liberal arts departments, such as history, as well as
professional programs like nursing and education. With 180 full-time
faculty members, it is nearly three times the size of the Sykes College
of Business. The three new colleges will be of similar size.
Like
the Sykes College of Business, each new college will have a greater
sense of identity, which can help attract students and raise funds. The
four-college model also is meant to increase transparency, decrease red
tape, and foster stronger connections with the community, McNew said.
She added that it also will aid in the creation of additional
master’s-level professional graduate programs.
“We’ve reached a
point of stability that’s a launching pad,” McNew said. “UT’s greatest
need at this point is no longer growing enrollments. We need instead the
academic infrastructure that will better support the parallel growth of
students and faculty.”
Interim deans will be chosen internally and named in March, before the school launches a nationwide search for permanent deans.
The
academic reorganization was the provost’s first major initiative since
she was hired last summer, but she emphasized that the goal was
accomplished through close collaboration with faculty members. A faculty
committee met at least once a week for months to discuss the
University’s plans.
Math professor Dr. Emilio Toro led the
seven-member Academic Reorganization Committee, which issued a report
recommending the four-college model. Faculty approved the model before
sending it to the provost.
“The big advantage is that the size of
the four colleges would be even,” Toro said. “It was the only way to
achieve a good balance.”