Sander Discusses Budget, Strategic Plan at Open Dialogue
Executive Vice President and Provost Eugene Sander
Executive Vice President and Provost Eugene Sander discussed possible implications of this year's state budget, The University of Arizona's new Outreach College and the University's strategic plan metrics at an informal talk with members of the campus community yesterday.
Sander, who will serve as provost until the end of April, when Iowa Vice President for Research Meredith Hay takes over the position, has held three informal lunchtime chats since September. The events, titled Open Dialogues With the Provost, are designed to give community members the opportunity to ask questions of the provost and his staff.
During Thursday's talk, Sander answered questions about what this year's state budget shortcomings could mean for the UA. While Arizona's universities aren't subject to a statewide hiring freeze, Sander said the UA probably will limit hiring to critical positions.
"This shows the importance of contingency planning," Sander said, adding that he's been asking departments and colleges what they would do if the University experiences 2 percent cuts this year and next.
"I think it's a pretty important question to ask at this stage of the game," he said.
Sander also said that he thinks it's important to allow individual colleges and departments to have maximum flexibility when it comes to making hiring decisions and knowing what positions are most critical to them.
During his talk, Sander discussed his reasons for changing the Office of Continuing Education and Academic Outreach to the Arizona Outreach College, a name that he thinks will bring more attention to the UA's outreach efforts.
"I wanted to give this thing some visibility and I thought the Honors College model was the way to do it," Sander said.
Sander, with help from Leslie Tolbert, vice president for research, graduate studies and economic development, talked about the University's strategic plan and how nonacademic units can use the plan's metrics to identify how they are contributing to the UA's mission.
Every unit on campus has something to do with the goals defined in the University's mission – education, research, creative expression and community engagement – Tolbert said.
Sander announced that the Strategic Planning and Budget Advisory Committee is planning a retreat with all the University's deans later this year.
"We want to make sure there's a good alignment between the people who design the plan and the people who execute it," he said.
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