A new academic unit called the Colleges of Letters and Science will be created through a partnership of the colleges of Science, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Humanities and University College. This unit has been developed as part of The University of Arizona's Transformation Plan to build on interdisciplinary strengths and reduce administrative and business expenses.
The individual colleges will function in unison under the umbrella of the Colleges of Letters and Science. Science, SBS and Humanities will continue to be managed by a dean and the overall structure will be governed by an executive dean. UA Provost Meredith Hay announced that Dean Joaquin Ruiz of the College of Science will serve as executive dean of the new organization. This partnership will advance innovative programs that cross the boundaries of the humanities, social and basic sciences. These collaborations will help to strengthen both undergraduate and graduate programs. Advising for students who are undecided on majors, currently provided solely by University College, will be integrated into the new Colleges of Letters and Science to strengthen academic support for students.
The proposal for this partnership evolved through the transformation process that was initiated this fall. Academic and administrative units have advanced proposals to improve the University's productivity and efficiency by focusing resources on core academic and research areas. The proposal for the creation of the Colleges of Letters and Science was developed by the deans of the colleges from proposals that were submitted in the first phase of the process. This reorganization will build on the national leadership that the University has established in interdisciplinary areas where research in the social and physical sciences converge with work in the humanities such as borderlands studies and environmental concerns.
University of Arizona President Robert N. Shelton praised this new partnership, calling it a model for the transformation of the University. "This proposal brings us critical administrative savings," said Shelton. "But more significantly, this is going to strengthen our academic standing by creating new opportunities for collaborative research and interdisciplinary programs. It will give students wonderful new options, and allow us to better serve the state in areas that are going to be of critical importance for coming generations."
By consolidating numerous administrative functions of the four colleges into one larger unit, Hay said she expects the UA to realize annual savings of several million dollars. "We will see savings through the new administrative structure and in the way we will be able to schedule and offer classes," said Hay. "It will also make us academically stronger, which is the ultimate goal of the plan." Hay emphasized that bringing advising and student support closer to the work of academic departments will strengthen undergraduate teaching. "The link between advising and academics is central to a student-centered research university. This reorganization brings our academic strengths closer to students' needs, and it will help us focus our resources on our teaching and research by cutting costs in administrative support that can be reinvested in our core mission."