Discussions are currently in place in regard to the possibility of merging colleges and schools at Wright State. A steering committee, which consists of faculty members and deans, will be hosting discussions in which they review and make recommendations for future proposals. There is currently no concrete proposal for any kind of merge that would take place on campus.
One of the goals of the committee is to evaluate the current structure of colleges and schools and to determine what could be changed to better serve the students and community. A major area under consideration for reorganization is Health and Human services, according to Laura Luehrmann, professor of Political Science at Wright State University. There is also the consideration of reorganizing programs from within the College of Education elsewhere.
[The committee] is encouraged to think about: is the current system working the way it is supposed to, or do we need to pull some majors, minors and faculty together in new ways that would make more sense?” said Luehrmann. “Our focus is on students and what students need to complete their degree and get jobs they aspire for.”
The faculty agree that any kind of reorganization should not in any way harm the student experience, according to Travis Doom, Co-Chair of the steering committee. “Even to make a great investment, we’re not willing to compromise our current student experience,” said Doom.
At this point, the steering committee has only met one time, and they have had no proposals to discuss. As it stands, there is only “an assumption that it is important to look at things that would benefit faculty staff and the community,” said Linda Caron, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
Faculty within the College of Liberal Arts have raised concerns about merging entities on campus together, according to Luehrmann.
Concerns about the potential for merges include the cost, logistics, and complex work that would be involved in it, according to Caron.
The most common concern from faculty members is the timing of the change, according to Doom. “The committee is going to have to address questions such as: is this the right time for the university to make an investment?” said Doom.
“We absolutely have to consider [this question], and consider it very seriously.”
