MU-Middle States Self-Study: Chapter 10: Effective Management

Chapter 10: Effective Management
Organizational Structure

Millersville University's administration is led by the President and organized into five divisions: Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Finance and Administration, Information Technology, and University Advancement, each headed by a vice president. The five vice presidents plus two assistants to the president constitute the President's Advisory Council, which advises the President on policy formulation, implementation and direction.

The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs heads the Academic Affairs division, which includes the Schools of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Mathematics. The three school deans, the Dean of Graduate Studies and Extended Programs, two Associate Provosts, the Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Directors of Admissions and Library Services constitute the Deans' Council, which advises the Provost on a host of academic matters.

Appendix 10-1 displays Millersville's organizational chart as of 1999.

Millersville University continually reviews its organizational structure and reassesses its ability to provide the best services to students, their parents, faculty, administrators, and visitors. Despite the University's complexity and our time-consuming traditional emphasis on broad-based input and collaborative decision-making, Millersville's organizational structure has proved adaptable to change. An example of this is the creation of the Information Technology division, headed by a new vice president (see Chapter 7). In addition to this position, several other senior-level positions have been created in the last few years.

The position of Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Services was created in 1995 to coordinate University retention efforts and programs for special populations (see Chapter 6).
The position of Associate Vice President for Student Development was created in 1996 to oversee many student development programs (see Chapter 5).
The position of Associate Dean for Humanities and Social Sciences was formalized in 1997 to assist the Dean of that large school with policy reform, planning, curriculum, course scheduling, budget, and adjunct hiring.

In the last five years, several senior-level posts have been vacated, mostly through retirements. Fortunately, we have conducted successful searches for these individuals, hiring a new Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dean of the School of Science and Mathematics, and Dean of Graduate Studies and Extended Programs. The position of Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Services has recently become vacant and is being filled on a temporary basis by a faculty member.

In response to developing needs, some administrative functions have been reorganized, redistributed and/or relocated to improve services and cost-efficiencies. Perhaps the most significant is the consolidation of a number of offices serving students from six buildings and three vice presidential divisions into one modernized facility in Lyle Student Services Building (see Chapter 11). Millersville is the first university in the State System to consolidate such a multitude of major services for students into one location.