Outline of

President Jackson’s report to the Faculty Senate of September 17, 2002

John R. Marcellus

Eastman School of Music

 

 

I.                  Decentralized University

A.  Principle of decentralization to the lowest coherent and responsible unit. A decentralized decision making structure modeled after Harvard. Constantly in flux and under review.

                     1.  Example-Business is carried out through the departmental structure

a.     Departments know the areas within their field in which to invest for the future within a certain budget.

b.    Costs and benefits are “internalized” within the department

c.     Differences between undergraduate and graduate investments

1.    Undergraduate education is spread to over 20 departments of the university

2.    Graduate education and research captures reputational and other advantages.

d.     Allocation of resources goes beyond department to the “College” or School and others more central.

1.    Example 1: merger of College of Arts and Science and the College of Engineering and Applied Science into The College.(has allowed to pursue an aggressive decentralization of services previously provided by the central administration into the hands of The College).

2.    Example 2: endowment investments managed collectively because of combined $ resources;

3.    Example 3: more effective to have one person in development to handle “planned giving” and

      other development issues and conflicts to be handled from a central source

3.    Endowment spending rates:  “review” by “higher layers” needed to bring a longer term time horizon on the appropriateness of spending today versus having money to spend in the future.

 

II.               Health Affairs

A.  Clinical Medicine is a different “business” than education

B.   Governance Issues: Financial problems in academic medical centers can impact the credit rating not just of health care but of the entire University.

C.   Alternative governance structure goals for Medical Center

1.    Separate the risks-minimize adverse credit ratings

2.    focus on management and governance-with a medical center

a.     ensure respective managers and governors were able to be selected

b.    focus on the basis of identified core competencies

D.  Restructuring

1.    Clinical delivery system was not separated from School of Medicine/Dentistry/Nursing

a.     Still accountable to academic mission

                                2.  U of R “all under one roof” ties together clinical, educational and

                               Research. U of R is in the business of clinical medicine because

                               We are in the business of medial education.

2.    Three models

a.     Separate operating subdivision owned by the university reporting to a National Board

b.    Two separate operating subdivisions, both owned by university one covering medical affairs, the other covering academic affairs.

c.     Separating U of R. into two entities with a formal affiliation agreement with overlapping boards.

d.    Report to BOT in fall 2002, favoring model #3, explores implications of emphasized decentralized decisionmaking