Ohio University's top academic officer announced the merger of two executive positions as a cost-saving component of academic restructuring.
Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit said last month she will combine the University Outreach and regional campuses offices, and announced yesterday that Dan Evans, executive dean of the regional campuses, will oversee the new unit.
Evans, who currently makes $176,849 overseeing OU's five regional campuses and two regional centers, will become executive dean of regional Higher Education and vice provost of eLearning and strategic initiatives, earning $180,000.
Part of the charge the provost is giving (Evans) is figuring out how to make the two offices work better together and make stronger alliances with the campus
said Ann Fidler, interim assistant provost for strategic initiatives.
Fidler added that Benoit's decision also stemmed from her desire to reduce the number of senior staff members in her office.
Charles Bird, vice provost for University Outreach, will retire in June, and combining his position with Evans' will allow OU to not hire a replacement.
This will provide us with a lot more academic opportunities and increase the number of ways we can help cope with budget issues Fidler said.
Bird's duties include overseeing OU's lifelong learning and distance education programs as well as the school's summer and Winter Intercessions. He earns $181,017 a year.
Evans will assume Bird's current duties in addition to cultivating a greater focus on electronic learning.
Already on many of our campuses there are faculty who are using eLearning techniques to structure their courses in ways that allow them to increase the effectiveness of their teaching and use their time more efficiently Benoit said in an e-mail sent to staff yesterday. We need to encourage this type of experimentation so that we can creatively deliver quality educational experiences to more segments of our student population.
The combination of the regional campuses and University Outreach offices will strengthen a collaboration that has existed for years and eliminate overlap between the offices, Evans said. He added the two units have been among the largest contributors to university enrollment.
We hope to create a synergy that will allow us to continue growth and continue to work with departments and colleges in Athens to explore ways to improve OU's instructional opportunities to not only Athens but throughout the state and beyond
Evans said.
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Rebecca McKinsey
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