Board of Trustees Passes School Structure Proposal
Andrew Exner
Issue date: 2/25/10 Section: News
In a recent mass e-mail, President Kim Phipps made several announcements to the student body. One of these detailed that Messiah College is restructuring from its current five school model to a four school model, effective Fall 2010.
The departments of Mathematical Sciences, Engineering and the Collaboratory, currently in the School of Mathematics, Engineering and Business, will be combined with the departments in the current School of Health and Natural Sciences. These departments will form a new School of the "Sciences." The Department of Management and Business, currently into the School of Mathematics, Engineering and Business, will join the departments in the current School of Education and Social Sciences. These departments will form a new School of the "Social Sciences." The final names of the two schools referred to as the 'Sciences' and the 'Social Sciences' will be determined this spring.
Although this is a significant change, students probably will not recognize immediate changes in day-to-day academic life. The administration and faculty are committed to making sure that the transition from five academic deans and schools to four will be as smooth as possible. "When you develop the four school model," says Provost Randall Basinger, "you want to make sure that the mission is advanced."
Basinger led the task force in a mandate to review the school structure. The five school structure is actually a fairly recent development in school history, introduced by former President Sawatsky. "Messiah restructured in, I think it was 2000, from 13 academic departments to five schools and 21 or 22 departments," says Basinger. Phipps was Provost at that time.
"We had hoped to review [the structure] in year five, but some other things took precedence," says Phipps, who later explained that reducing student tuition increases (from 5-6% to 3-4%) was a larger priority.
Dean Ray Norman says that the MEB School has often seemed an anomaly to people, both in and out of the school. "At a cursory glance, math, engineering, and business are kind of odd bedfellows." Norman continues, "when the college decided to form five schools, those three departments actually requested to be together."
The departments of Mathematical Sciences, Engineering and the Collaboratory, currently in the School of Mathematics, Engineering and Business, will be combined with the departments in the current School of Health and Natural Sciences. These departments will form a new School of the "Sciences." The Department of Management and Business, currently into the School of Mathematics, Engineering and Business, will join the departments in the current School of Education and Social Sciences. These departments will form a new School of the "Social Sciences." The final names of the two schools referred to as the 'Sciences' and the 'Social Sciences' will be determined this spring.
Although this is a significant change, students probably will not recognize immediate changes in day-to-day academic life. The administration and faculty are committed to making sure that the transition from five academic deans and schools to four will be as smooth as possible. "When you develop the four school model," says Provost Randall Basinger, "you want to make sure that the mission is advanced."
Basinger led the task force in a mandate to review the school structure. The five school structure is actually a fairly recent development in school history, introduced by former President Sawatsky. "Messiah restructured in, I think it was 2000, from 13 academic departments to five schools and 21 or 22 departments," says Basinger. Phipps was Provost at that time.
"We had hoped to review [the structure] in year five, but some other things took precedence," says Phipps, who later explained that reducing student tuition increases (from 5-6% to 3-4%) was a larger priority.
Dean Ray Norman says that the MEB School has often seemed an anomaly to people, both in and out of the school. "At a cursory glance, math, engineering, and business are kind of odd bedfellows." Norman continues, "when the college decided to form five schools, those three departments actually requested to be together."
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