LOGAN — A merger of several colleges into two new colleges is the first step in Utah State University’s strategic reinvestment plan, which was prompted by the Utah Legislature’s withholding of typical funding this year.
“In both cases, these mergers will strategically enhance academic programming, foster interdisciplinary scholarship, and significantly improve our ability to meet the evolving needs of our students and the state of Utah,” USU interim President Al Smith wrote in the email update to all faculty and staff at the state’s only land-grant institution.
He said the consolidation process will continue through this month and will involve several periodic updates to employees about the process. This will include “department consolidations, moves, and reconfigurations that strengthen alignment and cohesion,” Smith said, adding that these changes “will likely impact downstream programs, initiatives, and centers or institutes.”
The Caine College of the Arts along with the College of Humanities and Social Sciences will be combined with the College of Science, according to Smith’s email sent out to USU employees on Thursday afternoon. This will result in the creation of a new college at USU that will be led by Joe Ward, who is the current dean for CHASS.
The second merger will be the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources combined with the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences to create a new college as well. The leader of this college has yet to be determined.
Between the legislature’s funding cut of $4.8 million last year and this year’s $12.5 million strategic reinvestment plan requirement in HB 265: Higher Education Strategic Reinvestment, USU was tasked with figuring out how to function without that usual funding. If its proposal for how to reallocate the $12.5 million is accepted by USHE, USU will recover the money over the next three years, as long as it is spent as proposed.
“Our task includes phasing out less productive or declining programs while actively pursuing areas of growth and future potential,” Smith said.
USU has told employees the reinvestment plan will include layoffs, along with a voluntary separation incentive program (VSIP) which is being offered to employees as an alternative option.
USU is the largest employer in Cache Valley. There are more than 24,000 employees, between all its statewide campuses, which include faculty, staff, student employees, and the Space Dynamics Lab.
Smith told employees he recognizes concern and questions about the consolidation process. Any layoffs would be effective July 1 or later and will be contingent upon how much cost is absorbed through the VSIP and the administrative and operational needs of the new colleges.
“I know personnel impacts are of particular concern to our community and we will work to communicate as quickly and clearly as possible to those affected when decisions are made,” Smith wrote at the conclusion of the email to employees.