[Vpaaetal] Fall 2005 Opening

[vpaaetal@TAMU-Commerce.edu]

Welcome to all faculty for the Fall 2005 opening!  This promises to be a
good year with lots

of excitement and a good measure of change.  A few highlights of things to
come:

 

*	Welcome new colleagues including James Klein as Dean of Arts &
Sciences.
*	Relocate the science faculty to the new science building before the
spring semester.
*	Open the Planetarium and host schools/public for shows. Director
Kent Montgomery 

has been working with area teachers and the Children's Museum since January.

*	Discuss Developmental Education and how to improve our effectiveness
with students.

*	Demolish old buildings, including two residence halls (Phillips and
Walker) where 

we discovered the need for very costly repairs.

*	Manage the approximately 50 percent growth in the online MBA
program.
*	Open new partnerships with school districts for Counselor Education.
*	Invite faculty to mentor Blue & Gold, Presidential and Academic
Excellence scholars.
*	Conduct national searches for 19 faculty, 5-6 Heads and a Library
Director.
*	Implement reorganization in the College of Education and Human
Services.
*	Initiate a Friends of the Library group to fund-raise and assist the
Library. 
*	Begin detailed planning for a One-Stop Student Services Center in
McDowell 

and a completely new Student Center facility.

*	Close "old" or out-of-the- way classrooms and upgrade others (let me
explain).

 

We are criticized by state agencies/Legislature for our poor space
management. We are ranked

near the bottom of 38 public institutions in the state, year in and year
out.  State utilization standards 

are 38 hours per week for classrooms and 25 hours per week for laboratories.
Fewer than 

20 percent of our classrooms and laboratories met this standard! 

 

To address this, we conducted a thorough consultative process through the
Deans and Heads 

to move toward state standards, facilitate central scheduling and make use
of the better 

classrooms on campus.  The goals that guided this effort are:

 

*	to improve quality of the space we do use-new desks and more
whiteboard space, 
*	to use space more effectively and alleviate the negative commentary
about TAMUC, 
*	to close unused/poorly used space and thereby reduce costs of
maintenance, repair, etc.
*	to implement the scheduling software Ad Astra that was acquired 3-4
years ago.

 

We will continue to pursue these goals in all classrooms and labs and to
look for ways to improve 

instructional space and meet instructional needs. I welcome your
suggestions.

 

New classroom assignments are posted on the Web and accessible via Webtrax.
Further, the

Registrar's Office is distributing the entire class schedule by discipline
to the Deans so that

they may share the information with Department Heads and faculty.  Student
schedules will

reflect the new classroom assignments.

 

I have asked Facilities Services to proceed with the following steps:

 

1)         Change locks to limit access and the need to clear/repair unused
space,

2)         Retrieve the best furniture available and use it to upgrade
classrooms, 

3)         Relocate white boards to expand board space for mathematics
classes,

4)         Relocate ceiling-installed projectors to high-use classrooms,

5)         Remove old/ugly/broken furniture and store for next auction.

6)         Repair or replace broken seats in large lecture halls 

 

AG/IT = 234

Hall of Sciences = 121, 125, 129, 133, 135, 136

Hall of Languages (3rd floor) = 301-307

Binnion = 217, 220, 301, 302, 325, 326, 330.  

We will remove Binnion 225 and 234 from the classroom list. These rooms are
not accessible 

to anyone but the Counseling and Psychology & Special Education departments.

 

We owe big THANKS! to Beth Durff and Lisa Robinson of the Registrar's Office
for their 

hard work on this project. I especially appreciate the patience and
assistance of all the 

Department Heads and Deans who participated in the consultation and gave us
useful feedback. 

 

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you in the fall start-up
and ask your patience 

and understanding in the transition.  Thank you!

 

Joyce A. Scott

Provost and Vice President for Academic

and Student Affairs

Texas A&M University-Commerce

P.O. Box 3011

Commerce, Texas 75429-3011

(903) 886-5018

(903) 886-5019

 <mailto:Joyce_Scott at tamu-commerce.edu> Joyce_Scott at tamu-commerce.edu

 

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