Message from the President
February 28, 2018
Dear Colleagues:
After careful consideration of both the internal and external candidates for Provost/VPAA and after consultation with stakeholders and careful review of the campus feedback, the following communication lays out a reorganization of Academic Affairs that will help UTRGV better achieve its core priorities. The new organizational structure will address both the challenges that UTRGV faces and the opportunities we have.
The timing of the reorganization is propitious since we are currently filling key leadership positions in Academic Affairs and Research. Once the reorganization is complete, UTRGV will be uniquely structured in a way that best meets the vision laid out for it by the UT System Board of Regents at the time of its formation. Specifically but not exclusively, this reorganization will serve to address the following immediate priorities. It is crucial that we
- take advantage of the current opportunity to develop and implement new degree programs, especially graduate and professional programs, since this opportunity will not last;
- invest in our faculty and staff to further the mission of UTRGV;
- intensify and expand our focus on student success since the long-term health of the institution and the livelihoods of our students and their families depend on the success of our students;
- build the institution’s research infrastructure to accommodate the new programs that we implement and the current and new faculty we are hiring;
- expand our P-12 outreach to serve a population hungry for access to higher education and to ensure that college pathways such as dual-credit programs and many others meet the needs of our students;
- implement our practice plan to expand health care in the Rio Grande Valley – one of the largest tasks we will undertake in our development.
Rather than a single Provost/VPAA, the new structure will include three Executive Vice Presidents: an Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Student Success, and P-16 Integration; an Executive Vice President for Research, Graduate Studies, and New Program Development; and an Executive Vice President for Health Affairs. UTRGV’s new organizational structure will take advantage of the skills and abilities of our two most widely (and almost equally) supported candidates for Provost/VPAA and of the unique skills of our current Dean of the School of Medicine and Vice President for Health Affairs. The three Executive Vice Presidents will oversee significant, independent areas, each with many opportunities for collaboration, consultation and cooperative action. Each EVP will be responsible for working with the appropriate faculty and staff governance groups to establish policies for the areas they oversee. The three EVPs and their areas of responsibility are as follows:
- Dr. Patricia (Patty) Alvarez McHatton has accepted the position of Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Student Success, and P-16 Integration. In this role, she will oversee the colleges (with the exception of the Graduate College and Health Affairs), faculty affairs and diversity, undergraduate education and the development of new undergraduate programs, student success and student support services, accreditation and assessment, and the B3 Institute. (See functions reporting to this position, effective April 2, 2018)
- Dr. Parwinder Grewal has accepted the position of Executive Vice President for Research, Graduate Studies, and New Program Development. In this role, he will oversee research development, the development of new centers and institutes, and the development of new graduate programs; the Graduate College, the Library, and Global Engagement, COLTT, continuing education, and existing research centers and institutes except for those located in the School of Medicine. (See functions reporting to this position, effective April 2, 2018)
- Dr. John Krouse’s title will change to Executive Vice President for Health Affairs to parallel the other titles. He will retain his role as Dean of the School of Medicine. He will oversee the School of Medicine, the current College of Health Affairs, the new School of Nursing, and the development of UT-Health Rio Grande Valley. The expectation is that, over time, most of the units in Health Affairs, beginning with Nursing, will evolve into separate schools (paralleling SOM) headed by Deans who report to the Executive Vice President for Health Affairs. (See functions reporting to this position, effective April 2, 2018)
These appointments create vacancies in two of our colleges. We will launch national searches for both of these positions, but in the meantime, Dr. McHatton will work with the college faculty to appoint interim deans for both. The work underway, including faculty reviews in all colleges, will be completed under the current leadership to ensure a smooth and equitable transition.
I’d like to thank Dr. Juan Sanchez, Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation, for his service and commitment to UTRGV. He will stay on through the end of his contract, June 2018, to assist with the transition. I would also like to thank Dr. Cynthia Brown, Deputy Provost, who will retire this May. We owe Cynthia a debt of gratitude for her tireless efforts on behalf of UTRGV.
Working together, the three EVPs can advance the academic and research enterprise of UTRGV to remarkable levels. Thank you for your continued commitment to UTRGV.
Sincerely,
Guy Bailey
President