‘Ville Bulletin August 27, 2018

’Ville Bulletin | August 27, 2018

ALERTS FOR MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS

Dear Fellow Marauder Family members,

Welcome to the 2018-19 academic year! I am thrilled to start this new year with you as your new president. Last week, we welcomed about 1,380 new undergraduates and 175 new graduate students to our campus community. We are happy they have chosen to be part of the Marauder family.

Millersville University is fortunate to have a dedicated and talented faculty and staff who serve our students each day in and out of the classroom. We are also blessed with a committed Council of Trustees, alumni and friends who support our mission.

Since my arrival in early July, I have visited several offices on campus and intend to visit all of our offices by the end of the academic year via the Listening Tours that will be announced soon. Through consultations with my senior leadership team on how we will work together to make Millersville University a destination campus, I have identified a few priorities that need focused attention. Among these priorities is the need for some immediate organizational changes.

The purpose of the changes is to improve and enhance services to our students and the overall campus community and to forge greater synergy and better balance across the university divisions.  I would like to express my appreciation to those staff members affected by the changes.  We value the dedication and talents of these employees and appreciate the contributions they make to our University. I said during my candidacy for this position that before making any organizational changes, I would personally inform the impacted individuals.  At the end of this past week, I met with three departments to communicate the upcoming changes and I have already informed the Council of Trustees.

Now let me share the changes with you:

University Communications & Marketing – From the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management to the Division of University Advancement

  • University Communications & Marketing serves the entire campus community and moving the unit back to Advancement is a better platform from which to focus on the overall university message to propel us forward.

Academic Advisement and Student Development – From the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management to the Division of Academic Affairs

  • Academic Advisement and Student Development plays a critical role in our students’ success and moving it back to Academic Affairs will allow the faculty and staff in this unit to work closely with academic departments and other academic support services to improve our retention and graduation rates.

University Police – From the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management to the Division of Finance & Administration

  • University Police perform an essential function in ensuring the safety and security of our entire campus and this realignment will lead to a more streamlined reporting line to my office and promote a more campus-wide focus.

President’s Office

  • To better support the Office of the President and the exciting goals that we are embarking on, I have listened to the advice of many internal and external leaders and will be bringing back the position of Chief of Staff.  This position will help me to handle the many external relationships that need to be cultivated and ensure that our strategic thinking and plans are executed. I am pleased to announce that Dr. Victor DeSantis, Dean of Graduate Studies and Adult Learning, has agreed to join my office as the Interim Chief of Staff.

The organizational changes outlined above will take effect on September 6, 2018. I am committed to gaining greater familiarity with the people, programs, traditions and needs of our University during my first few months. Working with all of you, we will continue to assess the institution and organizational structure and explore new avenues to propel the University forward.  After these assessments, additional changes will be made as needed.

While I remain committed to important initiatives already underway – such as our capital campaign, strategic plan and Middle States self-study – I am also keenly interested in the exploration of and investment in wonderful new ideas to serve our current and future students.

I look forward to a productive year working with every Marauder as we build an exciting future for our University.

Enjoy the energy and excitement of opening day of the 2018-19 academic year and I hope to see you at the State of the University Address at 4 p.m. on September 7 at the Winter Center.

Warmest wishes,

 

Dr. Daniel Wubah

President