Motivated by continual budget reductions and their effects, 18 of the 19 UW-Madison CALS department chairs signed a letter addressed to Dean Kate VandenBosch in June of 2016. The letter urged focus and prompted careful consideration by the dean and her team, ultimately resulting in the identification of the need for thoughtful change.
Along with the recognition that the college cannot continue to do more work and maintain excellence in all areas with fewer people and less resources, the concept of the Organizational Redesign emerged.
The motivation of the redesign is not to save costs, but to make the most of the college’s resources: financial, human and time. CALS has many strengths and the desire is to create greater synergy around themes and among related disciplines.
In December of 2016, a committee was formed and an all-college meeting was held.
The committee worked throughout 2017 and produced recommendations that were submitted in December. Dean Kate VandenBosch’s response can be found here.