The axe falls
VP of Student Affairs a casualty of budget cuts
by Derek Wehrwein & Nia Jonesz
Issue date: 3/3/09
Section: Campus News
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Davenport announced Monday that the position of vice president of Student Affairs will be cut and that the Student Affairs and Academic Affairs offices will be reorganized.
A "Dean of Students" will replace Vice President of Student Affairs Patricia Swatfager-Haney as MSU looks to pursue a more cost-effective approach with administration.
Director of Admissions Walt Wolff will take over many of Swatfager-Haney's day-to-day duties in Student Affairs until the new position is filled.
Swatfager-Haney, meanwhile, will remain at MSU through the spring semester and work largely on other special projects, including one involving student housing.
"This was a very positive move on our part and very bold," Davenport told the Reporter Monday. "We're setting the standard for other colleges and universities."
Davenport said he made the decision to eliminate the vice president position Thursday. He announced the decision in an e-mail sent to all MSU staff Monday afternoon.
"At this point, I have made the determination to reorganize a major area of our university administration," Davenport wrote in the e-mail. "I have made the difficult decision to restructure Student Affairs under a Dean of Students model. This reorganization will not only result in administrative cost savings, but will also help create efficiencies and allow student services to be delivered more effectively through closer coordination with other administrative units."
He hinted that other positions within Student Affairs might also be eliminated.
Swatfager-Haney has been at MSU for five years. Previously she served as the vice chancellor of the University of Illinois at Springfield.
The vice president said she is trying to assist Davenport in creating a smooth transition following the elimination of her position. She said she recognizes the budget situation puts MSU in a difficult position, but deferred to Davenport on details of the decision.
"What he's indicated at this point in the memo is pretty much what any of us really know at this time," she said.
Swatfager-Haney isn't the only one lacking specific information, however. Administration itself has yet to learn to what extent MSU will be affected by impending budget cuts. The decision to merge two offices is a preemptive measure in response to the only certainty: cuts are coming, and they will hurt.
University officials have previously said they are creating a pool of options from which cuts can be made once the budget outlook has solidified. Monday's announcement, in fact, came less than two weeks after officials held a town hall meeting where they said MSU would not know its exact financial situation until late April at the earliest.
"It's a timing issue," said Davenport, when explaining why he issued the announcement Monday. "The budget challenges are very significant at MSU, as it is at other universities … we anticipate tomorrow when the state budget forecast comes out that it's going to be worse than we anticipated."
Davenport reiterated the university is looking at reorganizing the Student Affairs and Academic Affairs offices in an effort to combine their resources. Officials need time to gather suggestions and ideas as they plan this process, he said, noting that student input will also be an important factor.
He indicated in the e-mail that the Student Affairs Council, Academic Affairs Council and Minnesota State Student Association will be among the groups consulted as he collects input.
A national search to fill the new dean position hasn't been started yet, and won't begin until the position's exact duties have been defined. Defining those duties is a process that will take place through the rest of spring semester, Davenport said.
According to Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Scott Olson, the school's reorganization will benefit the MSU community on more than just a financial level. He said combining the office focused on academic issues with the office focused on other aspects of student life will benefit students' education as well.
"Student Affairs and Academic Affairs are ultimately in the end about students learning," Olson said. "In the case of Academic Affairs, it's about learning in the classroom and in the curriculum. In Student Affairs it's about learning in all other aspects of student life. This allows us to more closely integrate the whole learning package."
Combining that "learning package" into a more streamlined department is a move Davenport based off a similar model at Central Michigan University, where he served as a vice president and provost before coming to MSU. Davenport noted, however, that although he believes Central Michigan's model works well, it's still important to develop a model unique to MSU.
While the reorganization will involve the two divisions of the university that affect students the most, MSSA President Ryan Anderson said he had been told the impact on students from the move would be minimal.
"I've been assured that student services will in no way decrease nor will they be de-emphasized as a strategic goal for the university," he said.
Davenport said the reorganization is in fact motivated by a desire to help students.
"We've made the decision that we're going to try to save money and focus money from administration and administrative positions, and put them into student services - put those resources into direct service for students," he said.
Davenport closed his message to staff by extending his appreciation to Swatfager-Haney. Anderson echoed that sentiment, saying he enjoyed working with her.
"The student senate has always had a good, open dialogue with Dr. Swatfager-Haney, even on issues we disagreed on," he said.
Swatfager-Haney emphasized her willingness to assist the university and its students "in any way possible."
"He's trying to make the best decisions he can," she said, referring to Davenport.
Derek Wehrwein is the Reporter editor in chief
Nia Jonesz is the Reporter news editor
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