UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 new president Dr. E. Joseph Savoie met with members of six advisory teams Wednesday to hear recommendations as part of his transition.
The advisory teams were created in April and were charged with providing Savoie with insights into the university小蝌蚪APP檚 strengths and weaknesses. Each team小蝌蚪APP檚 direction was based on an institutional review conducted after former President Dr. Ray Authement小蝌蚪APP檚 announced his retirement last year.
Savoie called the teams小蝌蚪APP work an 小蝌蚪APP渋mportant exercise小蝌蚪APP and said it lays out a roadmap for the university小蝌蚪APP檚 future.
小蝌蚪APP Hopefully, we can get some dialogue going and come to a consensus of how we小蝌蚪APP檙e going to move the university forward,小蝌蚪APP Savoie said to team members.
Jerry Luke LeBlanc, the university小蝌蚪APP檚 interim vice president for Business and Finance, led Savoie小蝌蚪APP檚 transition to UL Lafayette as well as the advisory teams.
He noted that some of the recommendations are immediate while some are 小蝌蚪APP渁 beginning.小蝌蚪APP
小蝌蚪APP We have a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and we have a tremendous amount of hope,小蝌蚪APP LeBlanc said. 小蝌蚪APP淧eople want to see the university succeed.小蝌蚪APP
Each advisory team presented its recommendations to Savoie. The teams and their recommendations are:
Academic and Faculty Advisory Team
The top priorities as outlined by this team includes:
小蝌蚪APP Evaluating faculty performance and the merit pay plan;
小蝌蚪APP Improving IT infrastructure in classrooms;
小蝌蚪APP Reviewing summer sessions including course offerings and pay structures;
小蝌蚪APP Making marketing, recruitment and web improvements; and
小蝌蚪APP Improving the recruitment of and services for transfer students.
Economic Development and Research Advisory Team
At the top of this team小蝌蚪APP檚 recommendations are:
小蝌蚪APP Appointing an ad hoc committee to develop a strategic plan for future growth of the 小蝌蚪APP Research Park;
小蝌蚪APP Reviewing financial incentive policies for faculty and staff conducting research which may have future commercial application;
小蝌蚪APP Combining local, state and federal relations into a single unit within two years;
小蝌蚪APP Increasing budget for firms that handle legislation and funding requests at the federal level;
小蝌蚪APP Creating partnerships between the university and local economic development entities to provide for new jobs and higher paying jobs;
小蝌蚪APP Appointing an economic development liaison and creating an economic development council;
小蝌蚪APP Filling the economic development professorship created by local banks immediately.
Student Issues Advisory Team
This team made six recommendations including:
小蝌蚪APP Addressing student housing through renovation and new construction;
小蝌蚪APP Reaching a consensus on a final design for construction of a new Student Union;
小蝌蚪APP Providing greater access to services like transportation, child care and international student programs;
小蝌蚪APP Creating an enrollment management task force;
小蝌蚪APP Instituting a Freshman Seminar for first-time and transfer students;
小蝌蚪APP Developing an aggressive branding and marketing plan;
小蝌蚪APP Designing a student survey for input and inclusion in the new administration小蝌蚪APP檚 plans.
小蝌蚪APP Advancement Advisory Team
Recommended priorities from this team include:
小蝌蚪APP Examining the 小蝌蚪APP Advancement area and consider a strategic plan for alumni relations, fund raising and image enhancement;
小蝌蚪APP Coordinating local, state, regional and national governmental partnerships to create a central oversight and a real strategy for maximizing these partnerships;
小蝌蚪APP Developing a master plan for fund raising;
小蝌蚪APP Preparing for another major fund raising/capital campaign;
小蝌蚪APP Maximizing federal funding potential and allocations;
小蝌蚪APP Investing resources in marketing and advertising; and
小蝌蚪APP Designing a survey for input from alumni, donors and the community for input into new administration小蝌蚪APP檚 plans.
Athletics Advisory Team
This team outlined several priorities including:
小蝌蚪APP Renovating the football stadium along with facilities for baseball, softball, track and soccer;
小蝌蚪APP Implementing a major capital campaign for these improvements;
小蝌蚪APP Developing an Academics Center;
小蝌蚪APP Considering acquiring the Wetlands Golf Course;
小蝌蚪APP Developing and implementing annual giving campaigns;
小蝌蚪APP Continuing to fully allocate funds in accordance with the Board of Regents小蝌蚪APP policy;
小蝌蚪APP Studying the possibility of a student fee to fund capital projects;
小蝌蚪APP Developing a planned giving campaign for future revenue for Athletics; and
小蝌蚪APP Creating an endowment campaign as part of annual giving for both athletic programs and academic support.
Facilities and Property Advisory Team
This team brought forth several recommendations including:
小蝌蚪APP Appointing an ad hoc committee to develop a 小蝌蚪APP Facilities and Property Master Plan;
小蝌蚪APP Creating a separate 501(c)3 Facilities and Property Foundation;
小蝌蚪APP Developing a property acquisition policy;
小蝌蚪APP Determining university-owned property not contiguous to campus and consider liquidation then reinvest proceeds into long-term growth plan;
小蝌蚪APP Addressing student housing with renovations and new construction;
小蝌蚪APP Identifying the area surrounding the university and brand it as a named area.