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Program Prioritization task force members announced

June 16, 2015

Students on the NIU campusForty-three members of the NIU campus community have been named to task forces charged with ranking university programs.

Nineteen faculty and three instructors will serve on the academic task force, while four faculty, 11 supportive professional staff and six operating staff will rank administrative programs.

All colleges and divisions are represented on the two groups.

“We’re very pleased with the quality of individuals who were nominated and those chosen to serve,” said Lisa Freeman, executive vice president and provost.

“These are all members of our university community who have strong histories of service, a commitment to excellence, and the respect of their peers. I would like to thank members of the selection committee for their hard work and productive collaboration in creating these two very qualified and representative groups,” Freeman added.

Task force members will begin training for their comprehensive task in the fall.

Over the next two months to three months, members of the data support team will populate templates with centrally curated information such as enrollment, graduation rates, credit hour production, research, scholarly and artistic productivity, staffing and compensation data, as well as external indicators of demand and outcomes. Once those templates are released to program heads, those leaders will complete the electronic templates with their own data and with narratives that describe aspects of each program that will address specific program criteria.

“The data platform and associated templates will serve as the backbone for program prioritization,” said Carolinda Douglass, vice provost for academic planning and development and facilitator of the program prioritization Coordinating Team. “The data support team will spend most of the summer working to develop the data platform, mapping data to criteria, loading data and reports, and preparing training for the campus community for the completion of data narratives in the fall.”

In January, task force members will begin their thorough reviews of completed templates, placing each program into quintiles that provide recommendations for future resource allocation. Task force work is expected to be completed by April 30, 2016, and recommendations translated into funding decisions for FY17 and beyond.

David Changnon

David Changnon, chair

Academic Task Force

  • John Bentley (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • James Byrd (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • Rod Caughron (Education)
  • David Changnon, chair (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • Therese Clarke Arado (Law)
  • Alan Clemens (Education)
  • Brianno Coller (Engineering and Engineering Technology)
  • Alexander Gelman (Visual and Performing Arts)
  • Janice Hamlet (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • Anne Hanley (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • Bernard Harris (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • Jeanne Isabel (Health and Human Sciences)
  • Jeanette Rossetti (Health and Human Sciences)
  • Brad Sagarin (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • Rebecca Shortridge (Business)
  • George Slotsve (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • Francisco Solares-Larrave (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • Joel Stafstrom (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • Molly Swick (Education)
  • Kendall Thu (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
  • Josephine Umoren (Health and Human Sciences)
  • Laura Vazquez (Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Michelle Pickett

Michelle Pickett, chair

Administrative Task Force

  • Patricia Arndt (Academic Affairs)
  • Brian Becker (Outreach, Engagement, and Regional Development)
  • Karinne Bredberg (Research and Innovation Partnerships)
  • Josephine (Jo) Burke (Academic Affairs)
  • Joy Coates (Academic Affairs)
  • Amy Franklin (Student Affairs and Enrollment Management)
  • Chad Glover (Human Resource Services)
  • David Haas (Advancement)
  • John Hulseberg (Administration and Finance)
  • Sarah Lindell (International Affairs)
  • Chris McCord (Academic Affairs)
  • Jennice O’Brien (Marketing and Communications)
  • Michelle Pickett, chair (Academic Affairs)
  • Nick Pohlman (Academic Affairs)
  • Joe Przybyla (Administration and Finance)
  • Stephanie Richter (Academic Affairs)
  • Alan Rosenbaum (Academic Affairs)
  • Mike Stang (Student Affairs and Enrollment Management)
  • Matt Streb (Academic Affairs / Athletics)
  • Lynne Thomas (Academic Affairs)
  • Mary Wyzard (Information Technology)