An Overview of Administrative Renewal

May 16, 2011

Dear Howard University Community:

As you know, the University is undergoing renewal at all levels.  Academic Renewal has been at the center of faculty, students and staff efforts, for more than a year and a half. You have assessed programs, collaborated on proposals and begun to implement plans. Recently, in my State of the University address to the faculty, I announced several other initiatives underway including Faculty and Facilities Renewal. The campus community will engage more about these efforts in the coming months.

This week, we will begin a series of conversations with academic leaders on the implementation of Administrative Renewal, designed to realign resources and create budget capacity so that we can reinvest in Howard’s teaching, learning, research and service mission. Administrative Renewal involves a robust process improvement plan focused on eliminating duplication, increasing efficiency and centralizing services.

Lessons from our benchmark institutions suggest that administrative effectiveness is necessary but not easy to attain.  By extension, the global economic climate continues to affect all sectors including colleges and universities. We have seen over the last few years that no entity is too big or too established to fail. To assure that this does not happen at Howard, we have taken several proactive steps to encourage fiscal discipline, explore new ways to increase revenues, while improving services. Howard University will be stronger as a result.

With our vision priorities in mind and our determination to strengthen Howard University, we must continue to take aggressive steps to ensure that we have enhanced the quality of services at the highest level so that the Howard of the future is secure and sustainable. Therefore, campus-wide administrative changes will begin the initial phase of implementation as early as July 1, 2011.

These efforts must and will support Academic Renewal, as well as our mission to continue to attract and retain students of high potential, first-class faculty and talented staff. I will keep you abreast of our next steps and will engage the community as I have done since I arrived at the University.

Sincerely,

Sidney A. Ribeau
President