August 18, 2021

Dear Students,

As part of SU 2.0, the academic steering committee recently recommended several enhancements related to academic innovation at Susquehanna University. Some of these include:

  • Restructure the university into four schools with three deans: (1) School of the Arts, (2) School of Humanities, (3) School of Natural and Social Sciences, and (4) The Sigmund Weis School of Business. The schools of the Arts and Humanities would share a dean. This new four school/three dean model would improve balance of resources and allow each of the schools more critical focus.
  • Establish an innovation center to pursue new external funding opportunities (grants and other revenue), explore the creation of new academic programs, and promote further collaboration across all academic departments.
  • Establish a grants office to seek external research funding and be responsible for management, writing, and post-award administration.


  • Revise the faculty evaluation process to be more transparent and include augmented sections on teaching, advising, scholarship creative activity, service, and support for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

You can see the full recommendations at SU 2.0 > Academics.

In addition to the structure improvements, there are some leadership shifts. Dr. Valerie Martin has decided to step down from her roles as vice provost and dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and has returned to the faculty to teach and work more closely with students as the Degenstein Professor of Music. To begin implementing the new school structure, Dr. Kathy Straub has agreed to serve as the interim dean for the School of Natural and Social Sciences. Dr. Betsy Verhoeven is serving as interim dean for both the School of the Arts and the School of Humanities. The university will conduct national searches for both dean positions this academic year.

As more SU 2.0 developments are finalized, we will communicate those to you. Some changes will be immediately apparent on campus at the start of fall and others will be rolled out throughout the year.
Sincerely,

Dave

Dave Ramsaran
Provost and Dean of the Faculty
Professor of Sociology
Susquehanna University