Academic Affairs Update & Interim Leadership Announcement

From: Provost Office

As the holiday break quickly approaches and affords us all time with our loved ones, I am pleased—and grateful—to announce some additional leadership changes in Academic Affairs:

• Accreditation & Compliance: Tracy Lehnertz, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, assumed additional responsibilities as Interim Director of Accreditation and Compliance Nov. 21^st and will remain in the role until the position is filled and the new person is onboarded. Tracy has served 15 years in this role at Saint Mary’s previously and has generously stepped up to help in the transition. This position will report directly to the Provost moving forward. Please direct all academic accreditation and compliance questions to Tracy.

 

• Learning Design: Anna Benz has been appointed Director of Learning Design, effective January 2^nd. Anna will report to Sue Hines, Interim Director of Curriculum & Assessment.

 

• Libraries: As a search begins for the next university-wide Director of Libraries, I want to thank Amanda Bauer and Carrie Keillor for agreeing to serve as interim leads, effective January 2^nd. Amanda will serve as Interim Lead for the Winona Campus Library while Carrie will serve as Interim Lead for the Minneapolis Campus Library. My thanks go also to Rachel McGee, outgoing Director of Libraries, for helping ensure a smooth transition for library operations.

If you see someone mentioned in this note, please offer a note of gratitude and encouragement for their service above and beyond.

• Dual Enrollment Programs / “High School Pathways”: Dual credit programs (PACC and PSEO) will move at least temporarily under Enrollment Management. Until further notice, the dual credit team, Denise Sharrock-Mueller and Kim Doebbert, will now report to Jason Pennington, Director of Transfer Operations.

With gratitude,

Matt Gerlach, Ph.D.

Interim Provost & Dean of Faculties

**Provost Update from 12/16/22 (reposted)**

The Provost Office is pleased to announce the following interim leader appointments and expresses gratitude to those stepping into these leadership roles:

• Curriculum & Assessment: Dr. Sue Hines, Core Professor for the Ed.D. program, has accepted an interim role as Director of Curriculum & Assessment, effective immediately.
• CELT (Center for Excellence in Learning & Teaching): Sarah Haugen, Associate Director of CELT, has accepted an interim role as Director of CELT and will continue to advance CELT faculty development opportunities and collaborations. Sarah will report to Sue Hines.
• Instructional Technology: Garey Gill, Instructional Technologist, has accepted an interim role as Director of Instructional Technology, effective Jan. 3rd. He will be working closely with Abe Hedtke, Director of Instructional Technology, prior to Abe’s departure. Garey will also report to Sue Hines.

Moving forward, both CELT and Instructional Technology will report to the interim director of Curriculum & Assessment. In addition to the above interim leadership appointments, the following changes are also noteworthy:

• Access Services: Tricia Dobrient, Senior Director of Student Success Center/FGI, has accepted an interim role as Director of Access Services, effective immediately. She will remain in both roles, until the hiring process is completed (currently in progress).
• Prior Learning Assessment (PLA): PLA will be moving from Curriculum & Assessment to Enrollment Services, under Michael McMahon, Vice President of Enrollment. Jason Pennington, Director of Transfer Operations, will oversee PLA moving forward.
• Academic Operations: Tom Schulzetenberg, Director of Strategic Projects, will serve as functional lead for our OPM partner management in the interim. He is working with Sarah Dampier, Director of Academic Operations, prior to her Dec. 20th departure.

Our Saint Mary’s community depends on the work of these positions to ensure smooth running Academic Affairs services in support of faculty and staff. As with all significant transitions, you may experience some delays to the usual prompt service. Please be patient with those in these interim roles. We are grateful for the additional work they are taking on. Consult as needed with your supervisor to determine the urgency of requests until positions are filled.

If you see someone mentioned in this note, please offer a note of gratitude and encouragement for their service above and beyond.

In related organizational news, and with the retirement of the Vice Provost for Faculties and Academic Affairs, Dr. Matthew Nowakowski, the following unit directors will temporarily report to the Provost effective immediately:

1. Access Services (Tricia Dobrient, Interim Director, dotted line)
2. University Writing Services (Lucia Pawlawski, Director)
3. Library Services (Rachel McGee until Jan. 3, then interim director TBD)
4. Curriculum & Assessment (Sue Hines, Interim Director; includes CELT, Instructional Tech, and Learning Design Team)
5. Academic Records and Systems/Registrar (Alison Block and Chris Verch)
6. Administrative Director of Academic Affairs/IRB Coordinator (Emma Erdahl)
7. Academic/Online Operations (vacant/interim director TBD; Tom Schulzetenberg as point person for online ops/OPM relationship)

Much additional work has been done over the past weeks to review all open positions under Academic Affairs to ensure the very best services to faculty and students. Searches for several vacant positions will be launched just before and after the holiday.

If you have questions about the above information, please direct them to the appropriate leaders of the areas or, if needed, contact the provost office: provost@smumn.edu.