Cornell President Hunter Rawlings announced Aug. 12 that he had asked the dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning to review the administrative and academic alignment of the college's departments.
Rawlings said that he and Provost Biddy Martin recently met with Porus Olpadwala, dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning; Pierre Clavel, chair of the Department of City and Regional Planning; Nasrine Seraji, chair of the Department of Architecture; and Franklin Spector, chair of the Department of Art, to discuss the administrative structure of the college. Rawlings said he asked the dean and department chairs to begin meeting with faculty members to discuss various options, including where each department might best fit on campus, both academically and administratively.
Rawlings explained that both intellectual and financial considerations had prompted the planning initiative at this time.
"The idea of potentially separating these three units and linking them individually to other colleges at Cornell is not a new one -- it was first proposed some 20 years ago and has been re-examined periodically," Rawlings said. "It is possible that the faculty of the Architecture, Art and Planning departments could create stronger intellectual ties with other departments at Cornell by joining other colleges and that the university could thereby realize administrative and budgetary savings. However, these discussions, which will be led by the academic leadership of the college, are in a very preliminary stage and no decisions have been made."
Martin stressed that the process will be consultative, involving the dean, department chairs, faculty members, the Faculty Senate and the college alumni, primarily through the college's Advisory Council.
"We will meet with the three faculty groups first thing in the fall to encourage serious discussions regarding the best possible alignment of the college," Martin said. "Cornell's architecture school consistently ranks as one of the best in the nation, and we want to be sure that whatever steps we take in this matter will provide a structure that best promotes the continued excellence of these departments."
While the timetable for the discussions is flexible, Rawlings said he hopes to have recommendations to take to the Cornell Board of Trustees by the end of the fall semester.
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