In 2009, at the behest of Provost Kent Fuchs and as part of the university's strategic plan, a plan for restructuring the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) was developed to account for a possible cumulative reduction in revenues of 15% and to position the College for strategic future growth. An advisory committee consisting of department chairs, faculty, administrative staff, and college leadership was assembled and charged with developing, for Dean Susan Henry, a recommended restructuring plan. This committee engaged in an iterative and consultative process with the entire college community to develop a set of recommendations.

The restructuring plan has been designed to align college programs with available revenues and to propel the college toward realizing its vision of being the preeminent Land Grant College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and will help achieve four broad goals:

1. CALS will align College programs and activities to reflect a cumulative 15% reduction in revenue;
2. CALS will adapt undergraduate and graduate curricula to be more interdisciplinary, better coordinated, and more responsive to changing student and societal needs;
3. CALS will promote research that is interdisciplinary and integrated from discovery to application and meets dual objectives of disciplinary excellence and mission-oriented impact; and
4. CALS will refine extension and outreach activities to be most responsive and effective to stakeholders.
   

The plan builds on a decade-long suite of activities that have responded to cutbacks in State support and have positively contributed to programmatic relevance and excellence.

We invite you to explore the information and documents found here to learn more about "Reimagining CALS."

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