The Brandeis Administrative Structure Advisory Committee, an ad hoc committee tasked with evaluating administrative structures and duties, has begun to develop job descriptions for the positions of provost and senior vice president for students and enrollment, wrote committee chair and Dean of the Heller School Lisa Lynch in an e-mail to the Justice.Lynch wrote in her e-mail that the committee has focused on three areas to develop the two job descriptions. According to Lynch's e-mail, these areas are: "A list of key issues facing the senior positions being vacated; ... possible organizational changes that might promote greater collaboration of effort across the University; ... [and] specific characteristics for the Provost and Senior VP for Students and Enrollment that would help ensure the best strategic leadership for the academic, instructional, research, and student experience at Brandeis."

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Marty Krauss will step down from her current position by June 2011, according to an Aug. 31 campuswide e-mail from University President Jehuda Reinharz. Krauss, who was previously a professor at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, will resume working at the Heller School after taking a 1-year sabbatical.

Former Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy left at the end of last month to take a position at the Rhode Island School of Design, according to an Aug. 16 campuswide e-mail from Reinharz. Vice President for Enrollment Keenyn McFarlane and Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer are currently overseeing offices that compose the Division of Students and Enrollment.

According to a Sept. 24 campuswide e-mail from Lynch, Reinharz will not begin the search for the next provost or the senior vice president for Students and Enrollment before the committee submits its recommendations and Reinharz has consulted with the Faculty Senate and the University Advisory Council. Lynch wrote in her e-mail to the Justice that the committee is on track for submitting its recommendations by the beginning of November so that the search process for the two positions can begin.

"Because of this timetable, our goal is not to conduct a comprehensive review of all administrative structures, but rather to identify key issues and potential incremental organizational changes that will inform the search process for these two positions," Lynch wrote in her Sept. 24 campuswide e-mail.

Lynch wrote in her e-mail to the Justice that the committee has compiled "benchmark information" regarding the role of the provost from a recent survey of chief academic officers conducted by the American Council on Education. She also wrote that the committee has compiled a list of different organizational structures for both positions from colleges and universities across the country.

"One finding of this benchmarking is that in the vast majority of doctoral granting institutions the Provost is the 2nd ranking member of the senior administration (82% in private doctoral and 86% in public doctoral). In addition, the movement to provide a more integrated approach to meet students' needs from admissions through graduation is something we have seen across many other institutions," Lynch wrote in her e-mail to the Justice.

Lynch wrote in her e-mail to the Justice that the committee has also met with the Student Advisory Committee to the Brandeis Administrative Structure Advisory Committee.

"This student-led advisory group has organized surveys of undergraduate and graduate students on the University's administrative structure that well over 200 students have participated in so far. We met with this advisory group last week to learn about the results of these surveys and to discuss more generally what works well and what could work even better in terms of student support services at Brandeis," Lynch wrote in her e-mail to the Justice.

In addition, Chair of the Faculty Senate Prof. Tim Hickey (COSI) said at last Thursday's faculty meeting that the Senate is looking at how other institutions conduct their search processes for provost.

In an interview with the Justice, Hickey said that according to the Faculty Handbook, when the position of provost is vacant, the president must meet with the Faculty Senate and the University Advisory Council in order "to determine a process for selecting the next provost."

Hickey said that the Senate is considering questions related to the structure of the committee that is going to conduct the search process for the next provost. "So we're building a list of questions and we're trying to find out what other schools are doing," Hickey said.

Hickey said that the Faculty Senate will meet with Reinharz in early November after the Brandeis Administrative Structure Advisory Committee has submitted its recommendations to determine the search process.