Last Thursday, University President-elect Frederick Lawrence sent out a campuswide e-mail announcing that he and University President Jehuda Reinharz had accepted the recommendations set forth by the Administrative Structure Advisory Committee report, which included a clarification of the job descriptions of Provost, Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment and the Dean of Arts and Sciences, among other recommendations.The ad-hoc committee, announced Sept. 1 by a campuswide e-mail from Lawrence, was formed to, among other goals, most immediately replace two senior administrators who, Lawrence wrote, "have made significant contributions" to the University: Provost Marty Krauss and former Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy.

The committee included administrators and faculty from across Brandeis, representing undergraduate and graduate students and Academic Services and Financial Services, with Heller School for Social Policy and Management Dean Lisa Lynch serving as the committee chair.

In addition to deliberations made by the committee members, a student advisory group, which designed and administered a survey to which over 250 students responded, was also formed.

"They designed a survey for both undergraduates and graduates about areas of concern," explained Lynch in an interview with the Justice.

According to a presentation made by the Student Advisory Committee, there was an "overarching concern for growing name recognition and developing academic prestige" at Brandeis, which was an administrative challenge identified by students. Additionally, students expressed a desire for more "open lines of communication between students and the administration."

The report most prominently outlined that the "Great Recession" had "accelerated and exacerbated trends and changes that will profoundly influence and impact higher education in the United States" in the next 10 years and recommended that, given those challenges, "it is a propitious moment to think about how to structure the senior administrative leadership to best serve the university going forward."

The report recommended that the University "redefine the role of Provost more in line with its peers in the Association of American Universities," by having the provost position be second-in-command to the president. This would be instead of a more recent system where then-Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French had filled that role.

The new provost position is described as "Brandeis University's Chief Academic Officer and the second-ranking member of the administration," according to the ASAC report. The provost will be responsible for providing strategic leadership for the University's schools and research centers and institutes; understanding and advocating student growth; and working with the Chief Financial Officer to assure that financial, capital, physical and human resources match the academic mission of the University.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Krauss explained that the new position description clearly lists the provost as the administrator that works directly under the president. "This was not the case during my time as provost," she wrote. "The next Provost must be a strong leader able to advocate for both the students and faculty and promote excellence both in and out of the classroom," wrote Lawrence in an e-mail to the Justice, explaining further that the next provost will need to have strengths in both the financial and academic aspects of the University.

Additionally, the role of the senior vice president for Students and Enrollment was redefined. The report described the position as an administrator who will "focus on the recruitment, retention, quality of life and post graduation outcomes for the entire student body," and also work closely with the Integrated Planning and Budget Committee to "establish and execute the priorities and objectives related to undergraduate student enrollments."

Krauss will step down by June 2011 after seven years as Provost to return to the faculty at the Heller School, wrote Lawrence in his e-mail that announced the formation of the committee. After Eddy stepped down at the end of September, her responsibilities were overseen by Vice President for Enrollment Keenyn McFarlane and Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer.

According to an e-mail to the Justice from Lawrence, the searches for the provost and the senior vice president for Students and Enrollment will begin in early January, although there is no deadline to fill those positions.

Additionally, the reporting structures for both the Office of the University Registrar and the Office of Academic Services were both changed. In the past, the registrar has reported to the senior vice president for Students and Enrollment, but now, the registrar, which is "based in the core academic function of the University," will report to the provost instead so that the provost can "provide strategic leadership and oversee . goals as they relate to academic programs and student affairs." To pursue a similar goal, the Office of Academic Services will also report to the provost instead of reporting to the dean of Arts and Sciences as it had in the past.

In addition to the recommendations that the report set forth, ASAC also reflected on other issues that arose during conversations with different University constituencies.

The report reviewed the focus that the University gives to graduate and international students. According to the report, graduate students now make up 40 percent of students at Brandeis, and the number of international students is increasing in both undergraduate and graduate populations. The report called for "greater collaboration between [Arts and Sciences], [the Heller School] and [the International Business School] regarding graduate students" and an expanded role of Graduate Student Services in addition to determining which resources are needed to best support international students, visitors and researchers.

"As we've added more graduate students, and IBS and Heller students have grown, I think that prior arrangements haven't really been able to meet all of the needs of the student body," said Lynch in an interview with the Justice. "As the University is expanding, they're expanding the revenues that come in from groups, and they need to be thinking about expanding the services that go towards the students that we have."

The report also noted that there was "a lack of clarity in the respective functions of the Provost and the Dean of Arts and Sciences." According to an e-mail from Lawrence, Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe plans to step down at the end of the academic year, at the end of his term, and a faculty committee will be created to make recommendations to Krauss about the search for his replacement, according to regulations outlined in the Faculty Handbook. The report noted, "As the University moves to appoint the next Dean of Arts and Sciences the role and scope of this position will need to be examined to determine how it will best complement the responsibilities of the Provost and other Deans.