Published on May 7, 2020

Updated on April 13, 2023

Dear Mizzou community,

As we continue to navigate our new reality, we are committed to taking steps that will ensure a strong future for our university and community – today and many years from now.

As you know, the landscape of higher education has shifted drastically over the years. As the diverse needs of our students, scholars and communities have evolved, so too has our approach to education, scholarship, engagement and inclusion. All of you have been critical to Mizzou’s recent growth, and in the last two months, you have shown how even a global pandemic can’t derail the university’s core functions.

While this current crisis only accelerates these shifts, we must continue to remain adaptable. We must also continue to rethink our structure as a university so that we can forge new opportunities for our people and enhance our impact on society.

The provost has convened the Program Audit and Restructuring Committee (PARC) to provide recommendations regarding academic restructuring on our campus. This program audit will allow us to take a closer look at our degree programs, academic units and other related entities to identify programs that can be modified, consolidated, suspended or discontinued.

This committee is comprised of faculty and staff from several units:

• Matthew Martens, associate provost for academic programs (committee co-chair)
• Alexandra Socarides, faculty fellow in the provost’s office and chair of the English department (committee co-chair)
• Kate Anderson, head of the Zalk Veterinary Medical Library
• Libby Cowgill, director of graduate studies and associate professor of anthropology
• Kristofer Hagglund, dean of the School of Health Professions
• John Middleton, professor of food animal medicine and surgery, veterinary medicine and surgery and incoming chair of the Faculty Council
• David Mitchell, associate dean for academic affairs and Ruth L. Hulston Professor of Law
• Patt Okker, dean of the College of Arts and Science
• Clark Peters, associate professor in School of Social Work, outgoing chair  of the Faculty Council

Over the next few months, the committee will work to gather data on program/course enrollment, graduation rates, program/departmental research productivity and relevant fiscal information. They will also leverage prior reports such as the 2018 Academic Programs Task Force report as they conduct their review. As the committee considers recommendations, they will observe these key principles:

• To maintain or improve the quality of educational programming, research and scholarship, clinical service, and administration;
• To improve the university’s ability to endure future negative financial events; and
• To follow best practices of transparency and shared governance.

After a thorough review, the committee will produce a report that details recommended actions. These recommendations may be summarized in their entirety at the end of their review process or they may be issued on a rolling basis, depending on the university’s needs and the actions that the committee identifies.

This report will then be delivered to the provost and interim chancellor. Final decisions on which actions to take and how those affect certain degree programs and/or academic units will ultimately be approved by the interim chancellor.

As a university and community, we are always thinking about and planning for our future – a process that is founded on change. We will continue to work collectively as we strengthen our programs of excellence and find new and innovative ways to expand Mizzou’s value to Missouri and the world. With each new step, we will once more ensure that the Mizzou we all love and support remains one of America’s leading research universities.

Sincerely,

Mun Y. Choi, Ph.D.
President, UM System and Interim Chancellor, University of Missouri

Latha Ramchand, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs