Fall 2024 Academic Restructuring and Program Review Updates

As we bring the new IUP academic structure to fruition, below are updates on the transition and implementation thus far. This work required a great deal of collaboration, discussion, and data gathering and analysis while managing heavy day-to-day workloads.

Thank you. Your hard work and your engagement in developing a framework that provides the best possible academic experience for our students has made it possible for us to meet our/the goals of the Academic Restructuring within our very tight timeline.

The Academic Restructuring Implementation Advisory Committee has been instrumental in developing well-defined strategies for the implementation process.

2024 Implementation of New Academic Affairs Division Structure

On July 1, IUP implemented a new academic structure, including a new college and colleges with new configurations of departments to create more and stronger opportunities for students and for faculty research and collaboration.

This structure is the result of a year-long discussion on academic program review and restructuring involving the entire university community—faculty, staff, and students.

Effective July 1, the IUP college structure, leadership, and department is:

  • College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs – Dean Curtis Scheib
    • Art and Design
    • Communications Media
    • Criminology and Criminal Justice
    • History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religious Studies
    • Language, Literature, and Writing
    • Music, Theatre, and Dance
  • College of Education and Human Services – Interim Dean Edel Reilly
    • Counseling and Human Development
    • Career and Wellness Education
    • Professional Studies in Education
    • School Psychology, Special Education, and Sociology
  • College of Health Sciences – Interim Dean Hilliary Creely
    • Allied and Public Health
    • Nursing
    • Psychology
  • Eberly College of Business – Interim Dean Prashanth Bharadwaj
    • Accounting and Information Systems
    • Finance and Economics
    • Hospitality and Employment Relations
    • Management
    • Marketing
  • John J. and Char Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics – Dean Steve Hovan
    • Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences
    • Biology
    • Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics
    • Mathematical and Computer Sciences
    • Safety Sciences and Environmental Engineering
  • The University College – Vice Provost for Student Academic Success Amber Racchini
    • Student Affairs, Student Success, and Disability Access
    • ROTC
  • The proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine – Dean Miko Rose

Maintaining the right mix of programs is a critical component of becoming a more student-centered university while, achieving financial sustainability for the university and advancing our mission as a comprehensive doctoral research university.

This new structure allows IUP to bring departments and programs together in a more logical and student-centered way,. It also helps us to reorder our resources and focus on a more tightly aligned, narrower set of relevant and in-demand programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels while identifying strategic areas of growth.

Simply put, the university’s structure must evolve with the needs and demands of our students and demands of the workforce. This new structure—including our new College of Health Sciences—reflects very careful study, analysis of data, and discussion to ensure that our academic programming reflects our current and future students’ needs and aligns disciplines and resources, including potential growth areas like the health sciences.

The college name changes and reconfigurations are designed to create better synergies and stronger relationships between departments to advantage our students with more cross-departmental opportunities. This is part of an ongoing process that has involved students, faculty, and staff throughout the university.

The Academic Restructuring Process also addressed creating a consistent college structure staffing model: dean; assistant dean; administrative assistant; management technician or administrative assistant; clerical assistant(s) to support departments and programs, based on the number of students and faculty in the program.

Academic Affairs Division Structure

The process also resulted in the development of three Academic Affairs functional clusters:

  • Academic Success, based on the goals of the IUP Strategic Plan, supporting academic success for all students from application to post-graduation;
  • Academic Administration, designed to support faculty, staff, and students to streamline processes for academic planning, institutional data and assessment, academic records, and information technology infrastructure and strengthen the connection between the Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Divisions
  • Research and Innovation, elevating and focusing research support services for all students and faculty, ensuring compliance, and facilitating the relationship with the IUP Research Institute. In addition to her role as interim dean of the College of Health Sciences, Creely will manage the research and innovation team.