UConn Health

March 28, 2012 | Michael Kirk

Herbst Proposes Administrative Restructuring

The plan would combine three senior positions into one.

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During the March 28 meeting of the UConn Board of Trustees, President Susan Herbst presented a proposal to restructure the University’s senior administrative leadership. A portion of the proposed restructuring requires board consideration and approval in order to amend the relevant University by-laws.

The proposal would eliminate two senior positions at UConn: Vice President/Chief Operating Officer and Vice President for Human Resources. The responsibilities of these positions and the reporting structures leading to them, including Human Resources, Facilities Operations, Public Safety,and Environmental Health and Safety, would be shifted to a single position, which would be designated Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer.

“The proposal seeks to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the University’s leadership,” said Herbst, adding that it was a common administrative structure at other universities.

Although it will not be reflected in the amended by-laws, she said she anticipates that the human resources, facilities, and budget functions of the Storrs campus, the regional campuses, and the Law School will report directly to the VP for Administration/CFO.

Herbst also proposed that the existing position of Vice President for Health Affairs will be renamed Executive Vice President for Health Affairs. She said the change recognizes that, although the Health Center is an integral part of the overall University and reports to her as the President, in many areas of administration, the functional requirements of the Health Center are significantly different than the corresponding areas at Storrs and the other campuses.

The Health Center is also in the midst of an unprecedented growth in facilities and faculty, and faces the challenge of integrating its research functions with a new collaboration partner, Jackson Laboratory.

Going forward, she said, the human resources, facilities, and budget functions at the Health Center are expected to report directly to the Executive VP for Health Affairs, subject to oversight of the VP for Administration/CFO.

The board is expected to vote on the expected changes in April.