Happy Friday Raider family,
Thanks to all of you who have continued to offer feedback and recommendations to the Deloitte consultant team. They have now received over 500 distinct submissions and appreciate all of the guidance and perspectives you have shared.
Please keep your feedback coming. We encourage all students, faculty, staff and community members to please share your thoughts directly with Deloitte. Their feedback loop remains open, and they definitely welcome your insights, even as they start to conceptualize a plan. Click the link HERE to share your suggestions. As always, the sooner you send that feedback, the better.
For our current students, please know that although a transformation is ahead of us as an institution, we will not give up on our central mission – to champion your educational success. We remain steadfastly at your service and will continue to be throughout this process.
Here is my best estimate on a schedule for the next few weeks. PLEASE note that the dates may be subject to slight change:
Tuesday April 28 – Special Board Meeting – Deloitte will give a preview of the plan by sharing major themes and findings.
Monday May 4 – Deloitte will release its preliminary report online (available to the Board of Trustees and the Campus Community at the same time).
Monday May 4 or Tuesday May 5 (preferably the 4th) – Deloitte will host an open-access online presentation to explain the plan to our campus community.
Tuesday May 5 – Board of Trustees listening session, open to the public but the primary focus will be on the five Sharing Governance and union partners (ASSOU, Faculty Senate, Staff Assembly, APSOU and SEIU) to allow our board members to hear from campus leaders.
Friday May 8 – Board of Trustees Special Meeting to consider final plan.
Monday May 11 – Higher Education Coordinating Commission letter due to the Legislative Fiscal Office for consideration of releasing the $15M in the appropriation bill to SOU.
As a reminder, I want to set reasonable expectations for our campus in terms of iterations of the plan. As highlighted above, our Board of Trustees will likely have to make a decision on adoption of a plan on May 8, understanding that our transformation must be complete by summer 2027. What that means is that there will be little to no opportunity to make wholesale revisions to the plan. It does not mean, however, that we cannot influence the implementation phase and how we make this transformation happen on the ground. I just want us all to be clear-eyed about that process as we move forward, and the transformation that will be required to finally achieve the stabilization we need long-term.
Finally, a word of reassurance. We’ve been through a lot over the past four years (for the last 30 years, really). As complex as our challenges are, we have shown our commitment to students and this institution, and done so with grace and dignity. We are about to embark on a dizzyingly complex challenge – one that other institutions will likely have to follow soon. EVERYTHING is possible when we come together as a united team.
I am reminded of the work that the Apollo 13 crew did to save their astronauts on that incredibly complex mission. If you have seen the movie, you probably remember this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry55--J4_VQ
