Veritas, Vol. 23, No. 08, March 1983

              For the Faculty, Staff and Friends of the University of Miami
Veritas
University of Miami	^
Voi. 23, No. 8 March 1983
School of Architecture
Aim idea whose time lias
By Susan Markley, Ph.D.
James W. McLamore, chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, announced the creation of a School of Architecture at UM, the only such school in South Florida, on February 17.
Regarding the announcement, UM President Edward T. Foote said, “Building on the already existing strength and quality of our respected department of architecture and planning, this new school is destined to make major contributions to growth in this part of the world. ” One of three such architecture programs in the state, the new UM school is the only one at a private institution.
“Creation of this school is an important development for UM and the profession of architecture,” added Foote. “For years, this plan has been under consideration. Now, thanks in part to urging from the profession about the need for a free-standing school, the time has come for this good idea. ”
Architecture and planning was previously one of seven departments within the School of Engineering and Architecture. The proposal to change the status of the department was initially reviewed by the entire engineering and architecture faculty. Subsequently, it received unanimous approval by the Um Faculty Senate prior to consideration by the Trustees.
Norman G. Einspruch, dean of the School of Engineering and Architecture, said, “The change is a logical move. Architecture is a separately licensed profession, as are law,
medicine, and engineering. Moreover, architecture and planning are independently accredited programs. ”
“We have worked hard to gain this rank for several years,” said architecture chairman Professor John Ames Steffian. “By granting school status, the University and the Board of Trustees have shown their confidence in us and have enabled us to compete nationally for outstanding faculty, external funding, and superior students. ”
The new school will be nondepartmental-ized and will be separately housed on campus in facilities that provide for a unique integration of academic and residential accommodations for all its students. Vacated space in the McArthur Building will be used for expansion of engineering programs. A national search is underway for a permanent dean.
The school presently has an enrollment of 320 students, the majority of whom are engaged in fulfilling requirements for the five-year B. Arch, degree. Others are pursuing the M. Arch, and the two-year masters degree in urban and regional planning. A five-year undergraduate program in landscape architecture emphasizing tropical landscape design has received faculty approval, and an undergraduate program in interior design is under review.
Members of the faculty have been recipients of architecture design awards by the A.I. A. South Florida Chapter, and, together with students, have won a national competi-
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The School ofArchitecture celebrated its new status with a reception at the Ashe fountain.
UM begins strategic planning process
If it is true that the future belongs to those who prepare for it, then the University of Miami is preparing to carve its name in large letters on the next decade.
Members of both academic and administrative units of the University have been galvanized into action preparing the
initial phases of a strategic plan for operation. The basic reason for such a plan, according to President Edward T. Foote II, is to provide for a systematic method of accomplishing the institution’s mission by rationally establishing priorities and allocating resources accordingly.
“As among nations, the process of decision-making in universities defines not only the quality of its decisions, but also the tone, atmosphere, and quality of the university,” said President Foote. “At a
university like ours--strong and vital, yet
young enough still to be forming-----that
Donald Randolph, who directed the effort to bring Phi Beta Kappa to campus, welcomed guests to the formal installation ceremonies February 6. The event is captured in pictures on page 5.
process will have profound significance for the foreseeable future.
“The more important and complex the institution, the more important is the need for rational, objective, and thorough long-range planning. For universities, by nature among the most complex of human institutions, the planning process assumes an extra measure of importance. Universities, for all their intellectual candle power, are singularly ill-equipped to focus on their own institutional development.”
This type of intensive planning will require full debate within the University, according to the President and a Long-Range Planning Committee consisting of vice presidents, deans, the provost, director of the libraries, and the chairman and vice chairman of the Faculty Senate have been appointed and charged with the responsibility of preparing the document. Other members of the faculty will participate, Foote said, through established procedures in the schools, departments, and the Faculty Senate. Students will be consulted through established procedures and invited to participate as appropriate.
In developing the strategic plan for the University, the administration will consider the reports forthcoming from the Visiting Committees at the April Board of Trustees meeting side by side the reports of the internal Long Range Planning Committee for a comp>arative analysis of the University.
The strategic plan will be a synthesis of separate plans for each school and major
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