Veritas, Vol. 31, No. 01, September 1, 1990

              For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami
September 1, 1990 Volume 31 Number 1
New Strategic Plan
Efficiency is key to successful University operations
Seven years ago the University administration presented the first Strategic Plan for approval to the Board of Trustees. The plan analyzed the operations of the University, the external and internal environmental factors that affected the University, and called for the University to “reshape itself into a highly selective private university which offers programs of the highest caliber to discerning students seeking a quality education.” Since that time the University has worked diligently and successfully to meet these goals and has updated the plan annually.
This year’s 115-page plan for the period 1990-95 is directed at improving all facets of the University’s operations over the next five years; however, the plan faces new realities, namely a declining number of college-age students nationwide, more difficult funding for research on a national basis, and increased costs of operating a university. It necessitates taking a fresh look at the University’s operations and doing so more carefully than ever before.
Veritas recently met with Luis Glaser, provost of the University, who discussed the purpose of the Strategic Plan and offered some insights as to how the University plans to cope with some of the national problems that affect it.
“The Strategic Plan provides us with the tools to examine what the future holds in store for us and how the University plans to meet these challenges,” says Glaser. “We tried to look at the world around us, then look internally at those things that are more directly in our control, and use our analyses of these factors to plan our future.”
Though other universities have strategic plans, few are as comprehensive as that of the University of Miami. This plan includes not only a review of the academic activities of the University, but also a review, and therefore a plan, for every other area of University activities as well.
All areas of the University are
Spanish architect Javier Cenicacelaya has been named dean of the School of Architecture, and Martin Becker, associate dean of the School of Engineering of Renssaelaer Polytechnic Institute, has been appointed dean of the College of Engineering.
In addition to his work as a practicing architect, Cenicacelaya has been a frequent lecturer at universities in Europe and North America, the author of articles on urban planning and architectural history, and editor of a prizewinning architectural journal. Last year he served as a visiting ciritc at
asked to present their own plans, which ultimately are melded into the Strategic Plan. Glaser’s primary contribution to the plan has been a major examination of the budgetary components of the plan, which give it reality.
“Overarching the whole plan is fiscal reality, because the dollars ultimately will drive our activity,”
the University of Miami School of Architecture.
“From what I have known of the faculty of the School of Architecture and from different members of society in Miami, “ says Cenicacelya, “I believe that in the future this school and this city will play an even more important role as a hinge between the Americas and Europe."
He will officially begin his new position early in 1991.
Martin Becker, a specialist in nuclear technology, joined the faculty of Rensselaer in 1966 after spending two years with General
says Glaser. “Under the current plan, if someone wants to know what their budget will be in 1993, they can look in the Strategic Plan and get a reasonable estimate of budgetary allocations. Although the numbers get refined with time—as realities change both in revenues and expenses—the fundamental spending patterns of the University are set by the plan.” One overall theme of this year’s plan, according to Glaser, can be expressed in one word: efficiency.
“Efficiency will be the buzzword that we will all have to look at as we go into the 1990s. We have to take a careful look at the entire University—administrative and academic—and ask whether we can do some things more efficiently and better. Just because we have always done things in a particular way does not justify us continuing to do so in the future.”
Universities, in particular private universities, face a few
Electric Company. In addition to his position as a professor in he Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, Becker has served as a consultant to various public and private institutions. He is author or co-author of more than 200 technical articles on nuclear energy, electric power engineering, engineering education, and radiation interaction with electronics.
He will begin his fulltime role as dean October 1 and will also hold the Victor P. Clarke Chair in Engineering.
continued on page 2
Deans named in architecture and engineering