Academic Affairs’ Revitalization effort kicked off a process designed to carry the redesign from first drafts to a final decision by this fall.

The work starts with the design team, a group of seven employees and two ad hoc administrative members. The team will work through the summer to develop and evaluate organization design models against a set of clear criteria.

In late August, the team will send draft organization charts to a large vetting team made up of AA employees from across programs and units along with key SMPH partners. When the group meets in September, its job is to advise. Members will review the drafts and offer feedback to ensure feasibility and alignment with the school’s needs.

A third group, the expert input partners, will join the process at the end of September. Regional campus deans, the dean’s cabinet, vice chairs of education, the Educational Leadership Team, health science associate deans, and AA staff and faculty will review the revised models. Their input ensures the designs reflect operational and academic perspectives from across the school and the institution.

The workflow moves through four steps — develop, advise, engage, and refine. The steps can repeat as needed before recommendations advance for a final decision.

The timeline is brisk. The design team plans to prioritize its recommendations by mid-August and send draft organization charts to the vetting team by the end of the month. Compiled feedback returns to the design team in early September, revised models reach the expert input partners by mid-September, and final drafts take shape by the end of that month. In October, the design team will fold in a last round of feedback and send its recommendations to Dean Liz Petty, who will share them with SMPH leadership for a decision.

The timeline remains an estimate and may shift with availability and SMPH priorities.

What won’t shift is the invitation: As the process unfolds, every member of Academic Affairs is encouraged to stay engaged — to ask questions, to follow the work and to help shape what comes next.