CAS task force conducts third survey of UO community

The College of Arts and Sciences task force is conducting its third survey on the structure of the college, and the group wants community input.

The survey is the third of four designed to gather information on how the college’s structure affects learning, research and administrative operations. It will be open to the UO community until April 13.

The task force is being led by Karen Ford, the college’s senior divisional dean for humanities.

“We’ve had some illuminating responses to our previous surveys, and we’re eager to keep hearing from the UO community,” Ford said. “The more people who respond to our questions, the more ideas we have to help us in our work.”

Results of the first survey are posted on the provost’s website. Results of the second survey are still being compiled and will be available soon. The final survey will be posted and feedback will be sought later this month.

The task force was formed in November 2018 at the request of Provost Jayanth Banavar and President Michael H. Schill. After members were selected, the two directed the task force to “conduct an analysis of the costs of and benefits to making structural changes to the division of academic programs currently housed in CAS, and those in professional schools which may better align with current CAS departments or vice versa.”

The task force has been meeting since December, and members are in the midst of a series of discussions that have been open to the public. The last one will be held in mid-May. In the fall, the provost and president will set up meetings for the university community to discuss a report that will be produced by the task force.