FOLLOW UP

CTAHR departmental reorganization merging eleven departments into six new ones was approved in January, 2000. In summer of 2000 physical relocation of faculty and staff into new units commenced. Departmental reorganization has set the stage for greater interdisciplinary, interdepartmental collaborations.

Challenges or Barriers:

• Some combinations make more sense than others. With the strategic hiring of new faculty and staff the new departmental structure will become more cohesive and logical
  
• Having different disciplines in different departments is encouraging interdisciplinary classes and integrated instructional, extension and research collaborations. It is projected that if specific departmental combinations do not work, they will disappear whereas those that make sense will thrive
  
• Departments recognize existing gaps and presently are having faculty cover these. New hiring should be filling these gaps as well as departments helping one another as able
  
• Isolation and physical separation continues to exist within departments and especially prevalent with the location of faculty on neighbor islands. However, the all-college conference and conversational skills workshops have brought many faculty together on Oahu. It is still important to make a continuous effort to get people together.
  
• Development of the new strategic plan will begin shortly as the existing plan expires in 2004. This will enable department and college goals to be developed together.
  
• Priority staffing is presently being used to make the best use of CTAHR’s resources
  
• Within the past three years the six new departments have gained four new chairs. Present chairs appear to be more responsive to new departmental needs. Four of the present chairs have recently attended or will be attending the ESCOP/ACOP Leadership Development program. All chairs have also attended the conversational skills workshops held in the college to encourage better communication and team building
  
  

Strategies:

• Leadership training has been provided for chairs through the ESCOP/ACOP Leadership Development program and conversational skills workshops
  
• The conversational skills workshops as well as other workshops on coaching, designing meetings, planning the future and addressing complaints have also been available for faculty, staff and administrators to improve interpersonal skills
  
• It is still important that everyone understand that departments are still evolving and need to keep this fact in focus when doing staff planning
  
• Departments are making critical choices when hiring new faculty to fit departments goals and directions, knowing that hiring of new faculty is limited
  
  

Actions Items:

• Conversational skills training is helping individuals to find common ground while appreciating each other’s differences
  
• The development of departmental goals and priorities is progressing in departments through the establishment of program assessment tools, program reviews and accreditation reviews. The development of the new strategic plan will enable departmental goals to be developed simultaneously and be aligned with college goals. Upcoming program reviews will also guide this development.
  
• Leadership training has occurred through ESCOP/ACOP and Conversational Skills training
  
• The use of priority staffing is enabling the best people to be hired to achieve department goals
  
  

Overall Progress:

• Successful integration of departments will continue to take a concentrated effort to work
  
• There is still a need for greater commitment for all to make it work. Faculty and staff need to be involved
  
• There is still need for greater college-wide direction and focus to guide departmental and individual foci.