Org Review

I had an excellent meeting this morning with the organizational review task force that is examining the structure of IPS. The committee members are all strong advocates of the work that we do. They've asked for some additional information about our work with faculty, our budget (expenses and revenues), and our administrative structure. I'll have that ready for our next meeting in October. We also agreed to schedule a day in Nashville where our stakeholders will have an opportunity to speak to the committee. That will be in November. I will meet with stakeholders in advance to talk over options for them to consider for discussion with the committee.

As Dr. Simek told us during his campus tour stops this week, the committee is looking for the answer to the question of where IPS best fits in the organization, and what is best for IPS and our customers? I hope you enjoyed hearing from him, and I believe he and the committee are taking a sincere, unbiased approach to examining IPS. (By the way, you can follow Dr. Simek and get his thoughts on the tour stops at http://twitter.com/utpresident.)
Overall, today’s meeting was very positive. I’ll keep you updated as we move forward.

Congratulations again to all of this week's award winners and thanks to all of you for the outstanding work you do every day.

Org Review

Our organizationa review began last spring after Jan Simek became Interim President. Below is my message from August 21, 2009.


The organizational review task force that is examining the structure of IPS met for the first time yesterday. The meeting went well. I provided the group with extensive materials on all the agencies of IPS, including strategic plans, customer data, and outreach stories. The information was well-received and will give each team member a good understanding of how we are currently organized and why.

The team includes me, Dr. Joe Johnson, Dr. Jack Britt, Dr. Joe DiPietro, and Dr. Jimmy Cheek. Our charge is to determine how IPS can best prosper within the organizational structure of UT with (1) no damage to the mission and (2) opportunities for improvement and/or enhancements. Again, there is no intention of modifying our reporting structure unless it is the right thing to do.

Our next steps are to talk to our constituencies; report IPS' project, activity, and economic impact numbers by county; gather a list of the faculty we use throughout IPS; and meet again to discuss that information. By the first of the year, the team will determine its recommendation and will report how and why that conclusion was reached.

Yesterday's meeting was only the first, but I want to keep you informed as we move along.

Thanks for all you do. Your excellent work allows me to tell our extraordinary story.

Strategic Plan Update

With input from many of you, your customers, and your advisory councils, IPS and its agencies have set strategic plans for 2010-2015. The agency plans are the foundation for the IPS plan, which in turn supports the outreach and economic development initiatives in the university's updated five-year plan.

I encourage you to review the agency and IPS plans, all of which are posted in their entirety on the IPS Intranet's Strategic Planning page, http://intranet.ips.tennessee.edu/default.asp?id=38 . The general agency plans, without SWOT analysis or development background information, also are available on the "About Us" page of each agency's Web site.

Your daily activities and work plans drive the success of the goals and initiatives in the plans. Now is a good time to check your progress toward your performance goals and discuss with your supervisor how your annual goals tie into the strategic plans. We will highlight this real progress in The Exchange quarterly. (See page 3 of the July Exchange for an example, (http://www.ips.tennessee.edu/?id=32 ).

Also, there are several teams setting goals for cross-agency efforts on internal and programmatic issues. Last month, the environmental/safety, economic development, communications, and resource generation teams presented their plans to the IPS leadership team. Those plans and presentations are available on the IPS Intranet's Strategic Planning page as well. Each agency has representatives on these teams, so please talk with them about the progress being made and offer your assistance in meeting the goals they've established.

As you'll see when you read through the plans, IPS has much to offer our customers and the public. I appreciate all you do each day to not just help the university reach its goals, but more importantly, to help the people of Tennessee.

Org Review

IPS Staff,

Earlier today President Simek sent the email below to all members of agency advisory boards. I will discuss more details with the IPS Leadership Team as they are available. Your advice and counsel will be important as we move forward in this process. I look forward to hearing from you. I'm very comfortable with the approach we are taking.

Mary

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IPS Advisory Board Member,

As you know so very well, the University of Tennessee's Institute for Public Service is a strong organization that serves Tennessee's local governments and industries every day. IPS has a long history of outstanding support from people like you who make up its stakeholders, customers and funding agents. That's why I want you to hear directly from me our plans for an organizational review-and to assure you that we are keenly aware of the strengths of the IPS program and the people who run it. We aren't about to "fix something that doesn't need fixing!"

Among my priorities in my short term role as interim president is to review the entire structure of the UT system. That is a natural time to include a study of the organizational alignment of IPS-to make sure it is positioned to achieve maximum benefit and support from the University. As you know, IPS has been aligned with a variety of System units over the years beginning with the UT Nashville campus in the 70's, with Continuing Education in the 80's and with Public and Government Relations today.

My goal for this organizational review is for IPS to continue to be strong and even more effective in the future. We recognize the various relationships with city and county governments are vital to that, as are the connections we enjoy with industry and others across the state. IPS advisory board members have made great contributions in recent months and that group will be closely involved in this study. The recently updated strategic plan will serve as a road map for guiding the review.

Obviously, harming in any way the work the Institute does makes no sense and no change will be made that might affect the long-term success of the various programs.

As we begin the review, Dr. Mary Jinks will be part of a small group to study the options. You will have an opportunity for input and feedback along the way. I look forward to hearing a report from the group, hopefully by late summer, and we will share that information with you.

If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Sincerely,
Jan Simek