IPS Organizational Review - Resolution

February 26 Dr. Simek sent an email updating everyone on the outcome of our organizational review. It was a best-case scenario. IPS, for the first time in its history, is a stand-alone organization reporting directly to the president.

We've had some great leaders in the past who have also had responsibility for other activities such as pubic relations, government relations, statewide continuing education or a variety of other areas. Now, we are singly focused on our public service mission!

Thanks goes to the review committee members including Joe Johnson, Jack Britt, Jimmy Cheek and Joe DePietro. They spent a number of hours asking good questions, reviewing information and listening.

A special thanks goes to a number of our key customers, partners and stakeholders for taking time from their busy schedules to meet with the committee in Nashville last November. Their participation made the difference. You can see their names listed on the final report that is posted on the IPS web site.

Now, onward and upward!

Org Review

This week the Organizational Review Committee met in Nashville. Eighteen IPS customers, stakeholders, advisory committee members and association directors spent time with the committee discussing (1) what IPS means to them, (2) their satisfaction with our services, (3) suggestions for future services, and (4) implications of any potential change in reporting relationships.

The message was loud and clear. Your work is important, it is excellent, and our customers are very satisfied. Overall the committee was very impressed with what they heard. The committee’s final meeting is scheduled December 10. A recommendation to the president will follow shortly thereafter. I suspect the president will share his decision with the board of trustees prior to making an announcement that I anticipate would come shortly after the first of the year.

If you have an opportunity to see any of the meeting participants, please thank them for their support. They include Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland, Tipton County Executive Jeff Huffman, Davidson County Trustee Charlie Cardwell, Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson, Goodlettsville City Manager Jim Thomas, TBI Director Mark Gwyn, DCS Electronics President Chris Combs, Metal Products Company President Jim Dyer, ECD Assistant Commissioner Rick Meredith, Local Government Corporation President Mickey Wilson, TN Technology Development Corporation President Eric Cromwell, TN Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President Wayne Scharber, TCSA Executive Director David Seivers, TCCA Executive Director David Connors, COAT Executive Director Jay West, TML Executive Director Margaret Mahery, TML Risk Management Pool Executive Vice President Dawn Crawford and TCMA Executive Director Fred Congdon.

Thanks for your continuing excellent work. You represent us well!

Org Review

The IPS Organizational Review Committee had a good meeting today. I provided them detailed information in advance on revenues, expenditures, faculty utilization, administrative costs, and central office services. They had several good questions, but nothing I couldn't answer to their satisfaction. We will meet in November with customers and stakeholders that agency directors have recruited. Our final meeting will be in December.

Things are going well and I believe a recommendation will be made to the president that is in the best interest of IPS and its agencies.

Let me know if you have any questions.

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.

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