April 2, 2014
Whereas the President, with the approval of the Board of Trustees, has retained the firm of Bain & Company to assist with a new project called “Operational Excellence for the 2nd Century (OE2C)” (President Turner’s letter to SMU Faculty and Staff, March 21, 2014), and
Whereas, this project has the potential to generate substantial cost savings and to increase the structural and operational efficiency of the university that can relax budgetary pressures and generate internal resources for much needed investment in improving the academic reputation of the university, and
Whereas the goals of Project SMU include realigning the operational resources of the University and increasing revenue “where appropriate opportunities exist” in order to “deliver high-quality support to our faculty and students as we continue to improve our programs” (President Turner’s letter to SMU Faculty and Staff, March 21, 2014), and
Whereas the Faculty Senate “has among its principal concerns . . . the promotion of creative and responsible inquiry, thought, and expression in an atmosphere of scholarly excellence, and the protection of a vital balance among the various programs of the University” (Faculty Senate Constitution, Preamble), and
Whereas the Faculty Senate has previously called upon the SMU Administration to promote and provide additional resources for the employment of doctoral students (Faculty Senate Resolution on Doctoral Programs, December 4, 2013); now therefore be it
Resolved, that the Faculty Senate of Southern Methodist University, on April 2, 2014, requests the SMU Administration to devote a substantial and appropriate portion of any savings or additional revenue resulting from Project SMU toward (1) recruitment and retention of high- quality faculty, (2) investment in research infrastructure, university libraries and doctoral programs, (3)increasing the number of laboratory and teaching assistants to improve the quality of undergraduate education, and (4) university-wide fellowships to attract high-quality graduate students.
With appreciation to President Turner and the SMU Board of Trustees.