The majority of the College’s staff are either clerical (secretaries, administrative assistants) or technical professionals (laboratory coordinators, system administrators, computer engineers). The ratio of faculty to staff is about 3:1. We are currently trying to address some staffing needs in individual areas. With the exception of an insufficient number of system administrators (see also Goal 6), however, staffing in general is adequate (see Table 10 below).

TABLE 11. Staff Count in the College of Sciences and Arts (Fall Count).

Unit	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
Dean	3.00	4.00	3.50	3.50	4.00	4.00	4.00
Center for Experimental Computation	2.00	2.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00
Biological Sciences	6.95	8.00	8.00	9.00	6.85	7.10	7.10
Chemistry	4.00	8.00	8.00	8.00	9.00	11.00	11.00
Computer Science	1.00	1.00	1.00	2.00	2.00	2.00	2.00
Education	1.00	2.00	2.00	2.00	2.00	2.25	1.00
Fine Arts	-	-	-	-	1.50	1.50	3.00
Humanities	7.00	8.50	9.25	8.25	9.50	8.00	8.50
Mathematical Science	4.00	3.00	3.00	3.50	5.50	4.50	3.50
Physical Education	1.00	1.00	1.00	2.00	3.00	3.00	3.00
Physics	6.00	6.00	6.00	6.00	5.00	5.00	6.00
Social Sciences	1.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00
Army ROTC	1.00		1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00
Air Force ROTC	1.65	1.50	1.50	1.50	1.50	1.50	1.50
Total	39.60	48.00	49.25	52.75	56.85	56.85	57.60

Generally, the departments of the College have a reputation of being a good place for staff to work as these units maintain a collegial and friendly workplace. All grievances were addressed internally.

One recurring weakness the academic departments face is the limited promotional ladder available for their staff personnel. Generally, the only way for staff to rise is to leave their department. So far, we have been unable to satisfactorily recognize the importance of the contribution which an excellent administrative aid or executive secretary brings to a department. Often these personnel provide the only continuity and institutional knowledge when chairs or deans change.

University Goal 6: Provide Comprehensive Information Technology Services.

The College and most, but not all units in it, managed the transition from centralized to decentralized computing relatively smoothly. The Center of Experimental Computation (CEC) was originally established in 1985 because the science departments felt that their need was not adequately met by MTU's central computer operation. The original purpose of the CEC was to own, house, and maintain experimental computing equipment used by Computer Science, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics. It changed its role to support the decentralized computing needs of these departments.

In 1988, the CEC was responsible for a few (albeit state-of-the art parallel processing) machines like the FPS T-series and the Intel iPSC/2. Currently, the CEC provides support for 35 machines in Computer Science, 40 machines in the Computer Science Lab, 42 machines in Mathematics, 51 machines in the Math Lab, 53 machines in Physics, 7 machines in the Physics Lab, and, since 1995, for 38 machines in Biology, for a total of 266 machines (Macs, PCs, workstations like Sparc 5s and 20s, Silicon Graphics, etc.).

By having a computer-support unit closer to the departments and sharing the responsibilities between different professionals (currently, the CEC has one hardware/systems engineer, one software engineer, and two system administrators), the CEC can provide more efficient service.

Significant College accomplishments in student computing since 1988 include

• computer-intensive undergraduate service courses,
• computer classrooms and labs for majors and graduate students,
• special-purpose labs such as the education-oriented Macintosh lab in Mathematics, and
• Humanities’ Center for Computer-Supported Language Instruction (CCLI), a nationally recognized facility.

Currently, the College plans to extend the CEC support service to the Social Sciences, Education, and the ROTC units which will require at least one more system administrator. By strengthening the interaction with CCLI, the CEC will ultimately become the home base for system administration in the College of Sciences and Arts.

The provost's provision of computing monies for faculty for the past two years (currently $800 per faculty member for a total of $132,000 for 1996/97) has made a positive difference and is helping departments in their efforts to meet the ever increasing demands associated with a high-tech environment.

Current weaknesses include the small number of qualified system administrators, too much differences in their pay (often dependent on departmental resources), and the escalating costs for state-of-the-art technology (which often out-pace the lab fees that were calculated some years ago—this outdated lab-fee structure limits not only capital replacement of equipment on a timely basis but also expansion into new areas of technology).

With respect to high-speed research computing the University needs to better coordinate its effort towards a sufficiently powerful (parallel) computing environment to support the computational-science and engineering-research efforts appropriate for a technological university.

In connection with instructional technological efforts, the Humanities Department is working towards a separate studio facility for video which would allow for increased flexibility in instructional activities and approaches that are free from the constraints of the campus video studio which is primarily used for distance education.

University Goal 7: Develop the MTU Campus and Continuously Maintain the Physical Plant.

Although improvement of the physical plant is largely a centralized function at MTU, the College and its individual departments have contributed significantly to the continuous improvement of the College's physical facility. We gained some space in Fisher Hall when the Mining Department moved and classrooms were renovated. In Walker, a storage area was converted to an impressive computer lab (the CCLI), and a multimedia classroom, some seminar rooms, and graduate student offices are now in the swimming pool area of the former Sherman Gym. Social Sciences gained some relief by acquiring several additional rooms in the Academic Office Building Annex. Renovations were also done in the ROTC building.

In addition to computer laboratories and classrooms, the College also added targeted facilities like the Learning Centers for Writing, Mathematics, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Physics. We have also made significant investments in infrastructure, especially network wiring and server hardware.

In general, maintenance and replacement of current equipment is a constant challenge for departments. This is not just true for computers or major research and laboratory instrumentation, but also for the Fine Arts Department, for example, with regard to band instruments, and both lighting equipment sound equipment for the theater.

With the exception of the Humanities in Walker, the current facilities, taken as a whole, can best be described as fair—despite outstanding efforts by facilities management. Severe space limits still represent a significant weakness that the College faces. In their space need analysis for MTU [2.2D1], Paulien & Associates, using planning guidelines of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, prescribed 52,800 assignable square feet (ASF) research space for the College instead of the currently allocated 37,184 ASF. That is, the College needs to expand its current research space by 42%. The situation is most severe for Physics which has not even half of the prescribed ASF guideline (6,073 of 12,600 ASF.)

Therefore, the College's capital outlay request which has the highest priority is the renovation of Fisher Hall and its connection to a renovated library with high-density shelving. This renovation will provide a Science and Information Resource Center for the whole campus and provide a high technology environment conducive to interdisciplinary, cross-functional teaching, research, and scholarship appropriate for a technological university of the future. This complex, as included in the campus master plan, will be the central instructional facility combined with a library facility for the 21st century. It will allow a synergistic approach to learning. Emphasis will be placed on modern classrooms and teaching laboratories with the latest generation audio/visual/multimedia capabilities. The plan is to include a 24-hour open study space with flexible and adaptable rooms for small groups and to make available the latest information access/exchange technology for linkages with universities and industry.

The Biology Department’s space problems will be alleviated with the impending move to the new Environmental Science Building. The planned Performing Arts Center will create a new presence for the Fine Arts on campus and will take care of their space needs.

University Goal 8: Provide a Stable Financial Environment and Enhance Resource Acquisition

The College has seen a fairly stable financial environment in the 1990s, despite MTU’s budget crisis in 1991. First, the University’s policy of not taking back department surpluses at the end of each year (i.e., allowing ‘carry over’) and the College of Sciences and Arts’ managing of MTU’s 1% realignment by making strategic decisions on a college level (for example position control by the dean) rather than uniformly passing the 1% realignment to departments have helped to maintain a stable financial environment which allowed for careful programmatic growth. Second, the provost’s provision of computing funds has alleviated some pressure in a major area.

However, the 1% realignment, which was advantageous for the College and the academic area as a whole, has run its course. The College has optimized its resources. The SS&E budget covers approximately 40% of departmental expenses. Departments supplement their SS&E allocations with monies from sabbaticals, faculty leaves without pay, release time, overhead return, unfilled positions, and the Michigan Tech Fund. For the College, the current 1% cut amounts to approximately $100,000, or the equivalent of 2.5 faculty positions per year. If faculty cannot be replaced, it will be difficult to enhance undergraduate teaching and growth of graduate programs.

The College has started to develop its external base by hosting its first national alumni advisory board meetings. We also have inaugurated the MTU Academy of Sciences and Arts to recognize distinguished alumni. As was mentioned in the Historical Overview, a Senior Advancement Director for the College of Sciences and Arts was added in 1996 to work with the Dean and the Executive Director of the Michigan Tech Fund to set fundraising priorities and objectives and coordinate advancement activities for the College.

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