Pictured Above: University leaders had told education faculty in mid-October that the college would be dismantled and reconfigured as a school of education for graduate students.
Courtesy of USF
By Nancy McCann
In a stunning turnabout, the USF administration announced today that the College of Education will remain at the university after all.
Judith Ponticell, the interim dean of the college, and Provost Ralph Wilcox emailed the “College of Education Community” that a plan to dismantle the college has been abandoned (see email below).
In the email, they announced that USF will “retain our most high-demand undergraduate education programs” and “accelerate our national search” for a permanent dean. Ponticell has been interim dean since Rob Knoeppel departed in July for the College of William & Mary.
“We will continue to refine the educational offerings provided by the college, including a focused array of bachelor’s degrees leading to teacher certification,” the email said.
“We will offer these programs while strengthening the college’s focus on educational research, ensuring that USF remains at the forefront of innovative teaching strategies. We will also continue to build our graduate programs for tomorrow’s educational professionals and leaders.”
“Financial reduction decisions are never easy, and this year especially has brought complexities and challenges unlike anything we have ever experienced,” Ponticell and Wilcox said. “Through this process, we have listened, and we have learned.”
Today’s announcement marked the end of a hasty retreat on a controversial move first announced on Oct. 14.
On that day, Wilcox shocked the College of Education faculty with an announcement that the college would be dismantled and reimagined into a school of education for graduate students.
The move, administrators said, would save the financially challenged university $6.8 million over two years.
They cited the “budget realities of a world challenged by COVID-19,” a 63 percent drop in enrollment in the college over the last decade and the emergence of other institutions that offer undergraduate baccalaureate programs, “some at a significantly lower cost.”
In an email to education faculty members the next day, Ponticell elaborated on Wilcox’s announcement.
“We are strategically reimagining and reconfiguring Education at USF from a comprehensive College of Education to a more focused Graduate School of Education with an appropriate organizational affiliation with another college such as the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences,” she wrote.
“This will allow us to continue to serve our students and communities, including our vital partners in our area school districts.”
The stunning move prompted widespread opposition, however.
Students, graduates and faculty at the College of Education – joined by district school superintendents, school boards and elected officials – denounced the move as hasty and shortsighted.
The Tampa Bay Times editorial board said USF had “bungled the sudden announcement,” and three members of the Board of Trustees complained that they had been blindsided.
As criticism mounted, the administration began calling the move a “preliminary proposal,” then backtracked in November, saying USF would continue to offer undergraduate degrees but leaving the College of Education itself in limbo.
Meanwhile, the College of Education faculty issued a lengthy statement asserting that trust between the faculty and administration “has been irreparably broken.”
Wilcox sprang the news on education faculty during the Oct. 14 meeting, then “answered a total of four questions before moving to his next meeting,” the education faculty said in the statement, which was released to the USF Faculty Senate in November.
Since then, the statement said, “beyond a couple of brief responses to questions,” the faculty “have not seen or heard from Provost Wilcox.”
The weeks since the announcement have “been marked by obscurity and unilateral top-down directives at odds with norms of faculty consultation and governance,” the education faculty said.
On Dec. 26, three members of the education faculty touted the accomplishments of the College of Education in an opinion piece in the Tampa Bay Times.
Writing as individuals, “not as representatives of the university or its administration,” professors Lyman Dukes III, Terry Osborn and Jenifer Schneider said that the college “has produced almost 60,000 graduates over the last 60 years – graduates who contribute to the schools in your neighborhood, provide support to social and civic events and organizations, and inspire innovative ideas.”
The College of Education “is a profoundly valuable resource in Tampa Bay. We play an essential role in the development of a quality workforce, not only through teacher preparation for our local districts, but also through the preparation of educational professionals in numerous industries, agencies and organizations,” the professors wrote.
“Our research and community service directly impact Tampa Bay, improving quality of life and opportunity. We live here with you; the College of Education at USF has been and should continue to be an integral part of the Tampa Bay community.”
‘We have listened, and we have learned’
This is the email sent to the “USF College of Education Community” today by Judith Ponticell, interim dean of the College of Education, and Provost Ralph Wilcox.
