Michael A. Perry, Ph.D. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
I
came to Rockford in 2008 as an Assistant Professor of English. Since that time, I have served as Chair of the English department, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, and was appointed Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in August of 2018. It has been my distinct honor upon stepping into this role to work with colleagues from across the institution on myriad initiatives. Academic Affairs, in collaboration with faculty and staff, has made significant progress toward restructuring the Center for Learning Strategies (CLS), laid the groundwork to increase assessment efforts University-wide, recast our general education curriculum, and worked to invite more efficiency into registration and curricular endeavors.
Progress made in these critical areas has far-reaching effects. Our CLS is now positioned to not only serve a greater variety of student needs but also provides student workers with the opportunity to support the institution via the role of tutors and supplemental instructor positions. Assessment endeavors continue to evolve through revised reporting guidelines that support faculty efforts. Faculty, upon two years of dedicated research and work, passed a new general-education curriculum that will soon be implemented. Finally, revision to the registration process has opened up the advising window from two weeks to two months, enabling a more thorough and flexible advising process.
environment that champions consistency in three key areas: first, we are committed to being consistently innovative both within and outside of the classroom; second, we recognize the need to be consistently adaptable to a changing environment as we move forward in innovative ways; third, we realize that in order to be both innovative and adaptive, we must consistently look carefully at ourselves, assess our efforts, and be ready to respond accordingly. We currently exist in a challenging and constantly changing environment; because of the people we employ and the strategies we embrace, I am confident that Rockford University is poised to not only succeed, but also to be a leader in higher academia.
The office of Academic Affairs is committed to creating an
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