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GRCC REORGANIZES IT DEPARTMENT TO EMPHASIZE EFFICIENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
June 16, 2009 Grand Rapids, MI - Less than 24 hours after a Monday night board of trustees meeting rife with warnings about tougher times ahead, GRCC President Steven Ender acted on his intention to be more efficient without sacrificing quality.
On Tuesday, five administrative professional positions were eliminated from the college’s information technology (IT) department. The decision reduces hierarchical levels in leadership while committing to positions that signify the college’s critical work and eliminates duplication.
The remaining IT personnel will be reorganized around five areas: Infrastructure, Academic Applications, Media, Customer Service and Administrative Applications that keeps student success as the guiding principle behind this, and all, decisions.
“These are difficult decisions to make,” said Ender. “Higher education and our college are both an organization and a family. Even though these decisions are best for the organization, members of our college family are leaving us and we will strive to be as compassionate as possible to assist them through this transition.”
Ender said the reason the reorganization was necessary was the impending “storm,” as trustees called the deeper budget cuts that are inevitable until the Michigan economy recovers - a prospect that is “clearly not in the immediate future,” he said.
According to the president: “First, we need to start saving right now. Second, we need to maximize the expertise of our consultant whose recommendations call for this new structure that realigns, gets lean, and builds in accountability.”
Bill Ouchark, a Campus Works consultant who has been with the college for over two and a half years, was recently made Interim Vice President for the remainder of the Campus Works contract with GRCC which ends in February 2010. At that time, GRCC will continue on a month-to-month basis with Campus Works until a chief information officer is found.
Campus Works is a nationally-renown consultant firm that specializes in organizing technology resources and providing technology leadership for colleges and universities. Ouchark’s plan emphasizes cost efficiency and accountability with measurable outcomes to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the IT division.
“He’ll be the man behind the smooth transition to, and operation of, the new IT division,” said Ender.
In making the reorganization information available to the GRCC faculty and staff, Ender stated that more changes may be ahead, “but none that will affect individuals based on reorganization.”
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