By Jamie L. Freedman
After months of university-wide discussion and analysis, Provost Steven Lerman announced that the funds recently created by implementing the first set of recommendations from the Innovation Task Force will be allocated to three top academic priorities this coming fiscal year.
The provost’s decision, made in close consultation with deans throughout the university, is to invest in:
- long-term budget support for two additional undergraduate advisers for the Elliott School of International Affairs;
- long-term budget support for eight additional graduate teaching assistants in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences to support the new GPAC requirements that apply to the entering freshman class; and
- compensation and research packages to recruit and support entering young faculty.
The Innovation Task Force, now concluding its second year, is well on the way to reaching its $60 million target of savings and new revenues and will ultimately fuel a wide range of programs aimed at increasing academic and research excellence across GW.
These new investments for fiscal year 2012 come on top of the ITF allocations in fiscal year 2011 that doubled the number of undergraduate academic advisers at Columbian College and funded an electronic degree audit program enabling students to monitor their progress toward graduation.
“Using ITF funds strategically enables the university to significantly enhance the academic experience for GW students,” Dr. Lerman said.
“Students have noted that the degree audit system and the increase in the number of advisers improve the quality of advice they receive,” he added. “Next year we will build on these improvements and branch out by using ITF savings to ensure the success of the new curriculum in Columbian College and attract top-flight junior faculty. By recruiting promising junior faculty members we will create a foundation for GW’s continued progress toward becoming one of the nation’s premier teaching and research universities.”