As Dean Marcelle Haddix announced in her schoolwide email on May 1, administrative services teams across SoE and WCER are integrating to provide standardized processes and a consistent level of service across the school.
This reorganization is more than a structural change—we are moving forward as one community, guided by shared values and a commitment to enhance collaboration around the mission-critical work across the school. As higher education rapidly changes and campus leadership seeks to increase administrative efficiencies campuswide, it is important now, more than ever, to collaborate on how we deliver administrative services. The Workday implementation also allows us to align our workflows and systems across the school. By bringing together our administrative teams, we aim to eliminate duplication, streamline processes, and provide every department with high-quality support.
WCER will continue its long history of being a center of excellence in education research, an asset for the school, campus and beyond. Along with faculty-led labs and projects, it will remain the home for many academic staff members conducting impactful research, evaluation and scholarship.
Key Goals
- Equity in Service: Ensure all departments receive consistent, high-quality administrative support, focusing on improving services to underserved areas.
- Co-Location: Bring teams together in shared spaces to foster collaboration and improve communication.
- Efficiency: Reduce duplication, cross-train staff, and build resilient systems and procedures that support our school’s mission in light of ongoing challenges.
Timeline
Impacted administrative units have already begun relocating and examining processes to consolidate work. The first phase of our work will be completed by July 1, acknowledging that additional adaptations will be needed at each team’s own pace as we proceed forward.
Teams will provide regular updates to leadership to confirm what’s working, flag areas of opportunity, and continue to improve service offerings over the coming weeks and months.
Areas of Integration
- Human Resources
- Finance & Budget
- Client Services
- Facilities
- Research Administration, including Research Communications
- IT & Infrastructure
New Spaces
- Human Resources
- Now located together on the 6th floor of Educational Sciences
- Client Services
- SoE staff have moved to the 2nd floor of Educational Sciences (formerly the WCER Business Office)
- WCER staff remain in the 2nd floor annex space in Educational Sciences
- SoE Finance Team
- This team has integrated into the 2nd floor suite that was formerly WCER Business Services and has combined with Client Services
- SoE Facilities
- Newly located on the 3rd floor of Educational Sciences next to the Educational Sciences building manager
- Research IT
- This team has relocated to the Teacher Education Building to join forces with the MERIT team
- Office of Research & Scholarship
- Combines SoE Research Administration with WCER Fee-for-Service, Communications, Pre- and Post-Award teams
- Located in the former Research IT Suite on the 3rd floor of Educational Sciences
What is the Office of Research & Scholarship?
The Office of Research & Scholarship has been created as the hub for all things research and scholarship across the school. Encompassing pre-award, post-award, and contract support, along with research communications, the team plans to center on collaboration, community and partnership to cement growth within the school.
Led by Associate Dean for Research Dorothy Farrar-Edwards and Director for Research Strategy Hanna Blazel, the team will develop new resources and processes and is excited to start assessing the needs of our faculty and academic staff in this critical area of our school’s work.
Dean’s Forum Presentation
See this recent presentation from the Dean’s Community Conversation for additional information.
What You Can Do
We recognize this transition is coming at a time of general transition and uncertainty, including the situation at the federal level and the administrative changes with Workday.
- Please Be Patient: Teams are working hard to adapt and deliver service excellence through these challenging times.
- Stay Informed: Check this site regularly for updates, resources, and contact information. If you’re a PI, watch your inbox for a new regular resource email, starting June 27.
Together, we are building a stronger, more connected School of Education—one ready to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.