A word from the Dean
Dear Staff and Student
All staff immediately affected by the Faculty's cutbacks were informed during April. Out of consideration for these people, I cannot give a more detailed orientation about the cutbacks at the moment, but as a responsible leader it is always sad to bid farewell to talented staff members - both when they leave the University voluntarily, and when they do so non-voluntarily.
As you know, the Faculty's Budget Strategy 2016-2019 - as a result of the Government's savings on education spending - is the overall framework for cutbacks that are now affecting the Faculty. In preparing the Budget Strategy, we have spent a lot of time on retrospection and have asked questions such as: Where is research flourishing at the Faculty? Which study programmes are popular, and which study programmes are strongly anchored in research? How are things going with drop-out and study time - and can graduates find employment? I could continue. These are actually the questions which we must continuously be able to answer. Just as each of us has a personal CV that we keep updated, we also have to keep the Faculty's CV abreast of developments.
The preparation of strategic selections and deselections is also about looking forward: about considering how we as a faculty can make a particular difference for the society that finances us. It is not an easy task, nor is it a task that I, as dean, take lightly. It is not an absolute science either as it involves looking into the future. Therefore, the Faculty's management group and I are acting on managerial assessments when we decide what to invest in and what we can best do without.
Following the recommendation of the Executive Board of SDU, the Board of Governors has decided that although we are at present encountering cutbacks, there should also be room for strategic selection in the future. As a university, we must be able to implement strategic investments in research, education, communication and administration. Therefore, at the Board meeting in April, the Executive Board's strategic fund was increased from DKK 20 million per year in 2016 to DKK 50 million per year in 2019.
The management group at the Faculty is now underway preparing the Faculty's input into how the fund is distributed towards 2019, and in June the Board will consider the Executive Board's recommendations. The Faculty's strategic focus of visible and valuable science and the departments' academic development plans will provide the framework for the Faculty's strategic selection. In addition, we will use the recommendations from the academic development seminar in January, and we have had ongoing discussions with the Academic Council about the strategic selections.
Despite this somewhat turbulent time for SDU and the Faculty, I would encourage everyone to look forward - as a faculty we have a lot to offer.
Martin Zachariasen, Dean