Standard V. Administration and Finance

V.3 The executive officer of a program has title, salary, status, and authority comparable to heads of similar units in the parent institution. In addition to academic qualifications comparable to those required of the faculty, the executive officer has leadership skills, administrative ability, experience, and understanding of developments in the field and in the academic environment needed to fulfill the responsibilities of the position. The school's executive officer nurtures an intellectual environment that enhances the pursuit of the school's mission and program goals and the accomplishment of its program objectives; that environment also encourages faculty and student interaction with other academic units and promotes the socialization of students into the field.

The Dean of the School of Information Sciences holds a title, status, salary, and authority which is comparable to that of peer administrators across the university and at other iSchools. Dean Larsen, who earned his PhD in Computer Science at the University of Maryland College Park, is the chief academic and administrative officer of the School and reports to the Provost of the University of Pittsburgh. He joined the school in this position in 2002 (see Appendix FAC 1 for Dean Larsen’s CV). This reporting structure is the same as for all 16 colleges and schools at the university, including the presidents of the regional campuses. See Appendix UNI 3 for the University of Pittsburgh’s Organizational Chart.

Dean Larsen’s primary responsibilities include providing academic and administrative leadership for the School, as well as crafting and implementing a compelling vision of the School’s role in the university, higher education, and the Information professions. He is expected to have a thorough understanding of national issues in the information sciences, a commitment to fundraising, and expertise in developing partnerships with both internal and external constituencies. The Dean serves on the Council of Deans, an advisory body of academic program leaders who provide counsel to the Provost of the university.

The Dean provides an annual evaluation to the Provost, reporting on the School’s progress to its annual goals, faculty searches, administrative accomplishments and challenges, facilities, the financial state of the School, and the Dean’s service to the University and the professions. The Provost then provides feedback on the Dean’s report, mostly focusing on the progress toward meeting the stated annual goals. This is a confidential process, but redacted versions of the Dean’s reports will be made available on-site (SCH 18).

The Dean works with the Associate Dean and the faculty to ensure the sustained excellence of the academic programs, the continued support of both research and teaching at the School, faculty and staff development, adherence to the University’s financial and administrative policies, and building of support for the School’s mission. The Dean holds final authority in the hiring of staff and spending in the School. He dispenses funds from discretionary accounts to support faculty development, colloquia, student travel to conferences, and programs and initiatives that benefit the entire school. For example, the Dean recently hired a director of the online learning program who will serve all academic programs throughout the school. Such funds may also be used to support research endeavors which will advance the mission and reputation of the school. He also conducts annual reviews of faculty productivity and goals, helping faculty to position themselves appropriately for tenure and/or promotion. The Dean is advised by the Associate Dean, the SIS Council, program faculty and professional staff. He is the liaison to the iSchool’s Board of Visitors, two of whose members are also on the University’s Board of Trustees. The Dean has created a suite of staff members to provide professional services to students, faculty and the School.

Research at the iSchool is mostly within the purview of individual or groups of faculty members. Faculty determine which research projects to pursue, as well as the funding avenues to support such work. In AY 2011-12, the Board of Visitors recommended the selection and focus on a select number of research areas to better enhance the School’s reputation and to gain the most benefit from limited resources. The Dean and Associate Dean held numerous sessions with faculty to identify those future areas of research focus. The group came to a consensus to direct research activities, future faculty hiring, and doctoral student recruitment to the following signature areas:

Big data (building community around big data; not simply having big data);
Spatial information (not limited to geospatial);
Information assurance (e.g., security assured information systems);
Web science (including topics such as social network analysis).

These areas have been reviewed and endorsed by the Industry Advisory Council and the Board of Visitors. A fifth signature research area has been proposed in Digital Stewardship and is presently under consideration by iSchool faculty and administration, and has been discussed with the Provost. Due to the postponement of the 2012 Board of Visitors’ meeting, consideration of this topic and its potential role within the curricular and research programs at the iSchool will resume after the proposed meeting of the group in April 2013.

The Dean and Associate Dean are responsible for annual evaluations of the faculty and staff within the School. Faculty submit an annual review of their productivity and accomplishments in terms of teaching, research and service. The deans utilizes these reports in determining resource allocation, mentoring the faculty member in enhancing their chances for tenure or promotion, and ensuring that faculty have adequate resources (time, staff support) to meet their goals. Staff also undergo an annual evaluation including producing a self-appraisal which is then reviewed by their supervisor, the Director of Administration and the Dean.

Budgets are approved by the Dean for academic and administrative programs. The allocation of space and resources is determined by the Dean and Associate Dean with the counsel of the SIS Council.