i. institutional support and commitment to continuous improvement

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects
Master of Architecture
Master of Architecture with emphasis in Interior Architecture
B) Institutional planning
During the 2008–09 academic year, the suggestion for adding a new, high-level administrative officer
who could synthesize the needs of the institution and its resources was suggested by the Office of
the President. Over the next three semesters, this idea was vetted by and among decision-makers
including the Board of Governors, the Office of the President, the Office of the Deans and Division
Chairs, the Office of Student Affairs, Fiscal Affairs, Human Resources, and the Faculty Senate. Slowly, a
plan emerged to pursue such a new position by first creating a temporary position, the Interim Senior
Vice President of Academic Administration, and staffing it with an external, retired former college
president who would have a depth of experience, a generosity of knowledge, and an unattached,
short-term investment with which to help SAIC shape this new chief administrative position in a frank
fashion. After a search process, Robert Miller was retained in this position, and through his one-year
appointment during the 2009-10 academic year, Miller marshaled the efforts of administration and
faculty governance towards two major initiatives: a) create and fill the position of Provost and Senior
Vice President of Academic Affairs; and b) initiate a major Strategic Planning initiative, resulting in a
five-year plan.
1) Provost
By the time Miller was appointed, administration and faculty governance at SAIC had come to an
agreement that a Provost would be needed for the School, which had grown exponentially in size
and scope in the past two decades. Through a series of conversations facilitated by Miller, agreement
was reached for a Provost position, reporting directly to the President of the School. An international
search was conducted by a search committee, which, notably, was comprised of an unprecedented
diversity of faculty; staff from academic, student, and management areas; and Governors. The
committee selected a search firm to augment SAIC’s regular recruitment methods, and, ultimately,
Dr. Elissa Tenny—formerly Provost and Dean at Bennington College and, prior to that, Vice Dean at
the New School for Social Research—was hired as SAIC’s Provost beginning in Fall 2010.
2) Strategic planning
Provost Tenny will assume management of the Strategic Planning Committee, comprised of 13 members:
five full-time faculty members, including current MArch Program Head Douglas Pancoast; one part-time
faculty member; the Dean of Faculty and the Undergraduate Division Chair, who are both tenured faculty
currently serving in administrative roles; the Dean of Student Affairs; one representative from Student
Association, SAIC’s student leadership body; the Chief Operating Officer; one representative from the
Board of Governors; and one staff secretary. Beginning with a professionally facilitated retreat at the
beginning of Spring 2010, the committee drafted a list of Core Values and Strategic Initiatives that were
then shared with a wide breadth of stakeholders in the institution, including: the President’s Cabinet,
Academic Cabinet, the Office of Student Affairs, an ad hoc committee of institutional executives,
academic Department Heads, academic Administrative Directors, Student Association, and the Faculty
Senate. There was also an All-School meeting open to all members of the School community, a website
where individual students, faculty, and staff’s comments and criticisms were compiled and, finally, a
drop-box where responses were anonymously collected.
After each exchange, the Strategic Planning Committee vetted and re-drafted the values and
initiatives, internalizing the feedback they had received. From the beginning responses to the
committee’s work were positive, citing that they had described some essential characteristics and
clarified keen challenges for SAIC. In May 2010, the committee presented the values and initiatives to
the Board of Governors, who applauded them as the most succinct description of the School they
had ever been presented. The Core Values and Strategic Initiatives are summarized below.
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