UW-Parkside is merging its 4 academic colleges into a single college, saving administrative costs

Facing an uncertain financial future, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside is merging its four academic colleges into a single college led by one leadership team.

By combining into one school the existing College of Arts and Humanities; College of Business, Economics, and Computing; College of Natural and Health Science; and College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies, UW-Parkside will have one vice provost and one dean for the faculty. The change will eliminate about $200,000 to $300,000 in administrative costs.

No one will lose their job as a result of the realignment, and the changes will not affect academic programs, Matt Cecil, interim provost and vice chancellor at UW-Parkside told the Board of Regents on Thursday. 

“It’s a complete reorganization of the academic affairs unit,” Cecil said. “Instead of worrying about structure, we can worry about the achievements that Parkside makes possible for the faculty, staff and students and the important impact that the university has on the region.” 

UW-Parkside, like many regional schools, is facing declining enrollments and budget challenges.

The college, located between Kenosha and Racine, had an enrollment of 3,947 this year, down from 4,029 in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Universities of Wisconsin. And in November 2023, the college cut about 10 percent of its workforce, or about 50 jobs, to manage its deficit.

The UW system hired outside consulting firm Deloitte to assess the financial health of its individual campuses last year. Reports released last spring raised questions about the financial viability of the state’s public universities. 

The UW-Parkside report found that if the school maintained the “status quo” its reserves would be depleted and the campus would need UW to fund its operations in fiscal year 2025. 

Over the last several months, the UW-Parkside community has met to discuss options, Cecil told the Board of Regents. 

The Faculty Senate endorsed the dissolution of the four colleges into a single college on April 1, after two months of intensive meetings, Cecil said. 

Regents praised UW-Parkside for making the tough decision to change the campus so it could continue into the future. 

“If you’ve ever worked inside of any organization, you know what a lift this is to get people to see themselves differently, but also to help them understand that they are still important,” said Regent Joan Prince.

The current dean positions will be merged and realigned by June 30, 2026. 

The merged academic college will be led by a senior vice provost and dean of the faculty through an internal search with an anticipated appointment by July 2025. 

All current academic college deans are also tenured faculty and will retain their positions.