Six university schools will change names to "college"

by Tom Uribes

The university steps into the next millennium with new names for six of its eight academic schools, a process actually begun more than 25 years ago when Fresno State was changed from a college a university.

President John D. Welty last week approved a proposal by the Council of Deans that renames the schools and brings the university into line with more traditional academic nomenclature.

The decision caps nearly a year of deliberations on campus and is a natural step in a process begun when Fresno State was first upgraded to university status in 1972.

"This change recognizes the continued growth of our academic schools," said Welty. "The use of college will more clearly reflect the breadth and depth of our academic programs.

The new names for the schools affected are the College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, the College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the College of Health and Human Services and the College of Social Sciences. The School of Natural Sciences has changed its name to the College of Science and Mathematics.

Only the Sid Craig School of Business and the School of Education and Human Development will not change because their deans say the school designation is more appropriate for their respective disciplines.

"No costs will be incurred for the change other than routine stationery changes, done as existing stock depletes," said Provost. J. Michael Ortiz.

While the name change is official effective the fall semester, it will not be reflected in the university's General Catalog until the 2000-2001 edition, which goes to press later this year, Ortiz said. The spring 2000 Schedule of Courses will carry the new names.

The university's deans formally proposed the change last September, citing such reasons as consistency with traditional higher education infrastructures, and better positioning with fund givers. But the move also erases the remnants from the days when Fresno State was a college, which traditionally classifies its major academic units as schools, Ortiz said. Traditionally, universities classify academic units as colleges.

"The move is reflective of a growing trend within the CSU, other institutions of higher education in California and nationally, " Ortiz said. "The deans feel that the designation college will be a positive factor that will contribute very favorably to the image of the university as a whole."

He said there would be few, if any, structural changes incurred by the change. A dean will head the college, overseeing chairs of departments and coordinators of programs. A college dean will have no more autonomy than the deans of the two units remaining as schools, Ortiz said.

He said the only drawbacks are nominal costs associated with changing the name on documents and a "loss of consistency" with the Schools of Business and Education.

Ortiz noted that it is also common for universities to have units with either designation.

Deliberated during the spring semester, the proposal ran into some resistance in the senate mainly because of uncertainty surrounding administrative structure, such as potential followup moves by departments within the schools to seek redesignation of their units to school. This would create confusion since Business and Education would remain as schools, opponents argued.

In May, the Senate finally forwarded a recommendation of approval to the president with the stipulation that only the renaming of schools to colleges be permitted in this action.

Welty asked Ortiz to formulate a final plan of action, which the president approved.