University Leadership Announces Changes to Residence Halls, Restructuring Updates, & More at Town Hall 

Photo by Patrick D. Lewis

By Patrick D. Lewis

Catholic University’s top leadership fielded questions and concerns from undergraduate students at a town hall meeting organized by the Student Government Association (SGA) on March 3. Topics ranged from CUA’s budget troubles to the planned restructuring of academic units and much more.

University President Peter Kilpatrick, Provost and Executive Vice President Aaron Dominguez, and Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies Lynn Mayer began the event by answering a few questions posed by Student Body President Jeff Lance, who moderated the meeting.

President Kilpatrick stressed the progress the school has made in addressing its budget shortfall and announced that, thanks to cuts made across the university, “we will have a balanced budget next year.” It’s the first time in at least seven years that the university will be able to avoid tapping into financial reserves, something made necessary by a variety of circumstances in the past. 

Provost Dominguez then spoke about the planned restructuring of the university’s academic units. He said many other universities have long had structures more similar to the new one than the one the school is currently using and added that combining some departments and support functions will allow administrative costs to be brought down. 

Dominguez also laid out details of the reorganization plans. The university currently has 12 schools and a seminary, he explained, all of which function separately. The new organizational structure will bring some of those schools under the roof of a college and will combine some departments. The four new colleges will be:

• The College of Arts and Sciences, which will include the current School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) as well as the Rome School’s music and drama departments. The college will be made up of four divisions that include a total of 12 departments, downsized from the current 17, as well as the rebranded Rome School of Performance. A dean will oversee the college.
• The College of Engineering and Physical Science, combining the current School of Engineering and the Department of Physics, currently in SAS, under a single dean in what Dominguez said will be a “research powerhouse.”Notably, on March 6, Arts and Sciences students received an email detailing a plan from the School to reorganize along these lines. However, that plan went into more detail and also included the Department of Physics remaining in the College of Arts and Sciences rather than being moved to Engineering. The document attached to the email can be viewed here.
• The College of Nursing and Social Service, combining the Conway School of Nursing and the National Catholic School of Social Services (NCSSS). The current dean of nursing will head the college and the current NCSSS dean will become director of social service programs.
• The Ecclesiastical College, which will include the Schools of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, and Canon Law, all of which will remain independent schools with their respective deans. This school will be governed by the Ecclesiastical Council and will allow for increased cooperation between faculty members.

Other schools, such as business and law, will remain standalone entities. Dominguez said these changes are long overdue and the decisions have been made after meeting with consultants, the university Board of Trustees, and faculty members.

Vice Provost Mayer added that students are encouraged to talk to their representatives to the Academic Senate, the faculty group that oversees university business, SGA President Lance and Vice President Clare Tong, so that they can pass on students’ thoughts and concerns on the reorganization as the school moves through the process of formally approving the restructuring. 

Mayer also reiterated that no programs are immediately being cut and all students currently enrolled should not see major day-to-day impacts as a result of the reorganization.

The administration then took questions from the audience. These included topics such as timeline on the budget cuts and concerns about some departments being prioritized over others as a result of the restructuring, which Mayer assured would not happen. A student also asked about impacts to university funding that comes from federal grants given the freezes and closures of some federal agencies. Dominguez said he did not anticipate major impacts to CUA.

One student asked about the closure of the Center for Academic and Career Success (CACS) and expressed concern that faculty advisors would not be equipped to take over the services and responsibilities of CACS. Mayer acknowledged that faculty tend to be most knowledgeable about their own departments and programs but said all faculty advisors will receive additional training in programs and requirements across the university. Dominguez added that the school plans to implement AI tools to help speed along that process.

Lastly, Lance asked about the planned merging of the Office of the Provost and the Office of Student Affairs. Kilpatrick said the decision was driven by a desire to improve residence life, student life, campus activities, and integrating the student experience. He mentioned that many offices, such as the Office of Campus Activities, Department of Athletics, Residence Life, are currently separated, something which, if changed, will lead to greater cooperation between administrators and thus a better campus for students. 

He also said the school plans to change how residence hall rooms are assigned. Instead of all freshmen and sophomores living in residence halls that only have students of those classes, all four years will now live together. Kilpatrick said this “makes for a more integrated familial community.”

The event was well-received by most students in attendance and served to clear up the many rumors and misconceptions surrounding the university’s budgetary issues and reorganization plans.