During a special Student Government Senate meeting Wednesday evening, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Astrid Merget discussed future name and structural changes to the University’s “hopelessly fragmented” academic colleges and schools — changes she said will not affect degree programs. Merget discussed some examples of possible modifications but didn’t provide a written document or full list of proposed changes. She said University Planning Council and deans who would be affected by the changes are reviewing the ideas.”There will [be] some changes in the configurations and names of our colleges and schools and in the reporting lines of several academic units on campus,” Merget said in a broadcast e-mail sent Friday. Among the examples of possible changes, Merget said the School of the Coast and Environment would become the College of the Coast and Environment, the Manship School of Mass Communication would become the College of Mass Communication and the College of Arts and Sciences would become the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. At Wednesday’s meeting, Merget said the University’s programs are scattered among too many colleges. For example, all education programs are not in the College of Education. Pre-kindergarten education resides in the College of Agriculture. “[It’s] very difficult to collaborate and to bring a full-force of our academic power to the education of our students,” Merget said. The University will be structured around four main “pillars” — the arts, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, Merget said. A dean will head a college, and there will be several different schools within a college.  These changes have been in the works for some time and are not a reaction to possible budget cuts next fiscal year, Merget said. Instead, the restructuring will better align the University to complete the Flagship Agenda — the plan to make the University nationally competitive by 2010 — and its multi-disciplinary hiring initiative, she said. “We look like a 1950s teaching-driven university,” Merget said. “We do not look like what we are — a Carnegie 1 research university. We really are set up to teach — and that’s important — but we also need to be set up to do research.”Merget drafted the plan with administrators and “senior scholars.” They looked at the academic structures at six universities with a similar role, scope and mission to LSU for guidance. The six universities studied were Pennsylvania State University, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, the University of Florida, the University of Georgia and Texas A&M University. “We began to look at the pace-setters — universities like us who are really out in front of great teaching, great research and magnificent civil engagement,” Merget said. Merget said there will be no layoffs during the implementation process, but affected deans’ titles would be changed. She told the Senate she will send them a typed version of the proposal by next week. She said the changes would go into effect for the next fiscal year which starts July 1. “These are not as dramatic changes as they sound,” Merget said. Merget said the changes will not affect degree and admission programs and requirements or scholarships. SG President Colorado Robertson called the special session to discuss the re-alignment. The Senate decided to neither support or oppose the plan until it receive smore specific information next week. —-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]