Emporia State administrators say the campus is in the middle of a transformative period.
Provost Brent Thomas spoke to that overall topic on KVOE’s Newsmaker segment that aired Monday. Thomas says the reinvestment process now almost a year old has borne a lot of fruit, in part with a restructuring of programs by their “commonalities.”
Emporia State has also gained a lot of attention for its new nursing facility, which continues to get significant financial contributions.
The process of “doing fewer things but doing them better” was not without a lot of pain — namely in the dismissal of over 30 faculty and the cutting of several programs, including the noted debate program. However, Thomas says Emporia State needed to make adjustments. Thomas also says administrators need to pay attention to “what’s going on the ground and adjust accordingly.” The goal, according to Thomas, is to have a “sustainable” university that prepares students for their careers — while realizing the prospective student pool has been shrinking for several years.
