Spring Break
University closes two centers after recent review
Julie Stagis
Issue date: 10/31/08 Section: News
Two academic centers were closed this semester after a review by a committee appointed by Provost Peter Nicholls last spring found them not in accordance with UConn's academic plan.
The committee decided to renew 11 of the reviewed centers. All of the university's centers are reviewed on a cyclical basis, according to UConn spokeswoman Karen Grava.
The Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, and the Center for Health Promotion were closed. These centers did not meet the criteria defined in the university's updated academic plan.
According to the academic plan, centers that duplicate the work done by other, more cost-efficient programs, include faculty and staff from only one department, have fewer than three tenured faculty, are not independently financially solvent or fail to contribute to upholding the university's high rank are cause for concern.
If a center is found to meet any of these criteria, the director must meet with the provost to either develop a plan to improve the center or to decide to close the center.
The UConn Center for Geographic Information and Analysis was a partnership between the staff of the Homer Babbidge Library and the Department of Geography that focused on streamlining geographic data and spatial analytic techniques for research at the university, according to the mission statement on its web site.
"We tried to promote GIS functions and spatial database capabilities," said Robert Cromley, UCCGIA director and professor of geography. "GIS is a computer-based system for storing, representing, manipulating and analyzing features across the landscape of the eart."
The group had done a lot to make connections between books to help researchers find information. For example, if a book mentions Mansfield, there would be a tag so that people could find other books about the place, according to Cromley.
Cromley did not see a reason for closing UCCGIA.
"The university didn't save themselves anything. There was no cost associated with the center," he said. "I was the director and we were just a group of people who collaborated on projects."
The committee decided to renew 11 of the reviewed centers. All of the university's centers are reviewed on a cyclical basis, according to UConn spokeswoman Karen Grava.
The Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, and the Center for Health Promotion were closed. These centers did not meet the criteria defined in the university's updated academic plan.
According to the academic plan, centers that duplicate the work done by other, more cost-efficient programs, include faculty and staff from only one department, have fewer than three tenured faculty, are not independently financially solvent or fail to contribute to upholding the university's high rank are cause for concern.
If a center is found to meet any of these criteria, the director must meet with the provost to either develop a plan to improve the center or to decide to close the center.
The UConn Center for Geographic Information and Analysis was a partnership between the staff of the Homer Babbidge Library and the Department of Geography that focused on streamlining geographic data and spatial analytic techniques for research at the university, according to the mission statement on its web site.
"We tried to promote GIS functions and spatial database capabilities," said Robert Cromley, UCCGIA director and professor of geography. "GIS is a computer-based system for storing, representing, manipulating and analyzing features across the landscape of the eart."
The group had done a lot to make connections between books to help researchers find information. For example, if a book mentions Mansfield, there would be a tag so that people could find other books about the place, according to Cromley.
Cromley did not see a reason for closing UCCGIA.
"The university didn't save themselves anything. There was no cost associated with the center," he said. "I was the director and we were just a group of people who collaborated on projects."
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