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Chapter 3: Administrative Structure

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3.L Institutes and Centers

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The University supports more than 100 centers and institutes, all of which have research, service, and in some cases, teaching missions, and are typically run by a director and an executive committee. As a general rule, institutes are separate administrative units reporting to a major University unit, whereas centers are units within a school or college or sometimes spanning several departments within a school or college. Many centers and institutes are established by the Regents on recommendation of the president (Chapter VI. Schools and Colleges: Program Definitions bylaw 6.03).

The Office of the Provost provides a list of most centers and institutes as well as material on Best Practices for Centers and Institutes.

Chapter 3: Administrative Structure

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3.K University of Michigan Libraries and Museums (Ann Arbor Campus)

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3.K.1 Libraries

Within the purview of the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus library system is administered centrally through the University librarian and dean of libraries and is composed of the following locations:

The University Library, which has direct oversight over these libraries and collections, posts information about each of them on its website (e.g., about the library, the collections, contact information and location, staff listings, and news and events).

In addition, four major library units are maintained and administered separately from the University Library. They are:

Chapter XII. The University Libraries bylaw 12.05 establishes a Libraries Advisory Committee to serve as a medium for discussion and advice concerning matters of common interest to the University library and to the Clements, Bentley, Law, and Business libraries.

The following independent libraries are also found on the Ann Arbor campus:

The librarians, curators, and archivists in these units usually report to the director of their particular University facility or the chair of their college department.

Independent libraries are located on the University’s UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint campuses. The director of the Mardigian Library on the UM-Dearborn campus reports to the UM-Dearborn provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. The director of the Frances Willson Thompson Library on the UM-Flint campus reports to the UM-Flint provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

In addition, the Gerald R. Ford Library, a presidential library operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (an agency of the United States Government), is physically housed on the University’s North Campus.

For more information on libraries, see handbook section 21.K “Libraries” or library locations and hours.

3.K.2 Museums

The following six museums on the Ann Arbor campus are administratively part of LSA:

  • Museum of Natural History
  • Herbarium
  • Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
  • Museum of Anthropology
  • Museum of Paleontology
  • Museum of Zoology

The directors of these museums are faculty members and are appointed by the dean of LSA. The museum curators are also faculty members and usually hold joint appointments as both curators and faculty within an academic department. The Herbarium and the Museums of Anthropology, Paleontology, and Zoology are research museums; the Kelsey is both a research and an exhibit museum, and the Museum of Natural History serves the public as an exhibit museum.

The Museum of Art, also on the Ann Arbor campus, is primarily an exhibit museum and reports to the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

There are many other museums and similar services on the Ann Arbor campus associated with the various units. See handbook sections 21.O “Museums and Galleries”, 21.P “Natural Areas”, 21.P.1 “Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum”, 21.P.2 “Forests/Reserves”, and 21.Q “Observatories and Planetariums.”

Chapter 3: Administrative Structure

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3.J Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies

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The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies is an academic and administrative unit. Graduate degree programs leading to the master’s, doctoral, and related degrees, and graduate certificates are offered by the schools and colleges on all three campuses through the agency of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies. (Other University of Michigan schools and colleges offer graduate professional programs and first professional degrees.) See Chapter VI. Schools and Colleges: Program Definitions bylaw 6.02.

In its oversight of post-baccalaureate academic programs, the Graduate School and its faculty executive board have a range of responsibilities including the establishment of policies regarding graduate education, the formation of new graduate programs, and oversight of student-related services (including admissions, course approvals, academic petitions, maintenance of the student academic record, program review, and the conferral of degrees). Of special interest is the variety of resources Rackham provides to faculty. These resources include:

  • Support for faculty research projects (aimed primarily at new faculty in the early stages of their research careers)
  • Discretionary funds for faculty work
  • A faculty mentoring handbook
  • Interdisciplinary initiatives
  • Advice on questions of student academic and professional integrity
  • Advice and support with regard to international education

Faculty may also refer students to Rackham for various types of support such as, fellowships and other financial assistance, writing and other workshops, diversity initiatives, and social events; and may nominate students for Rackham teaching and dissertation awards. In addition, Rackham promotes a sense of community in graduate education by bringing people together for presentations, discussions, and debate. The dean of the Graduate School also holds the appointment of vice provost for academic affairs-graduate studies. The dean ensures that the Graduate School meets its mission and represents the interests of graduate education in the Office of the Provost, throughout the University, and in national and international venues where graduate education policy and practice are discussed and debated. Faculty oversight of the Graduate School is provided by an elected Rackham Executive Board made up of the dean, a representative from each of the two regional campuses, and 12 Ann Arbor campus faculty members.

Chapter 3: Administrative Structure

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3.I Academic Units

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The following lists of academic units on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses provide an overview of the breadth of scholarship and teaching represented at the University of Michigan.

Ann Arbor Campus Academic Units

A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
taubmancollege.umich.edu

Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design
stamps.umich.edu

Stephen M. Ross School of Business
michiganross.umich.edu

School of Dentistry
dent.umich.edu

Marsal Family School of Education
soe.umich.edu

College of Engineering
engin.umich.edu

School for Environment & Sustainability
seas.umich.edu

Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies
rackham.umich.edu

School of Information
si.umich.edu

School of Kinesiology
kines.umich.edu

Law School
law.umich.edu

College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
lsa.umich.edu

Medical School
medicine.umich.edu/medschool/

School of Music, Theatre & Dance
smtd.umich.edu

School of Nursing
nursing.umich.edu

College of Pharmacy
pharmacy.umich.edu

School of Public Health
sph.umich.edu

Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
fordschool.umich.edu

School of Social Work
ssw.umich.edu

University of Michigan-Dearborn Academic Units

College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters
umdearborn.edu/casl

College of Business
umdearborn.edu/cob

College of Education, Health & Human Services
umdearborn.edu/cehhs

College of Engineering and Computer Science
umdearborn.edu/cecs

University of Michigan-Flint Academic Units

College of Arts and Sciences
umflint.edu/cas

College of Health Sciences
umflint.edu/chs

College of Innovation & Technology
https://www.umflint.edu/cit/

School of Management
umflint.edu/som

School of Nursing
umflint.edu/nursing

Chapter 3: Administrative Structure

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3.H Executive Committees

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The executive committees of the schools, colleges, or departments assist the dean or director in formulating educational, instructional, and research policies for consideration of the faculty and act on the behalf of the governing faculty in matters of budget, appointments, and promotions. They also assist with administrative functions. In some units, the dean or director performs executive duties without an executive committee (Chapter V. The Faculties and Academic Staff bylaws 5.02 and 5.06).

Rules for the composition of the executive committee, the ways in which governing faculty members vote for executive committee members, and the specific responsibilities and operating procedures of the executive committee vary in individual units and are typically set forth in that unit’s bylaws. Most academic units also have other standing committees, such as a curriculum committee and a tenure and promotion committee. It is important for faculty members to be aware of their units’ policies and procedures concerning the functioning of all of its committees and to participate as is appropriate in unit level committees. For more information on faculty participation in governance, see Chapter 4 “Faculty Roles in Governance.”

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3.G Deans and Directors (Ann Arbor Campus)

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Deans of the schools and colleges and the University librarian and dean of libraries, the heads of departments and research units, and the directors of the William L. Clements Library, the Bentley Historical Library, and the Museum of Art are appointed by the Regents on the recommendation of the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs to act as the executive officers of their respective units and ex officio chairs of their respective executive committees. (See Chapter V. The Faculties and Academic Staff bylaw 5.06.) Heads of other libraries are appointed by the dean or director of the school, college, or institute to which the library belongs.

Chapter 3: Administrative Structure

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3.F Faculty/Governing Faculty

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The faculty at the University of Michigan includes members of the teaching and research staff; the executive officers; the directors of various teaching, research, and library units; librarians, curators, and archivists (Chapter V. The Faculties and Academic Staff bylaw 5.01). See handbook sections 5.C “Instructional Faculty: Classifications”; 5.D “Research Faculty”; 5.E “Librarians, Archivists, and Curators.”

The term “governing faculty,” when used in connection with a school, college, or degree-granting division, includes those members of the school, college, or degree-granting division who are professors, associate professors, and assistant professors, and where authorized by that unit’s bylaws, certain clinical faculty, certain research faculty, and instructors and lecturers who hold appointments of half-time or more. In the Medical School, the governing faculty is called the Executive Faculty. For more information about policies regarding voting rights in a given unit, contact the dean, department chair, or director. Management of the educational affairs of individual units is delegated to the governing faculties, executive committees, and deans of the schools and colleges, and to the directors of the University’s libraries and institutes (Chapter V. The Faculties and Academic Staff bylaws 5.01, 5.02).

For more information on faculty participation in governance, see Chapter 4 “Faculty Roles in Governance”.

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3.E Chancellors (UM Flint and UM Dearborn)

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Both the UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint campuses have a chancellor who is the highest ranking academic and budget officer on that campus and reports directly to the president of the University. See section 3.C “President and Executive Officers.”

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3.D The Office of the Provost (Ann Arbor Campus)

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The provost and executive vice president for academic affairs is the chief academic and budgetary officer of the University and has responsibility for the University’s academic and budgetary affairs. The provost establishes overall academic priorities for the University and allocates funds to carry these priorities forward.

 

Chapter 3: Administrative Structure

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3.C President and Executive Officers

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As the University’s chief executive officer, the president of the university is responsible for providing general oversight of the University’s teaching and research programs; its libraries, museums, and other supporting services; the welfare of the faculty and supporting staff; the business and financial welfare of the University; and for “the maintenance of health, diligence, and order among the students” (Chapter II. University Executive Officers bylaw 2.01).

The president, who is a member of the University Senate, represents the University at ceremonies and public events and plays a major role in fund raising. The president also recommends the appointment of executive officers who perform their duties under the president’s general direction.

Other executive officers include the UM-Dearborn chancellor, UM-Flint chancellor, and the eleven vice presidents.