President Schrader hosts "Let's Talk" forum to discuss academic reorganization

On Nov. 27, Wright State hosted its second “Let’s Talk” forum.

The series, which was just introduced this academic year, is intended to inform the campus community on issues that are relevant to the university. Each forum is open to the public; faculty and students alike are encouraged to attend.

The forum featured four panel speakers and was moderated by President Cheryl Schrader. “We created the series… to [provide] a venue where we could all come together, learn about topics of interest, and encourage dialogue,” she said in her opening remarks.

Following each speakers’ presentations, the discussion was turned over to the audience to ask questions and voice concerns.

The topic of discussion was the potential reorganization of colleges and schools on campus, particularly in health and human services.

An integrated, multidisciplinary health program would better suit the needs of the health care industry, according to Schrader in the forum.

The Dayton region is facing many complex issues; pursuing an integrated health care initiative at Wright State would better equip students to deal with meet community needs, according to speaker Joseph Keferl, dean of the College of Education and Human Services.

In addition, nearby universities such as Northern Kentucky, Notre Dame and West Virginia University, as well as others have already made the transition to this kind of model for health education, according to Keferl.

The move toward a multidisciplinary approach has been adopted not only across the region, but across the country. “Health care is moving fast… our students have to be prepared,” said Keferl during his presentation.

There is also a continued growing demand for positions in medicine, according to Brian Bucklew, CEO of the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association. Wright State is a key component for filling those positions.

Coordination between different dimensions of health care is critical to providing quality care, according to Tracey Stute, director at the Mental health and Recovery Board of Clark, Green, and Madison Counties. The workforce must be prepared to team-based approaches.

Some Wright State faculty have expressed concerns with the potential restructuring, particularly because the university continues to deal with budgetary remediation.

However, discussions regarding reorganization are still in early phases, according to Travis Doom, president of the faculty senate.

“We don’t know enough at this point to decide whether or not it is a good move… whatever ‘it’ might be,” he said in response to an audience question.

“As you bring more people into the framing of ideas very early on, people have to be more comfortable with ambiguity,” Schrader added.

Input, questions and recommendations for future Let’s Talk forums can be submitted on the university’s webpage.