Faculty members from the Colleges of Education and Family and Consumer Sciences voted in favor of the proposed plan to combine the two colleges.

Of the votes, 79 percent were cast in favor of the proposed plan, which would save the university an estimated $500,000 a year, as well as increase collaboration between faculty of the two colleges.

“The reason for which we began this project was we were moved to it by the budget,” said Associate Provost Susan Carlson, a member of the Planning Committee for the Combination of the Colleges of Education and Family and Consumer Sciences.

She said many administrative functions currently performed separately in each college could be combined to increase efficiency, like the dean’s office and the student services office.

“Saved funds would be re-allocated into faculty lines to fund faculty in priority areas [of the new college] to build programs,” said committee member Pamela White, interim dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

The plan recommends that funds saved next year will be spent on remodeling the east wing of MacKay Hall, which will be the location of the new college’s student services office.

Alternatively, the plan suggests using the first year of savings to create new academic and scholarship programs. Funds saved after that would be spent on faculty and in other academic areas.

The combination of the two colleges will improve academic programs and research, said committee member Jerry Thomas, interim dean of the College of Education.

“The curriculum and instructional department shares the early childhood program with human development and family studies — [the combination] will make it easier for them to work together on that shared program,” Thomas said.

He cited other examples of shared programs that would function more efficiently in a single college, like as a new degree program in diet and exercise, and a program in health and human performance and food science and human nutrition departments.

Thomas said a new research group on obesity — currently made up of faculty from four departments — would also benefit from the combination.

“At this point, the provost is determining what recommendation he would like to make to the faculty senate,” White said.

The provost will present the plan to the Faculty Senate on Tuesday. The senate will vote on the plan in December. If approved, the plan will then be sent to ISU President Gregory Geoffroy, who will then send it to the Board of Regents for final approval. If the plan is approved, it will be implemented on July 1, 2005.

The 19-member planning committee is made up of faculty and staff members from the Colleges of Education and Family and Consumer Sciences. The committee was formed in March, and has held several public forums and polls to get input on the plan from students, faculty, staff and alumni. Students and alumni were also involved in work groups that discussed key aspects of the plan.