The college restructuring proposals that were rolled out in the Fall 2025 semester are no longer being considered, Marquette University Provost Debbie Tahmassebi announced at an April 20 University Academic Senate meeting.
The previous proposal, led by then Acting Provost Sarah Feldner, outlined three plans that would have split the College of Arts & Sciences into various other colleges based on topics of study, such as humanities and natural sciences. Some of the plans also split up other currently standing colleges, including the Colleges of Communication and Health Sciences.
Faculty expressed concerns during the fall 2025 semester over the potential damage that the previously proposed models would cause to the collaboration culture between colleges, saying that they ran counter to Marquette’s Jesuit mission. There was also skepticism over the extent to which the previous restructuring models would benefit the university.
In January 2026, Feldner announced more granular proposals, which were better received by faculty, saying that they outlined clearer goals and more specific desired outcomes.
Tahmassebi, who took over for Feldner in March, said while committees are still meeting to discuss future restructuring, they have not yet provided her with any findings and are still in the research phase.
“There are working groups who were tasked with deeper exploration as follow up to the college [reorganization] conversation that was happening,” Tahmassebi said.
Tahmassebi said some form of reorganization is still possible, however it will be based on the findings the work groups present to her.
“We remain focused on continued improvement,” she said.
This story was written by Sahil Gupta. He can be reached at [email protected].
