After helping the University to achieve financial stability, Provost Betty Ivey prepares to retire.

When Elizabeth S. Ivey joined the University of Hartford as provost in 1995, she walked head-on into one of the most difficult and challenging periods in the institution's history.

Now, as she prepares for her June 30 retirement, Ivey sees a University that is far different from the one she first encountered five years ago.

During the recession of the early- and mid-1990s, academic institutions around the country found themselves faced with serious budget deficits and declining enrollments, and the University of Hartford was no exception. As the University's chief academic officer, Ivey was immediately called upon to make difficult and often painful decisions in order to get the institution back on solid financial footing. At the same time, many of the University's top administrative offices (including that of president and two vice presidents) changed hands, and Ivey helped to provide consistency during those transitions.

Today the University of Hartford is enjoying a dramatic recovery. Full-time undergraduate enrollment is at an all-time high, and the University is expected to achieve a balanced budget for the third year in a row. In addition, the institution is laying the groundwork for future growth, with a successful fund-raising campaign and the development of a comprehensive Campus Master Plan.

President Walter Harrison said that Ivey has played a significant role in the University's turnaround.

"Betty's efforts have left the University of Hartford a much stronger institution than when she arrived," Harrison said. "Her steady hand and strong management skills played a critical role in steering the University through the difficult period of the mid-1990s and into the recovery that we are now experiencing. The University truly is in her debt."

The provost has a broad range of academic and administrative responsibilities, including overseeing the University's nine schools and colleges and such areas as student affairs, residential life, admissions, and financial aid.

Ivey's accomplishments include the following:

• In 1995-96, Ivey led the committee that developed the University's Strategic Plan, which established short- and long-term goals and priorities for the institution.
• She spearheaded an administrative reorganization within the University's nine schools and colleges. Among other things, the reorganization reduced the number of college deans from nine to six, giving some deans administrative responsibility for two or three schools, a concept known as "cluster management." The changes played a significant role in helping to resolve the University's financial problems.
• Ivey played a key role in the design of a number of successful grant proposals. Her work helped to secure a major National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to redesign the curriculum in the College of Engineering; an NSF grant to improve the learning of science, math, engineering, and technology among female and minority students; and a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education to expand the University's innovative First-Year Interest Group program.
• Ivey also played a major role in securing a grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to develop the Campus Master Plan and has helped to drive the master planning process.
• Ivey helped to contain costs by implementing a comprehensive program review process that led to the elimination of courses and majors that were identified as not academically or financially viable. That way, the University's limited resources could be targeted toward its strongest programs and toward vital expenses such as technology.
• Ivey was instrumental in the development of Hartford College for Women's Academic Express program, which provides accelerated evening and weekend classes to address the educational needs of women balancing careers and families.
• Ivey was a leader in creating a Technology Planning Committee, which has successfully implemented a number of major projects, including the wiring of all residence halls for Internet access.
• She led the establishment of the University's new Faculty Center for Learning Development, which offers faculty members the equipment and expertise to help them incorporate technology into their teaching.
• In cooperation with the Faculty Senate, she oversaw the development of a number of changes that are designed to strengthen the promotion and tenure process. Among other things, the changes provide more consistency across colleges in the requirements for promotion and tenure and call for an outside evaluation of faculty members seeking promotion and tenure.
• Ivey has encouraged greater collaboration among the University's nine schools and colleges. Pending state approval, the University will launch a new program next fall in Interactive Information Technology, which will be the first "all-University major" that is not based at any one college.

Ivey said she is pleased with the gains that the University has made over the past five years.

"Not everything I envisioned has come to pass. But I am proud of our progress in the last five years and the imprint we have etched for the future," Ivey said.

"The financial deficit was our toughest challenge. I am pleased that we came together to hold the line, make sacrifices, eke out productivity gains, and make the decisions necessary to bring the budget into balance," Ivey said.

Even after she retires, Ivey will still play an important role at the University. After stepping down as provost, Ivey will work part-time leading a comprehensive, year-long self-assessment of the University, which is required as part of the reaccreditation process by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

Meanwhile, the University continues to move forward with the search for Ivey's successor. The Provost Search Committee is in the process of interviewing candidates, with the goal of having a new provost in place when Ivey steps down on June 30.

After she retires, Ivey plans to continue her active involvement with a number of regional and national higher education organizations. For example, she will to work with the NEASC to develop accreditation standards for distance learning programs. A physics professor with a Ph.D. in acoustical engineering, Ivey also will maintain active roles with the Association for Women in Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Acoustical Society of America.

Of course, she also looks forward to spending more time with her husband, Robert Klein, and their five grown children and six grandchildren. Ivey and Klein live in Bloomfield, Conn.

Before coming to the University of Hartford, Ivey taught physics at a number of colleges and universities around the country and served on the faculty of Smith College for 20 years. In addition to writing a book and many scholarly publications, Ivey has worked as a consultant for a variety of corporations and government agencies.

Ivey said she will leave the University of Hartford with many fond memories. "The people here are great," Ivey said. "I find the University's entrepreneurial spirit to be one of its greatest strengths. People here are willing to move into new curricular directions and to try new things.

"There are programs here like the AUC (All-University Curriculum) and FIGs (First-Year Interest Groups) that we are nationally known for in the higher education community, and that makes me proud."