APPENDIX 145 PHASE 1 – PRELIMINARY DISCUSSIONS Form Leadership Team Strong leadership is needed to provide guidance and direction though the proposal development phase. • Develop plan for working together and sharing information • Identify central contact person for merger Assess Value of Merger Completing the recommended analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT Analysis) will help identify the value of the merger. • Components of a successful merger include: – Directors, department heads, & deans who are willing to lead change and provide administrative support. – Benefits of merging can be clearly defined for all units involved. – Faculty who are willing to collaborate and explore new directions. – Strong leaders who are effective communicators and good listeners. • Complete a SWOT Analysis to discover new opportunities and manage and eliminate threats related to the merger. • Outline the Strengths and Weaknesses for each merging unit. STRENGTHS: • What are the strengths of your current unit? (rankings, grant support, teaching excellence, student success, recruiting – student and faculty, staff quality, campus and national/international reputation) WEAKNESSES: • Are there weaknesses in faculty and student recruiting and retention, departmental rankings and reputation, etc. • Outline the Opportunities and Threats for the new merged unit. OPPORTUNITIES: • Analyze your strengths and determine if these can be used to create new opportunities. • Analyze your weaknesses and look for ways that eliminating them can create opportunities. • What new opportunities are available to the merged unit? • What will you be able to do in the merged unit that you are not able to do in your separate units? MERGER GUIDELINES (from The University of Arizona 2-25-09) Appendix E APPENDIX 145