Integration Updates
November 2025:
Functional Integration Team (FIT) launched, members include Jennifer Bittle, Beth Hubbert, Anne Peters, Joan Duncan, Joe Izbrand, Monica Taylor, Sylvia Geedman, Lety Laurel, Lizette Yanes, Jennifer Horton and Kimberly Maldonado.
Twelve working groups have been established to focus on key priorities:
- Brand Identity Strategy & Governance
- Integrated Marketing & Campaigns
- Social Media Marketing & Engagement
- Creative Services
- Content Strategy
- Media and Public Relations
- Digital Experience
- Executive Communications
- Clinical Marketing
- Reputation & Thought Leadership Strategy
Peer Institution Benchmarking - The team has begun collecting and analyzing organizational models from peer and nationally recognized institutions. Work informs best-in-class structures that can scale to meet the needs of the new university.
Working Group Activation - Wave 1 of five working groups—Organizational Structure, Executive Communications, Internal Communications, Web, and Social Media—has launched. These groups are conducting discovery, mapping current-state practices, and identifying opportunities for alignment and improvement. Waves 2 and 3 launching Q3FY26 and Q4FY26
Change Management Learning Journey - Senior leaders from the department will participate in a tailored change-leadership learning series. These sessions are designed to build capacity, strengthen leadership effectiveness, and ensure teams are well supported through a period of significant transformation.
Monthly FIT Meetings - A regular meeting cadence is now established to coordinate progress, share updates and advance deliverables. Cross-disciplinary collaboration and shared technology platforms are being used to keep multiple workstreams aligned, on task and on schedule.
Previous Updates:
The merger prospectus was reviewed and approved by the SACSCOC Board in June 2025.
The Task Force submitted the prospectus to SACSCOC in March 2025. SACSCOC will vote to approve the prospectus at their June 2025 Board meeting.
Members focused on finalizing a prospectus for submission by mid-March 2025.
Based on positive feedback on the new, combined mission statement through each institution’s shared governance process, the university presented the statement to the UT System Board of Regents for approval on November 20, 2024. The new mission statement was approved, marking a key milestone.
