October 2026 University Senate Report

Submitted on September 28 for the October meeting

Provost's Initiatives and Leadership Appointments

October 5: “Midterms Matter: What’s at Stake” panel discussion

In collaboration with the Center for Civic Justice, the Provost’s Office will host a panel conversation, Midterms Matter: What’s at Stake, at 5:30 p.m. Monday, October 5. The panel will include Musa al Gharbi, School of Communication and Journalism; Lisa Benz Scott, Program in Public Health; Kristen Brock-Petroshius, School of Social Welfare, and Ryan Vander Wielen, College of Arts and Sciences. The conversation will be moderated by Carl W. Lejuez, provost and executive vice president.

Academic Programs

Mathematics for Professional Practice MA (New Program, 09/2026)
Mathematics MA (Revision, 09/2026)
Post-Professional Occupational Therapy OTD (New Program, 09/2026)

Climate & Sustainability Programming

C4E’s Second National Special: Forever Chemicals Kickoff event

On Thursday, October 1, the Collaborative for the Earth (C4E) hosted a kickoff event to showcase our second national broadcast special on "forever chemicals." Created, recorded, and edited by Dr. Heather Lynch and J.D. Allen, this project dives deep into the urgent environmental and public health impacts of PFAS contamination.

November 4: Presentation from founder of Re-Wild Long Island

Wednesday, November 4

12:30 - 1:50 p.m.

Wang Center - Room 301

The Collaborative for the Earth will host Raju Rajan, Ph.D., founder of Re-Wild Long Island for a conversation about his work and potential collaborations with the Stony Brook community. Rajan will discuss his vision for a responsibly developed LLM-based app that aims to turn interest in native plants and environmental concerns into local action using trusted, human-curated data. Rajan seeks local experts, datasets, and strategic partners and to co-create guidelines for sustainable and equitable use of community tech.

Educational and Institutional Effectiveness

Assessment Symposium 2026: Closing the Loop in Programmatic Assessment

October 27, 2026

9:00 am - 3:00 pm

SBU Union Ballroom

Registration deadline: Monday, October 12

Join us for the fifth annual Assessment Symposium featuring keynote speaker Keston Fulcher PhD. Through focused mini-lectures, hands-on activities, collaborative problem-solving, and practical program-level examples, participants will explore how to move beyond collecting assessment data and use evidence to improve student learning. Come ready to reflect, connect, and leave with actionable strategies to strengthen assessment in your program.

If the event is full, email educationaleffectiveness@stonybrook.edu to request a spot on the wait list.

Register for our Assessment Cafés

Join us each month this fall for our Assessment Cafés, an informal gathering of assessment coordinators to connect, share ideas, and discuss the highs and lows of assessment. The cafés will feature guest speakers from across campus and topic themes, as well as coffee and light snacks. The cafés will be from 10 - 11 a.m. in the OEE Conference Room, N3070 Melville Library.

October 15 - Closing the Loop with Amy Milligan
November 19 - General Education with Kara DeSanna
December 3 - Semester Debrief with Coordinators

Reserve a seat at the café

Love Data Week: Accepting Proposals

The Division of Educational and Institutional Effectiveness will host Love Data Week February 8-12, 2027. The event is a great way to share how you collect, use, analyze, and communicate data in your work. We’re looking for proposals for 30-minute Zoom sessions, data-themed tables at our open house, and student poster presentations. Join us and spread the data love!

The deadline for proposals is Friday, November 20.

Submit a Love Data Week proposal

General Education Assessment

OEE will begin the next general education assessment cycle this fall for STEM+, CER, GLO, USA, LANG. In mid-October, deans and department chairs will be notified of the spring 2027 assessment approach, and assessment coordinators will receive faculty lists to identify participants. Student focus groups will take place in November, and faculty will receive a reminder in early December to begin compiling fall data. In February, our assessment consultant will hold 45-minute guided conversations with faculty, followed by upper-division student focus groups in mid-April 2027.

Faculty Affairs

Draft P&T guidelines shared

A new draft of the Provost/EVP-SBMHS guidelines was distributed to the whole campus community (all faculty and staff on both sides of campus), for comment (August 28 through September 11), revision, and finalization.

Promotion and Tenure Listening sessions

We held six promotion and tenure listening sessions between September 2 and September 8 for all Schools/Colleges on both sides of campus. The aim was to clarify any questions about the new Provost/EVP-SBMHS promotion and tenure guidelines, to take any feedback about those guidelines before finalization, and to make sure that the new guidelines present no unanticipated issues for specific Schools/Colleges or disciplines.

Chairs and Deans meetings

Our team hosted meetings for department chairs and school/college deans with PRODiG+ Fellows in either year 2 (September 1) or Year 1 (September 17). The aim was to make sure all departmental and School/College administrators understand the new PRODiG+ framework and guidelines, that we’re providing the best support for our Fellows, and that the expectations at each stage of the process are being clearly communicated.

Faculty search best practices sessions

We held two “Best Practices in Faculty Search” sessions for chairs and search committee chairs in departments with searches this semester. One session focused on searches in STEM fields and the other on searches in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Both featured Judith Brown Clarke, vice president for equity and inclusion and chief health equity officer, and Marjolie Leonard Coker, assistant vice president of the Office of Equity and Access. We shared department-specific demographic data to help those involved in searches think expansively and strategically about how to broaden their search pools and recruit top talent.

Faculty Development

Sessions for new faculty

The Provost’s Office partnered with the Graduate School to promote the Best Practices in Research Mentoring series held September 11 and September 18. We also held a Promotion and Tenure session September 25 to help new faculty better understand the process and what to expect.

On October 7, CELT will lead a session about accessibility in the classroom, and on October 22, the Provost’s Office will partner with Libraries to help new faculty understand and use library resources.

Sessions for new chairs

For the second year, the Provost’s Office is offering a training series for new department chairs. This year, we have 12 new chairs across East and West Campus. All of them have been invited to participate in sessions about building partnerships with Student Affairs, Educational & Institutional Effectiveness, and the Ombuds Office. Additional sessions for the fall will focus on AI and wearable technology in the classroom, Title II, and budgeting.

Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT)

Workshops and Resources

All of our workshops for 2026-27 can be found on CELT’s Calendar of Events.

If you would like to schedule an individual consultation or a workshop for your department, contact CELT.

Accessibility

Need help making your PDFs accessible? Submit them to CELT for PDF remediation.

Access: A Quest toward Inclusion!

Want to create more accessible learning environments for your students? Join our self-paced Brightspace Course, Access: A Quest toward Inclusion!, to gain practical strategies for digital accessibility, earn a digital badge, and be entered into a raffle to unlock extra course remediation support (50 pages or slides or two hours of video transcription) and CELT swag. You can enroll by following the link above and then clicking on the blue button that says “Enroll in Course.” Alternatively, you can find the course in the Discover tab of Brightspace by searching for the title and then Self-Enroll.

Students have a course as well! Feel free to share this information with your classes:

Build valuable skills in digital inclusion and help make Stony Brook a more welcoming campus! Join our self-paced Brightspace Course, Unlocking Access: Building Inclusive Spaces as Students, to learn how to create accessible digital content, earn a digital badge for your resume, and be entered into a raffle to get an SBU blanket and CELT chapstick. You can enroll by following the link above and then clicking on the blue button that says “Enroll in Course.” Alternatively, you can find the course in the Discover tab of Brightspace by searching for the title and then Self-Enroll.

New Issue of IJTTL Coming Soon – and We Want to Hear from You!

We are excited to share that the fourth issue of CELT's educational research journal - the International Journal of Transformative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (IJTTL) - will be published soon! As we celebrate this new issue, we are also looking ahead to Issue 5, expected in February 2027, and invite you to consider sharing your work with us.

IJTTL welcomes research and practice-based work that explores innovative and transformative approaches to teaching and learning in higher education. Empirical studies, research briefs, practice-based articles, conceptual pieces, and reviews are all welcome. There are no fees to submit or publish, and all articles are freely available to readers.

Learn about IJTTL and submit your work

Enrollment Management

Office of the Registrar

Beginning of term attendance verification in progress for fall 2026

At the beginning of the term, faculty/instructors are asked to indicate if a student enrolled in a course has not attended at all.

Academic Calendar

Friday, October 9: Drop Down: Last day to submit an approved adjustment form for selected AMS, MAT, MAP and PHY courses to the Office of Registrar.
Monday, October 12 to Tuesday, October 13: Fall Break: No Classes in Session
Tuesday, October 17: Modern Campus Catalog Published for Spring 2027
Monday, October 19: Course Schedule Published in SOLAR for Winter and Spring 2027
Friday, October 23:
- Section/Credit Change Form: Last day to submit a Section/Credit Change Form to the Office of Registrar. Changes must be processed by 4:00 PM. After this date petition is required and "W" (withdrawal) will be recorded on transcript.
- GPNC: Last day students can select Grade/Pass/No Credit (GPNC). Non-petitionable.
- Course Withdrawal: Last day students can process a withdrawal from individual courses(es) via SOLAR. "W" (withdrawal) will be recorded on transcript.
Monday, October 26: Major/Minor Changes Begin: Students can begin to submit major/minor changes effective Spring Semester.

Undergraduate Admissions

We are excited to welcome the largest undergraduate class in university history for the fall 2026 semester, coming in at over 4,150 new first-year students. In addition to our first-year class, we grew our entering transfer class size by around 130 students.

We hosted Seawolf Preview Day (fall open house) on September 19 and welcomed over 500 guests. Our next program is scheduled for October 12, where we’ll welcome over 900 guests. Included in these counts are prospective first year and transfer students who are considering applying to the university for the spring or fall 2027 semesters.

On November 3 we will host 100 school counselors from across Long Island on campus. Included in the day will be campus highlights and updates, a campus tour, and a student panel.

Global Affairs

International Academic Programs (IAP)

Fall 2026 marks significant growth for the Freshman Launch Year Program (FLY), with 242 students participating (240 new admits, and 2 who extended from Spring 2026), compared with 70 students in Fall 2025.
With the support of the academic departments, we expanded STEM course access to FLY. We are offering critical courses such as CHE 131/133 and math courses at our 2 FLY locations (Florence and SUNY Korea), allowing students to begin their required course sequence while abroad.
We are also offering IAP 100 - Global Seminar course for the first time in Fall 2026 for the FLY cohort, following the course’s approval in July 2026. The new one credit course provides students with a structured academic experience designed to support engagement in required activities, reflection, intercultural learning, and their connection and transition to SBU.

Graduate School

Postdoc LINK Research Symposium

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs hosted the Postdoc LINK Research Symposium on Thursday, September 17, celebrating the work, ideas, and impact of postdoctoral scholars across disciplines. LINK stands for Leadership, Innovation, Networking, and Knowledge — the core values reflected in the postdoctoral experience and in the contributions postdocs make to the university’s research community. The symposium brought together postdocs, faculty, campus partners, and university leaders for a day of research presentations, interdisciplinary exchange, professional connection, and recognition of postdoctoral achievement. The keynote speaker was Dr. Sonali Majumdar, Assistant Dean for Professional Development at Princeton University and author of Thriving As An International Scientist. Award recipients were: Dr. Samantha Cobos, Neurobiology and Behavior (LINK Lightning Talk Award); Dr. Alix de Jersey, SoMAS (Poster Presentation Award); Dr. Jaclyn Mauro, Chemistry (LINK Innovation Award); Dr. Jonathan Plessis-Belair, Neurobiology and Behavior (Postdoc Leadership Award); and Dr. Jessica Seeliger, Pharmacological Sciences (Best Faculty Mentor of a Postdoc).

Research Project Management

Wednesday, October 14, 2026 | 12:30 pm to 1:45 pm | Virtual

Researchers require advanced project management skills to accomplish their goals, and yet rarely receive formal training in the administrative, organizational, and metacognitive aspects of research project management. Graduate students and postdocs are invited to join this workshop to learn more about the elements of managing research projects and develop a plan for their own projects.

Telling the Story of Your Research: Communication Strategies for Humanities Scholars

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 | 12:30 pm to 1:45 pm | In Person

This interactive workshop prepares graduate students in the humanities with the research communication skills necessary to lead effective teaching, presentations, and interdisciplinary dialogue. Hosted by the Graduate School in collaboration with CELT.

Equity in Graduate Education (EGE) Workshops

The Graduate School and Center for Inclusive Education (CIE) are holding a series of workshops with graduate admissions committees to share best practices and strategies related to graduate admissions. Please contact Katie Flood in the Graduate School if you’d like to arrange a training for your program.

Save the Day: Service Weekend with the Graduate School and the Center for Service Learning and Community Service

The Graduate School and the Center for Service Learning and Community Service (Career Center) are collaborating to create community service opportunities for Stony Brook University graduate students. We will be hosting a variety of service day opportunities on Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24. Complete our Graduate School Community Service Interest Form to be notified when registration is open.

Undergraduate Education

Student Progress Reports

Student Progress Report dates have been scheduled for Fall 2026 and Spring 2027. Faculty feedback through progress reports is a critical component of supporting students. Not all instructors will receive a progress report request every semester, but can provide feedback on students at any time. More information can be found in progress report FAQs.

Fall 2026 Progress Reports will run from Wednesday, September 16 to Wednesday, October 14.
Spring 2027 Progress Reports will run from Wednesday, February 17 to Wednesday, March 17.