April 4, 2022: University Senate Report
Office of the Provost
Updates
Budget and Finance
The University’s Fiscal Year 22/23 budget cycle and the related Authorization to Recruit
(ATR) process is underway and the Office of the Provost has been working hard to improve
communication and transparency around the process. The Office of the Provost has sent
several communications sharing information to all Colleges and Schools, Administrative
Units, and Centers and Institutes under the Provost area. In addition, the Office
of the Provost has updated and enhanced the website to include all related instructions,
an infographic timeline, and required forms and templates needed to navigate the process.
As communicated, the hiring process builds upon the lessons learned from last year’s
pilot, which established the new framework based on a strategic and all-funds, multi-year
budgeting model. A survey to Deans and Chairs, input from the Senate and CAPRA and
a self-evaluation have helped identify critical areas of needed improvement that are
being implemented for this second round process. For instance, additional communications
have addressed what the new process is, why the new process is needed, the values
driving the process, operational considerations and the timeline. The Office of the
Provost is committed to transparency and openness of the process, which includes cross
campus
coordination. We will continue to communicate information, principles and procedures
with the campus community.
Meetings and presentations with the Office of the Provost will begin the first week of April. The Provost team will present to the University SBET during the second week of May and by the end of June, communication of hiring decisions will be finalized. At the same time, the FY22/23 detailed budget will be entered into the Campus Budget Module (CBM) and submitted to the University Budget office. The University Budget office will validate the budget submission against the Office of the Provost’s multi year forecast. There will be quarterly review meetings throughout FY22/23 that will compare budgets to actuals, and where variances will be addressed.
Research and Infrastructure
The Office of the Provost continues to be heavily engaged in supporting the research mission of the University. In partnership with the Office of the Vice President for Research, we co-hosted all the Tiger Teams town-hall meetings. These meetings saw an excellent participation of the research community, and featured engaging discussions focused on opportunities and challenges. Given the successful experience of the first group of Tiger Teams, the Office of the Provost and the Office of Vice President for Research are now finalizing the formation of Biomedical Tiger Teams. We are currently at the stage of forming the teams based on recommendations from Deans and Chairs. The Office of the Provost is committed to supporting the efforts of these teams and is currently running the ProFund seed grant program for whom the deadline is imminent (April 4th). We are also discussing additional mechanisms in which research can be supported.
The Office of the Provost is ready to launch a seed grant mechanism to promote the development of new research teams exploring interdisciplinary areas of scholarly work. This initiative is a response to the recommendations of the CASSH (Creative Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities) workgroup. On the infrastructure side, the bid for the space quality survey is in its final stages. We received strong applications, which are currently being evaluated by the Office of the Provost, Facilities and Services, and a representative of East Campus.
The Office of the Provost is also engaged with Facilities and Services, College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Chemistry in assisting with the renovation of the Chemistry building. Of the many activities around this project, the most recent one involved the Office efforts in identifying teaching spaces.
Faculty Affairs
Stony Brook University is participating in the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) survey of faculty job satisfaction. Hosted by the Harvard Graduate School of Education since 2003, this survey is designed to offer schools detailed job satisfaction data compared to peer institutions, and will help us enhance our faculty experience, as well as attract and retain the best and brightest talent. All eligible faculty must have received a link by now. If you have not received the link, please check your spam folder and contact us if the link is missing. This serves as a reminder to complete the survey as participation of faculty is critical in this matter. The survey will remain open until Monday, April 11th.
To encourage and support promising early career faculty, the University, through the Provost’s Office, provides research, scholarship and art-making funding opportunities. Five Stony Brook Foundation Trustees Faculty Awards of $20,000 each are competitively available to early career faculty. The Office of the Provost is extending the deadline for nominations to April 15, 2022. The further information is available on the Faculty Pathways website.
The Office of the Provost is organizing a retreat for current and new chairs on May 23-24, 2022. We are planning on bringing new and current chairs together to meet with senior administrators, find out more about various processes on campus related to human resources, budgeting, faculty and student’s mental health, discuss leadership styles, and how to navigate difficult conversations.
Enrollment Management
The Division of Enrollment Management has been planning the Admitted Student Days slated for April 2 and April 9. Over the course of those two days, each of the individual undergraduate schools and colleges will host admitted students on campus. Campus tours, mock lectures, panels, and student activities will all be available as students make the decision on whether or not to enroll at Stony Brook University for the fall. Undergraduate Admissions is still taking volunteer students, faculty and staff from all across campus to ensure that we reopen campus to large visits and show our Sea Wolf pride. Please contact Robert Pertusati if you are interested in volunteering on one or both days.
Applications from both in-state and out-of-state students are ahead of previous years with increases in the undergraduate as well as graduate populations. The Office of Financial Aid and Undergraduate Admissions have made the majority of their incoming student scholarship and aid offers for the Fall 2022 incoming student groups. As you see seniors on campus over the next few weeks, feel free to welcome them to the Sea Wolf family.
To improve the out-of-state undergraduate recruitment, the Office of Undergraduate
Admissions is seeking to hire out of state admission representatives. Please encourage
recent graduates and student leaders to apply as they will be the first people from
Stony Brook that many of our potential out of state students will meet. These will
be traveling positions across a variety of markets and could be a great first career
to learn about higher education, and these positions include travel perks. Please
contact Judith
Burke-Berhannan if you have any questions.
As we “gear up” for more in-person activities and recruitment, EM would like to encourage all faculty and staff to “Go Red” on Fridays with your Stony Brook University gear. As Fridays are large visit days, we would love for you to show your Stony Brook University pride.
Undergraduate Education
The Office of the Provost is deeply committed to student success and over the last year, has been working in partnership with the Office of the President to identify barriers to undergraduate student retention and on-time graduation. One of the most significant barriers to both issues has been course availability for our students.
With the support of President McInnis, the Office of the Provost has established a pilot program to invest in increased lectureship lines in areas identified as high-need and high-impact to student success. The program will be administered by the Vice Provost for Curriculum and Undergraduate Education, who will work with Schools and Colleges to hire additional lectureship lines and ease course demand in our most over-subscribed areas.
This first step towards enhancing student success is just the first of many, and we look forward to growing and expanding this program beyond this first pilot year in parallel with other initiatives to support our undergraduate students.
Curriculum
In Fall 2021, the Office of the Provost began piloting a homegrown platform to submit academic program proposals electronically. This automated multi-level workflow allows users to review, approve, or check the status of proposals in one centralized hub. The pilot launched under the Graduate School and has since expanded to include programs reviewed by the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee, the College of Business Curriculum Review Committee, and SPD Council. The Office of the Provost expects to complete its rollout by Spring 2023.
Graduate School
At the last Senate meeting, the Office of the Provost announced a joint initiative with the University Senate to create a working group on graduate education. As a reminder, the working group’s goal is to review the current programs and services the graduate school is providing to the community, come up with new proposals for extending the services and programming, and reevaluate the structure of the unit to make it more efficient and effective.
The working group has 17 members. A majority of the group is drawn from graduate program coordinators, graduate program directors, and members of the graduate council. The working group also includes representatives for graduate students, the staff of the graduate school, and university administration.
The working group met for the first time on March 21st and has now begun their process by gathering information from the university community. They have distributed a survey to graduate programs coordinators and graduate programs directors asking them to reflect on current practices. They have also had meetings with the full staff of the graduate school, as well as graduate students and Turner scholars. Finally, the working group is undertaking an analysis of graduate services and structures at other AAU universities.
The chair of the working group, Richard Gerrig, is available to answer any questions you might have.
Global Affairs
International Academic Programs relaunched study abroad programs for the spring 2022 semester, and are recruiting students for Summer and Fall 2022 study abroad programs. The Tanzania Study Abroad program was recently selected as a semi-finalist in the U.S. Department of State IDEAS (Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for US Students) Grant.
The Office of Global Affairs continues to provide engagement opportunities for international students through various events hosted this semester. Current SBU students are invited to apply to become a Global Student Ambassador or an International Peer Mentor, and Stony Brook University international students are encouraged to apply to be part of the newly formed International Student Advisory Council launching this fall.
Provost Lecture Series
The Provost’s Lecture Series is pleased to host Rob Basso on Wednesday, April 6, 2022.
Rob Basso is a seasoned entrepreneur and author of the business book, The Everyday
Entrepreneur: Apply the Triple Threat of Ambition, Confidence, and Conviction for
Success on Your Own Terms. Working his way up from salesman to successful CEO, Basso
has built and sold several payroll and HR
businesses to public companies and has been involved in a number of multimillion-dollar
deals. He has appeared more than 100 times on national cable news networks including
Fox News, Fox Business, MSNBC and CNBC.
During his talk, Basso will share his personal story, highlight effective approaches for taking calculated risks, and discuss how to become an effective leader and communicator. He will also explain how to identify and take advantage of business opportunities. Students will learn about the mindset, skills, and creativity they need to become successful entrepreneurs and lead their own businesses. Basso will interact with students, share business scenarios, and ask and answer questions.
He will present his lecture, “Apply the Triple Threat of Ambition, Confidence and Conviction for Success On Your Own Terms,” Wednesday, April 6, at 7:00 PM in the Charles B. Wang Center. Meet and greet reception begins at 6:00 PM in the Theatre Lobby. Seating for this lecture is limited and is on a first-come basis. For more information, please email provostlectureseries@stonybrook.edu.
This event is co-sponsored by the College of Business, Center of Entrepreneurial Finance, Innovation Center, and the Office of Alumni Relations.
University Accolades
Congratulations to the new cohort of SUNY Distinguished Professors:
- Dr. Carol A. Carter, Distinguished Professor, Microbiology and Immunology
- Dr. Leonie Huddy, Distinguished Professor, Political Science
- Dr. Richard K. Larson, Distinguished Professor, Linguistics
- Dr. Robert E. Shrock, Distinguished Professor, C.N. Yang Institute
- Dr. Katy Siegel, Distinguished Professor, Art
- Dr. Jadranka Skorin-Kapov, Distinguished Teaching Professor, College of Business
- Dr. Vincent W. Yang, Distinguished Professor, Medicine, RSoM
Dennis Parnell Sullivan Awarded the 2022 Abel Prize for Mathematics
Heather Lynch Awarded Pew Charitable Trusts Fellowship in Marine Conservation
Flescher Appointed to NYS Transplant Council
Groundbreaking New Interdisciplinary Research Network to be Led by Anissa Abi-Dargham