November 6, 2023: University Senate Report
Office of the Provost
Initiatives
Strategic Plan Launch
In an event that attracted hundreds of staff, faculty, and students, Stony Brook University launched its new strategic plan, Our Moment. More than 200 staff, faculty, and students attended the October 4 strategic plan launch event in person, and another 200-plus viewed the launch event via live stream. The strategic plan will be complemented by a university-wide "annual action plan" developed each spring. Annual action plans will outline specific initiatives to drive toward achieving the vision in Our Moment, and will provide a mechanism to share progress each year.
Time Vectors
The committee tasked with proposing a reimagined time period schedule completed its analysis and their recommendations were shared at the University Senate meeting on October 2. A survey seeking feedback has also been open through October. More detail on their recommendations is available on the Registrar's Office website.
Academic Programs
Recently approved programs:
- Decision Analytics MS, 9/2023
- Music Performance MM & DMA revision, 10/2023
- Human-Centered Data Science AGC, 10/2023
Faculty Development
Provost Lectures and Talks
The Office of the Provost has launched a new approach to the Provost's Lectures and Talks. Moving forward, the Provost's Lecture Series will feature SUNY Distinguished Academy faculty members to share their research and scholarship with the Stony Brook University community. This academic year, the series will start with talks by Professors Georges Fouron of Africana Studies and Martin Rocek of Physics and Astronomy on November 14.
In addition to the Provost's Lecture Series, two other new programs will provide avenues to academic units to invite scholarly guest speakers, the Provost Spotlight Talk and Provost-Sponsored Talks. Please visit our website to learn about these programs and how to engage in them.
Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE)
Following up on the discussion about the themes to address by the working group, six subcommittees have been charged and will work on a report with the findings and recommendations. It is anticipated that the work will be finalized at the end of the fall semester.
Navigating SBU
This program for early-career faculty held a workshop on Friday, October 13, about faculty mentoring. The workshop hosted mentors and mentees and was co-facilitated by the Center for Inclusive Education and the Career Center.
Emerging Leaders
This program, created to foster the development of the next generation of higher-education leaders in research, education, and administration, kicked off on October 20 for its third cohort. The first session on Leadership Styles was facilitated by the Career Center.
Chairs Workshops
Support of our departmental chairs has continued in the form of workshops on the topic of Best Practices in Faculty Recruitment. These sessions were co-facilitated by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer.
Senior Leaders Onboarding Program
The Provost's Office continued to host the leadership on-boarding series for deans and vice provosts. A session led by Enterprise Risk Management took place on October 20.
Academic Affairs
Promotion and Tenure
We are grateful to all the faculty, staff, and administrators who provided thoughts and questions on the promotion and tenure process. We have focused on creating a clear calendar, clarifying and standardizing the external letter selection and process, the midpoint review, hosting workshops for new faculty and staff, and an annual celebration for newly tenured and promoted faculty each September. As mentioned at the last Senate meeting, we look forward to answering questions at the November meeting.
SUNY AI Report
SUNY Fact2 has recently published a preliminary report regarding AI entitled "Fact2 Guide to Optimizing AI in Higher Education." In addition, faculty are invited to complete a Faculty AI Survey. If you have any questions about generative AI in learning and teaching, please contact celt@stonybrook.edu to schedule a consultation.
Enrollment Management Division
Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Services
Eagerly awaiting the release of the 2024-25 FAFSA by the US Department of Education.
Registrar's Office
Friday, October 27
- GPNC: Last day students can select Grade/Pass/No Credit (GPNC). Changes must be processed by 4 pm. Non-petitionable.
- Course Withdrawal: Last day students can process a withdrawal from individual course(s) via SOLAR. "W" (withdrawal) will be recorded on transcript. Changes must be processed by 4 pm.
Monday, October 30
- Major/Minor Changes Begin: Students can begin to submit major/minor changes effective spring semester.
Monday, November 6
- Advanced Registration: Tentatively to begin for winter and spring
Undergraduate Admissions
Early Action Application Deadline
The early action application deadline was October 15. We saw strong interest from out-of-state applicants. As we track applications through the cycle, please keep in mind that early action was a new initiative for us this year so year-to-date applications counts are not comparable.
SUNY Free Application Week
The SUNY free application week ran from October 16-29. Students were able to apply for free to five SUNY schools.
SUNY Operation Inform Program
Stony Brook hosted the SUNY Operation Inform Program for over 100 high school counselors on October 11. Breakout sessions included financial aid, Simons STEM Scholars, SUNY system updates, and EOP.
Seawolf Preview Day
Approximately 500 guests were on campus on October 28 for our fall open house, Seawolf Preview Day.
Virtual Counselor Sessions
Two virtual school counselor sessions were hosted in October to help inform them of SBU.
Undergraduate Education
Spring 2024 Course Registration
Course registration for winter and spring begins on Monday, November 6, and runs through Friday, November 17, based upon seniority by credits. Beginning October 30, students can submit major/minor changes effective for spring 2024, and can begin viewing the class schedule and date/time of their enrollment appointments. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their general academic advisor and major/minor advisor to review their academic plan.
SBU 102 Instructors Needed
We still need SBU 102 instructors for spring 2024. Each spring, every first-year student is required to take a one-credit seminar with some of our most dynamic faculty. These faculty engage with students in a small seminar setting once a week. Classes are scheduled for either 80 minutes a week for 10 weeks or 55 minutes a week for 14 weeks. Compensation for SBU 102 will be $1,500 per one-credit session. Faculty interested in teaching can fill out this interest form or email mariana.torres@stonybrook.edu for more information.
Fall 2023 Student Progress Reports
Fall 2023 student progress reports concluded on October 18. Thanks to your efforts, we achieved our highest participation rate at 67%. Academic advisors are currently following up with students to offer resources and support.
Graduate School
Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives
Elizabeth (Liz) Boon, professor of chemistry, has joined the Graduate School as associate dean for strategic initiatives. Boon will support training grant proposals, spearhead Graduate School grant applications, and work on strategic initiatives such as mentoring compacts.
Conversations in Graduate Education
The next installment of the Graduate School's Conversations in Graduate Education series features Dr. Katina Rogers, author of "Putting the Humanities PhD to Work." Rogers will present on "Unexpected Flourishing: Supporting Graduate Student Research and Careers" on November 8 at 1 pm via Zoom. Register here.
Equity in Graduate Education Consortium
Stony Brook has joined the Equity in Graduate Education Consortium. All SBU faculty and staff are welcome to join the consortium's Zoom discussion series. The next session, on November 29 at 3 pm, will address "Developing High Quality Interviews" in light of the SCOTUS SFFA decisions released in June.
Recruitment Funding
The Graduate School provided funding to 13 East and West Campus Master's programs to help them increase enrollments. Programs will use the funds to update and enhance websites, attend recruitment events, promote their programs over social media, and more.
Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, Institutional Research, and HR are improving tracking of SBU postdoctoral scholars, the number of which is an important AAU metric. With a broad new definition of postdoctoral scholar that includes all those doing postdoctoral advanced training regardless of official job title, SBU will be able to better identify and serve all postdocs. Starting in October, all east and west campus departments are asked to add the new contact category "postdoctoral scholar" to the PeopleSoft record of any new and existing postdoctoral scholars. Questions on this process can be directed to Assistant Dean Kathleen Ehm, director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, at postdocs@stonybrook.edu, or by attending an upcoming information session. RSVP for an info session.
Global Affairs
International Education Week
OGA is offering a variety of programs in celebration of International Education Week November 13-17, 2023.
Stony Brook Institute at Anhui University
The first cohort of Stony Brook Institute at Anhui University students (approximately 47) started their studies at SBU this fall, and the on-boarding of these students has been very smooth thanks to the efforts of many offices on campus: Admissions, ATAS, CEAS, ISE, PHY, AMS, WRT, and more.
Institutional and Educational Effectiveness
Middle States Re-accreditation
A draft of the self study that has been prepared for the reaffirmation of Stony Brook's accreditation through the Middle States Commission for Higher Education has been distributed to the campus for review and comment. More information is available.
The chair of the site visit team, Dr. Bruce Jarrell, president of the University of Maryland Baltimore, will visit campus on November 30 for a preliminary visit with university leadership and the steering committee of the accreditation team.
The full site visit will take place Sunday, April 7, to Wednesday, April 10.
Second Annual Assessment Symposium
The Office of Educational Effectiveness continues to host a number of workshops throughout the academic year to support best practices in program assessment. The calendar of events is available, including the second annual assessment symposium on November 8. Focusing on the theme of "Telling your Story," the symposium features an exciting lineup of guest speakers who will empower you to master the art of sharing your assessment journey. Registration will remain open until November 1, or until the event reaches capacity.
Accreditation Advisory Group
The Office of Educational Effectiveness and the Office of Health Sciences Academic Support are working together to create an Accreditation Advisory Group to enhance the level of support for program-level accreditation on both East and West campuses.
SBU Academic Program Assessment - Fall 2023 to Spring 2024
All non-accredited programs will submit the assessment of their second program learning objective by February 23.