August 28, 2023: University Senate Report

Office of the Provost

Initiatives

Collaborative for the Earth

The Provost's Office announced the launch of the Collaborative for the Earth, a faculty-driven, multi-disciplinary "action tank," supported by the Office of the Provost, that seeks to develop solutions in response to the harmful effects of climate change and in the abatement of existential risks to the living world's interconnected life-supporting systems, with attention to human dignity and justice and the preservation of civilizations. Initial aims of the Collaborative for the Earth include hosting an international forum series on Earth system challenges designed to place Stony Brook at the forefront of thought and action; developing interdisciplinary graduate, professional, and continuing education programs; and guiding campus-wide conversations on how to maximize our potential in defining and implementing solutions to global environmental challenges. The Provost's Office is seeking candidates for the inaugural director, open to all tenured SBU faculty.

New Academic Leader Onboarding

The Provost's Office began hosting this summer a new leadership onboarding series for deans and vice provosts. The first two half-day retreats were hosted in August and covered topics including budget management, advancement and fundraising, Student Affairs, and Enrollment Management. Future presentations include the Office of the Vice President for Research, Chief Diversity Officer, Office of Equity and Access, Enterprise Risk Management, and Educational and Institutional Effectiveness. All sessions are open to all deans and vice provosts, regardless of their start date.

Quantum Protocenters

Two proposals were selected to receive funding as Quantum Information Science and Technology (QIST) "protocenters." Faculty were asked in spring 2023 to submit proposals for protocenters to comprise a QIST Consortium. Protocenter proposals requested between $100,000 - 300,000 per year for up to four years, at the end of which time the success will be evaluated to determine additional funding and potential growth into a QIST center within the QIST Consortium at Stony Brook.

Winning Proposals:

Leon Shterengas, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, serves as Principal Investigator for the Devices for Quantum Sensing and Communication Protocenter. Along with co-PIs Jennifer Cano (associate professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences), Eden Figueroa (associate professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy), Dmitri Donetski (associate professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) and Sergey Suchalkin (associate professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering), this research center will focus on creating new and advanced devices that use the principles of quantum physics. The initial goal of the research center will be development of photonic devices for quantum communication and sensing.
Himanshu Gupta, professor in the Department of Computer Science, serves as Principle Investigator for the Center for Quantum Computing and Networks Protocenter. The following faculty members serve as co-PIs: Aruna Balasubramanian (associate professor, Department of Computer Science), Xianfeng (David) Gu (professor, Department of Computer Science), Jon Longtin (Associate Dean in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering), Omkant Pandey (associate professor, Department of Computer Science), Supartha Podder (assistant professor, Department of Computer Science; NSF Quantum Faculty Fellow), C. R. Ramakrishnan (professor, Department of Computer Science) and Nengkun Yu (associate professor, Department of Computer Science; SUNY Empire Innovation Scholar). The research conducted in this protocenter will mainly focus on solving complex problems related to the design and development of large, scalable, and reliable quantum computing systems.

Leadership Appointments

College of Engineering & Applied Sciences Dean

Andrew Singer, Dean of CEAS, began his tenure in early July. Singer was previously at The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he held a number of administrative and service positions, with activities focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, capital building projects, new degree development, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs He served as Associate Dean for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

College of Business Dean

Haresh Gurnani began his tenure as the new dean in early July. Gurnani was previously at Wake Forest University, where he served as area chair of Business Analytics, Operations Management, Marketing, and Economics areas in the School of Business, and was Thomas H. Davis Chair in the school, program director of the Mathematical Business Program (joint program between the School of Business and Wake Forest College), and served on the University's committee on Network for Inclusive Leadership and Engagement. As area chair at Wake Forest, he oversaw strategic planning, new program development, faculty recruitment and development, research strategy, and accreditation review.

College of Arts & Sciences Dean

In late May, we announced that Nicole Sampson accepted a deanship at the University of Rochester, after a three-decade career at Stony Brook University, including several years as dean of CAS. Axel Drees was named as interim dean in early summer, with his appointment beginning in mid-July. The Provost's Office is preparing for a search for the next dean of CAS and will share more detail as plans are developed.

Vice Provost for Continuing, Professional, and Executive Education

Peter Diplock was named to this role in early summer and began his tenure in early August. Diplock will oversee all units reporting through the School of Professional Development. Previously, he was at the University of Connecticut, where he served as Associate Vice Provost for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. At UConn, he was responsible for developing the infrastructure and vision to facilitate success and growth of mission-aligned online and entrepreneurial academic programs.

Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Amy Cook, professor in the Department of English, was named to this role in early summer and began her tenure in early July. The Vice Provost for Academic Affairs role is part of a reconfiguration of core services functions in the Provost's leadership team, with focus on development and refinement of academic policy and procedures with a particular emphasis on promotion and tenure, and oversight of curriculum and the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT).

Dean of the Graduate School / Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education

Celia Marshik was named to this role in late spring, continuing in the position after serving as interim in the 2022-23 academic year. In addition to rebuilding graduate staffing, she strengthened partnerships between graduate program leaders and academic support units to enhance support around admissions, recruiting, and retention. She also worked closely with the Graduate Council to help shorten approval time for programs, and enhanced outreach from the Graduate School through events such as a new Conversations in Graduate Education speaker series and revamped Graduate Program Directors and Coordinators retreats.

Other News and Updates

First-Year and Transfer Enrollment

The Fall 2023 incoming first-year class (as of 8/23/23) is projected to be 3,600, which would be the largest first-year class in Stony Brook's history. This class size surpasses the entering 2021 class of 3,416 and is over 250 students larger than the 2022 entering first-year class. The Fall 2023 incoming transfer class (as of 8/23/23) is projected to be just over 1,100.

Annual Budget and Hiring Updates

In late July through mid-August, the Provost's Office shared updates on the Strategic Hiring Plan for areas that report to the Provost. All approved hired were posted to the Provost's Office website, and the Provost hosted a forum open to all faculty and staff reporting to Academic Affairs, where he shared further detail on hiring decisions and strategy.

Graduate and Health Sciences Admissions (GHSA)

The Provost's Office announced in early August that the functions shared across the Graduate and Health Sciences Admissions (GHSA) team would be managed in separate processing teams for undergraduate and graduate programs. Starting Sept. 6, graduate program admissions will be managed through the Graduate School, and all undergraduate admissions (including health science programs) will be managed through Enrollment Management. The consideration of this change was led by Celia Marshik and Dawn Medley in close collaboration and consultation with the staff in the Office of Graduate and Health Sciences Admissions, as well as key leadership and staff in health sciences programs.

Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholars Program

The inaugural cohort of 29 Simons STEM Scholars was announced in late spring and spent six weeks on campus for a Summer Bridge Program to prepare them for the next four years and beyond. The 29 incoming freshmen were selected after a rigorous selection process; roughly 800 applicants were considered in a series of interviews and symposiums to determine the finalists. Funded by a $56.6 million donation from the Simons Foundation and Simons Foundation International, the program provides members with full scholarships, housing, research opportunities, internship stipends, advising, mentoring and more to comprehensively ameliorate the STEM career pipeline for underrepresented students. The selected scholars' SAT scores represent the top 1 percent in the nation.

Strategic Planning

The strategic plan is nearing finalization, with a target to publicly launch the plan in early October. The Provost's Office synthesized feedback from the community received in Spring 2023, and incorporated additional feedback from the strategic planning committee, academic leadership, and the President's Cabinet, throughout the summer. More details will be shared about the launch event in the coming weeks.

IDEA Fellows

Eight new IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access) Fellows are joining the university as faculty this fall. Originally launched in the College of Arts and Sciences, IDEA Fellows are early-career scholars who can help catalyze our campus' commitment to inclusive solutions-driven research and scholarship at intersections of different disciplines. IDEA Fellows will engage in scholarship and teaching in key clusters that represent Stony Brook's current and growing strengths. Importantly, the fellows will be part of a mentored research environment, with a modest teaching load. At the completion of this two-year position, fellows with an upward trajectory of scholarly achievement and a demonstrated contribution to inclusion, diversity, and equity will be invited to join the tenure-track faculty at Stony Brook University through an internal promotion process. Hires were made across five inter-disciplinary themes:

Black, Latinx, and Indigenous Diaspora Studies

Jazmen Moore, Department of Africana Studies, College of Arts and Sciences
Sebastián Lopez Vergara, Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature, College of Arts and Sciences

Sustainable Climate Justice and Solutions

Guleed Ali, Department of Geosciences, College of Arts and Sciences
Luis Medina, Division of Marine Sciences, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

Health Disparities and Critical Health

Mary E. Andrews, School of Communication and Journalism / Alda Center for Communicating Science

Ethical AI, Information Systems, and Data Science and Literacy Applied to Complex Structures and Networks

Alisa Yurovsky, Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Matthew Salzano, Program in Writing and Rhetoric, College of Arts and Sciences / School of Communication and Journalism

Quantum Futures

Raymond Blackwell, Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences

Dean Reviews

As part of a new process, starting in Spring 2023, the Provost's Office conducted a five-year term review and mid-term formative feedback process to review performance of deans who report to the provost.

Five-year evaluative review

The Provost's Office conducted a five-year review of Paul Shepson of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, completed at the end of the Spring 2023 semester. The five-year review gathered evaluative feedback from faculty, staff, students, and administrators of a dean's school/college, as well as other key constituencies including senior administrators of other campus units, relevant faculty from other schools/colleges, external stakeholders, and/or student leaders. Dean Shepson was reappointed following the conclusion of this process.

Mid-term formative feedback

Also in Spring 2023, the Provost's Office conducted mid-term formative feedback processes for Dean Nicole Sampson of the College of Arts and Sciences and Dean Laura Lindenfeld of the School of Communication and Journalism. Occurring at the mid-point of a dean's five-year appointment, this process consists of an anonymous survey that is provided to the faculty, staff, students, and administrators of a dean's school/college, as well as to other key constituencies including senior administrators of other campus units, relevant faculty from other schools/colleges, external stakeholders, and/or student leaders. The process is an opportunity to gather feedback for a dean to use in their leadership development.

Promotion and Tenure

Led by Vice Provost Amy Cook, the Provost's Office is studying the recommendations of the Faculty Working Group on APT Guidelines, which was charged in Fall 2022. The group was charged to consider guidelines across all schools and colleges (including those in health sciences). The working group was also advised to focus on general guidelines, with room for flexibility for unique school and college exceptions. The working group shared its recommendations in late Spring 2023. The Provost's Office is now reviewing these and sharing them for feedback among various stakeholders, including shared governance. The goal is to make an initial set of changes by the end of the 2023 calendar year.

Distinguished Professors Spotlight

The Provost's Office has published a feature on Stony Brook faculty who were most recently honored as SUNY Distinguished Professors. Profiles of the 11 newest SUNY Distinguished Professors can be viewed on the Faculty Pathways website.

Faculty Development

Navigating SBU

On Tuesday, August 22, over 35 new faculty gathered for a day-long orientation. Additional sessions for early-career faculty will be held throughout the year.

Emerging Leaders Program

The Emerging Leaders Program will host a third cohort this year. This two-year program, run through the Provost's Office, fosters the development of the next generation of higher education leaders in research, education, and administration.

Excellence in Teaching Program

New this year, the Excellence in Teaching Program will include a series of workshops and hands-on activities related to various topics including syllabus redesign, inclusive pedagogy, and experiential learning for nominated instructors.

Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Congratulations to the 2023 CELT Celebration of Teaching Award Winners and the Provost's Outstanding Lecturer Award Winner.

Teaching Milestones Program

The Teaching Milestones Program is a CELT initiative that offers a diverse range of workshops, courses, and experiences that provide teaching development for faculty and instructional staff. Each Milestone focuses on a key topic in teaching and learning. They aim to inspire thoughtful conversations and foster collaboration among educators from our diverse academic disciplines. Completing these milestones will enrich your teaching methodologies, leading to effective learning experiences for your students.

Enrollment Management

As we start a new academic year, remember to wear red on Fridays to show your school spirit. Even better if it's red Stony Brook gear!

Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Services

Changes are underway for the FAFSA in the upcoming 2024-2025 award year, bringing forth some important points for us to take into account.

While we await these changes, the specific release date of the FAFSA is currently unknown, which makes creating timelines for communication difficult. Despite promising a more streamlined experience, these changes are likely to create challenges for our students who may already be navigating difficult circumstances.
A pivotal aspect to underscore is the new authentication requirement imposed by the US Department of Education. Regardless of whether parents possess a social security number, they will now need to authenticate their information through this process. This was created to offer a standardized approach but we are hearing from some students that this may be an additional burden for them.
We know that many of our students are likely to have questions or hit snags with the new process so we want to make sure that we are there to support them as they navigate this new process. Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns.
Our financial aid team is closely monitoring these developments, changes, and developing our strategies as new information becomes available. Their commitment extends to not only staying informed about the evolving landscape of FAFSA changes but also to providing timely and vital information to our entire campus community. As we learn about this new process together, our focus remains centered on fostering an environment where every student's journey is supported with clarity, inclusivity, and expertise.

Registrar's Office

Monday, August 28

Semester start: First day of classes

Friday, September 1

Major/Minor Changes End: Last day to submit major/minor changes effective fall 2023 semester
Waitlist: Last day to waitlist a class. Students are responsible for any tuition liability incurred if registered from a waitlisted class.

Monday, September 4

Labor Day: No classes in session

Friday, September 8

Waitlist Process Ends: Last day to be enrolled from the waitlist process pending seat availability. Students must contact the appropriate academic department after this date.

Monday, September 11

Late Registration Ends: Last day to add, drop or process enrollment changes (adds, swaps, credit changes, etc.) via SOLAR by 4 pm
Last day to drop or submit LOA/Term Withdrawal without a "W" (withdraw) recorded on transcript. Full/part-time statuses will be locked after this date.
Undergraduate students enrolling in graduate courses: Last day to petition to the Graduate School. Changes must be processed by 4 pm.

Tuesday, Sept. 12, to Monday, September 18

Swaps by Petition Only: Graduate School and SPD students must petition to the respective school

Undergraduate Admissions

The Fall 2023 incoming first-year class, which as of 8/23/23 is projected to be 3,600, were selected from the largest pool of applicants the university has received, coming in at 50,343, a 24% increase from 2022. The Fall 2023 incoming transfer class, projected to be just over 1,100, was selected from over 5,000 applicants, a 25% increase in applications from 2022.
Recruitment for the 2024 application cycle has started with recruitment trips to China and India occurring as of this meeting date.
"Seawolf Visit Day" will be held on October 28 with a focus on engaging out-of-state prospective students for the 2024 application cycle.

Undergraduate Education

Based on the increase in first-year enrollment, Undergraduate Education is working with the Provost's Office, schools, and colleges to provide additional resources to support instructional needs for programs with increased enrollments and high-demand courses.
In the annual budget process, Undergraduate Education received funding to increase advising staff for undergraduate students. Positions will be placed both centrally in Undergraduate Education and locally in schools and colleges. The division's leadership will work with individual schools and colleges to determine allocations of new advising support.
A small committee has been working on updates on the university's Honors College curriculum, which was last updated in 1989. The committee will share their findings and recommendations later this semester.
Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs are working toward reconstituting a cross-unit group focused on student success, and as plans develop, more information will be shared about how faculty can get involved.

Graduate School

Research mentor training for faculty was launched in August using a curriculum developed by CIMER. The next training date will be offered in October.
Online, asynchronous TA training, which is offered in collaboration with CELT, opened a month earlier this year and has served as an early community-building tool, with new graduate students showing a marked increase in online engagement with their cohort compared to previous years.
Graduate School staff organized several online onboarding sessions for incoming graduate students, including "Understanding Housing for Graduate Students" in June (300 participants) and two "A Roadmap to Success in Grad School" sessions in August (440 participants). On August 30 we will offer a session on "An Introduction to Responsible Research."
In collaboration with the Alda Center for Communicating Science, we offered a three-hour workshop on "Navigating the Classroom as a TA" on August 21. This pilot is being assessed to determine if we will offer additional such sessions in the future.
Our updated website launched on Friday, August 25.
With the Center for Inclusive Education, we are hosting a Welcome Back BBQ for graduate students on August 31. Reservations are required.

Institutional and Educational Effectiveness

The Middle States Accreditation self-study process remains on track, with a draft of the self-study document to be shared with the campus for feedback in October. The site visit team chair will visit campus in November, and the site visit will occur in March or April. See the Stony Brook Middle States website for details.
The official enrollment census date for Fall 2023 is the end of the day on Monday, September 18. Preliminary official statistics will be available later in the week through the University Fact Book, public enrollment dashboards. For authorized users, additional detail is available through Stony Brook Analytics Tableau dashboards and SBU Reporting.
Academic department/program review processes have been re-established and eight units that house 22 programs are participating in the process for 2023-24 (the policy and procedures are posted online). Data were provided to units in June; programs will prepare self-studies over the course of the fall semester, external reviewers will read these reports and visit campus in the spring.