Newsletter — Office of the Provost

Monday, March 4, 2024
Newsletter — Office of the Provost and Vice President

As we enter the first week of March, I’m starting to hear the birds chirping outside in the morning and even seeing hints of buds on the trees as I look out over the campus. It seems that Spring may not be far away, despite it still being winter in Brockport. All this means that Spring Break is shortly coming up, which also means midway in the Spring semester. Time sure flies.

Sabbaticals

I wanted to share some additional information about the process for sabbatical approvals to help clarify expectations for faculty submissions in the Fall. As I’ve been meeting with faculty this semester, I discovered that my use of the term “transformational” caused concern among many faculty. I want to clarify. By transformational, I mean the impact that the project will have on the faculty scholarly agenda, and not the impact that the work will have in your field. In short, this is about what it means to you. Looking at the Sabbatical Leave section on our website under “Significance of proposed project”, the detailed information follows with “How will the completion of the project increase your value to the University and thereby improve and enrich its program?” It was this concept of significance to the researcher to which I was referring, and I apologize that my comments were not clear.

As I’ve stated previously, we are modifying the sabbatical application. One of the elements that we wish to clarify is that the impact of the project for the scholarly development of the faculty will now be explicitly requested as an element of the proposal. I encourage you to review the information on our website as you develop your sabbatical plans.

To help faculty prepare as they develop their application for Fall, we are running a pair of CELT workshops. The first of these will be a virtual presentation on April 11, with Rey Sia going through the elements of the application, specifically focusing on what has changed, and describing the review process. Then, on April 18 (tentative), we will have a panel of recent sabbatical recipients providing tips for those who are considering preparing a sabbatical application. Finally, if you’re considering applying in the Fall, I would encourage you to arrange a meeting with me to discuss your proposal in advance of completing the full application. I am happy to meet with you to hear about your ideas and provide my own thoughts on how you can put together an application that provides the best chance of success.

Organizational Effectiveness Task Force

During my meeting with chairs a few weeks ago, I learned that there was considerable discussion around the proposal that the OETF has put forward. One of the questions that continues to be raised is why a reorganization is needed. In my previous communication, I provided two justifications. First is the matter of equity, recognizing that workload and resources should be aligned with size and complexity. The second goal is to better connect our organizational structure with our strategic goals, utilizing natural connections to promote opportunities for growth. We need to take advantage of our strengths at a time when we are doing well, to ensure that we continue to remain a leader among SUNY comprehensive institutions well into the future. Highlighting these strengths within our academic portfolio will help us to achieve that goal.

Task force leadership and I are working as diligently as possible to keep people informed of progress. The task force hosted two open forums available to all members of the campus community. Chairs were asked to coordinate in their departments to discuss the proposal and provide feedback to the task force. The next step is for the task force to review that input and prepare a recommendation as to how we should proceed. According to the original timeline shared in their most recent announcement, they expect to submit a final report by April 1.

Once the task force submits its recommendations, I will then seek further input from Deans, chairs, faculty, staff, and students. Eventually, any proposal that is put forth will need to be reviewed by Cabinet for their feedback and approval before it can be implemented. My best estimate is that full vetting will, at a minimum, take through the end of the Spring semester. While we could have the general structure designed by the end of this academic year, much of next year will be needed to work through details. That means that most changes will not occur until Fall 2025, since we will need sufficient time to implement any recommendations that develop from this process. I look forward to receiving the task force report next month.

Events and Activities

I am continuing my tour of departments and recently had the pleasure of joining our Nursing Department following their highly successful CCNE accreditation visit. Upcoming meetings include AEF, Criminal Justice, Math, and more. I particularly enjoy these departmental meetings as it allows me to speak directly with faculty and staff to learn the issues that are of current concern and provide my own thoughts about how we can proceed. I look forward to meeting with all those I have not yet seen during the remainder of the Spring semester.

Our Career Services office continues to work to connect students with employment opportunities. On March 6 from 1-4 pm in the SERC, SUNY Brockport will welcome over 150 employers — from the local region and beyond — to campus who will share opportunities for part-time and full-time jobs and internships within their organizations. Please share this information with students from all years, and encourage them, especially graduating seniors, to attend. I also encourage faculty and staff to visit the fair to meet employers to strengthen or grow relationships with their departments and “positively impact our academic community.” Let’s make this a great event showcasing the engagement of the University in supporting student success.

CELT continues to be busy, offering workshops and training activities. Coming up this month include sessions on artificial intelligence, working collaboratively, grant writing, and a panel on how to prepare an application for a Presidential Teaching Excellence Award. Be sure to regularly check the CELT website for a complete list of opportunities.

Finally

One final thought I want to share is my sense that SUNY Brockport is in a great place and is poised to be even better. As I look around the State and more broadly across the country, I see universities in turmoil. Small private liberal arts colleges are closing. Our SUNY colleagues are facing major cuts, both financially and academically. On the other hand, Brockport is investing. We’re developing new programs, hiring faculty and staff to meet our enrollment growth, and balancing our budget. I know that it doesn’t always feel like it, but we are in a great position. Now is the time to invest and grow, so that we remain in a great position for the foreseeable future. Thank you for believing in us and helping us to continue to be a great university.