March 4, 2024: University Senate Report

Office of the Provost

Initiatives

Anti-Racist and inclusive Pedagogy

The Provost's Office invited faculty to apply to participate in a series of interactive workshops this spring to develop or revise a course that integrates practices of Inclusive and Anti-Racist Pedagogy. Interested faculty submitted an application; decisions will be made the week of March 4 on those invited to join the cohort. Each of these workshops will be facilitated by Crystal Fleming, a scholar of racism and professor in the Department of Sociology. Participants will receive a $1,500 faculty development grant upon completion of the program and submission of a report in addition to a syllabus for a revised or newly developed course.

AI Institute Expansion Proposal

The Provost's Office is leading the development of a proposal to expand AI research and application at Stony Brook. These efforts will leverage the outstanding work of our current AI Institute, led by Steve Skiena, and expand its scope and reach through investment from the Presidential Innovation and Excellence (PIE) fund. This expanded AI institutes would move from a departmental-level institute to a provost-led institute with a continued commitment to basic research and new focus on applied research as well as education and outreach across Stony Book and the community. The importance and timing of these efforts is particularly highlighted by the recent announcement by Governor Hochul of the Empire AI Consortium and the work of the SUNY task force on AI over the past six months. In order to help shape this proposal, the Provost's Office is working with a group of about 30 faculty, staff, and administrators across the university.

Climate Change Tiger Teams

The Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of the Provost announced the latest cohort of Tiger Teams, focused on Climate Change. Six teams, each with two faculty co-leads, are currently working on this effort, with a total membership of 41 Stony Brook faculty. Staff from the Office of Proposal Development (OPD) will provide administrative support throughout the process. More information on the teams and their membership is available on the Climate Change Tiger Teams website.

Leadership Searches

CAS Dean Search

The search is open and active to recruit candidates fro the next dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Isaacson, Miller is serving as Stony Brook's partner in identifying candidates. The nomination period is still open but will be closing soon. Anyone interested in nominating candidates may do so through Isaacson, Miller.

Other News and Updates

FY 24-25 Budget Preparation

The University's Fiscal Year 24/25 budget cycle and the related Authorization to Recruit (ATR) process is underway and the Provost's Office continues to maintain open communication and transparency around the process. The Provost's Office has sent communications sharing information to all Colleges and Schools, Administrative Units, and Centers and Institutes under the Provost area. In addition, the Provost's Office has updated the Budget section of our website to include all related instructions, an infographic timeline, and required forms and templates needed to navigate the process. The hiring process builds upon the lessons learned from previous years, which established the framework based on a strategic and all-funds, multi-year budgeting model. The Provost's Office is committed to transparency and openness with the campus community including clear communication regarding the principles and procedures underlying the ATR process. Moreover, we are working with the deans to modify the process to provide increased autonomy and agency to the deans in the hires approved.

Meetings and presentations with the Provost's Office and academic leaders will take place the third week of March. The Provost's team will present proposed hires to the University SBET in late April for final approval.

Based on feedback received from departments regarding the challenge of delayed hiring approvals, and in collaboration with CAPRA, we will be piloting an approach on West Campus to authorize hires in multiple tranches to allow for the majority of hires to be authorized earlier than in previous years. More details will be shared in the coming weeks.

While the hiring process unfolds, the FY 24/25 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 and the prior years' budgets and actuals trending data. There are quarterly review meetings throughout FY 23/24 between the Provost's Office and University senior budget leadership that will compare budgets to actuals, addressing variances where needed.

Academic Programs

Recently approved programs

• Nursing PhD revision and addition of a distance education format (2/2024)
• Social Work MSW addition of a distance education format (2/2024)

Faculty Development

Emerging Leaders

This program was created to foster the development of the next generation of higher education leaders in research, education, and administration. The group had their second workshop on Communication on February 9. The next event is the spring retreat and will take place on Monday, May 20.

Excellence in Teaching Program

This program includes a series of workshops and hands-on activities focusing on teaching and learning. On March 1, a session on innovative and experiential teaching took place.

Navigating Stony Brook University

This program for early-career faculty will offer a workshop on Introduction to Research Mentoring on March 22.

Awards

• The nomination period for Outstanding Lecturer Award is open until March 17
• The nomination period for Outstanding Mentors Awards is open until March 24

Office of the Provost - Lectures and Talks

The Provost's Lecture Series on February 6 featured Professors Mary Jo Bona of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Judith Crowell of Psychiatry. The next talk will take place Tuesday, March 5, at 3:30 pm in the Wang Center Theater and will feature Professors Danny Bluestein of Biomedical Engineering and Leonie Huddy of Political Science.

The Provost's Spotlight Talks will feature Nobel Laureate and President's Distinguished Endowed Chair in Physics Barry Barish. This talk will take place Wednesday, March 20, at 11:30 am in the Wang Center Theater.

Academic Affairs

Pre-Tenure Workshops

We are planning pre-tenure workshop(s) for the end of March. This will be for faculty whose tenure files will be submitted to the Provost's Office in Academic Year 25/26 and 26/27, with the invitation also extended to department chairs.

Promotion and Tenure - Spring Hire Dates

In response to questions we received following our announcement of changes to the tenure and review process, we will be reaching out to assistant professors and librarians with spring hire dates to answer any questions regarding the timing of their review. Faculty may also reach out to amy.cook@stonybook.edu for more information.

Awards

Nominations are open for CELT's annual Celebration of Teaching Awards. Please nominate faculty and instructors to recognize their contributions to academic excellence.

Student Engagement - Tools and Techniques

Join CELT and DoIT for a discussion on March 5 at noon in the Faculty Commons on how you engage with students in both in-person and online classes and opportunities for improvement.

Teaching and Learning Symposium

The Teaching and Learning Symposium is Friday, April 12. Registration is now open.

Other Events

Join CELT for other upcoming events, including about Generative AI, assessment, and inclusive teaching.

Enrollment Management

Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Services

Scholarships

As the university continues to ramp up philanthropic giving, there will be a greater volume of scholarships available to support students. It is crucial that scholarships are disseminated each year and we are working with Enrollment Management and the Foundation to support academic units including efforts to increase the number of scholarships within Scholarship Universe. This increases the applicant pool and allows better use of institutional funds. In the spring 2024 semester, 88 applications were added.

New York State Aid

Our proactive measure, specifically from our New York State Aid Certification team, has decreased the number of students who have questions regarding their aid during the first day of classes. This allows more students to focus on their academics during the first day of classes as opposed to having to worry about their financial aid. Our overall first-day office contacts regarding New York State Aid have decreased by 72%.

Registrar's Office

March 11-17

• Spring 2024 Recess: No classes in session. Classes will resume Monday, March 18.

March 25

• Major/Minor Changes Begin: Students can begin to submit major/minor changes effective fall 2024 semester

March 29

• 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.
• Section/Credit Change: Last day to submit a Section/Credit Change Form to Registrar
• GPNC: Last day students can select Grade/Pass/No Credit (GPNC). Changes must be processed by 4 pm. Non-petitionable.

April 1

• Advanced Registration: Begins for Summer/Fall 2024 according to enrollment appointments

Undergraduate Admissions

• Interest in Stony Brook continues to grow. For the fall 2024 first-year (freshman) application cycle, we have had an 11.9% increase of applications over last year. This also represents, as of 2/9/24, the highest number of applicants received across the SUNY system. The growth includes domestic non-residents, with an increase of over 1,400 applications, and international applicants with an increase over 1,200.
• Admitted Seawolf Days (formerly Admitted Student Days) will be held on Saturday, March 23, and Saturday, April 6.
• A full slate of in-person and virtual programs are being hosted from February to April across the US and abroad, with a focus on engaging admitted students. Topics range form specific academic programs to next steps and financial aid. 
• The transfer student application deadline has been extended from March 1 to May 1, 2024.
• On March 15, we will be hosting community college advisors on campus for our inaugural Transfer Counselor Breakfast. The goal of this program is to help inform community college advisors of updates from our campus community.

Undergraduate Education

Spring 2024 Student Progress Reports

Spring 2024 Student Progress Reports will continue through Wednesday, March 20. Not all instructors will receive a progress report request, but you can provide feedback on students at any time. More information can be found on the progress report FAQs.

Graduate School

Fulbright Awards

13 of SBU's 22 applicants were named semi-finalists by the Fulbright National Screening Committee. Semi-finalists advance to the next round of the competition and their proposals undergo a country-level review. Our applicants will receive final notifications on a rolling basis throughout March, April, and May.

Three-Minute Thesis

3MT is scheduled for Friday, March 8, starting at 10 am in the Wang Lecture Halls. Three-Minute Thesis is a spoken-word thesis competition with the goal to present dissertation research findings to a general audience in three minutes using only one slide. Audience members have a chance to learn about some of the cutting-edge research happening across widely different research areas at Stony Brook through engaging presentations.

Continuing, Professional, and Executive Education

Pre-College Summer Program

This summer will be the inaugural launch of Stony Brook's Pre-College Summer Program, hosted July 7-12, 14-19, and 21-26. This is a non-credit residential based program for rising high school juniors and seniors. Academic partners include faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, College of Business, School of Health Professions, School of Professional Development, School of Communication and Journalism, and School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

NYS Offshore Wind Institute Funding

Pat Malone (PI) received $218,450 for "Navigating the Clean Energy Transition and the Offshore Wind Industry." The effort will produce an interdisciplinary program for emerging, existing, and transitional professionals in the clean energy workforce. The program comprises 10 distinct modules covering policy, the clean energy transition, community and stakeholder engagement, financing/energy pricing, power, transmission and distribution, hydrogen, climate and environmental impacts, supply chain and manufacturing, and workforce development. Modules will be offered by experts from industry and faculty partners from the College of Business, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.