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HomeReports PresPresident's Report September 10, 2013

September 13, 2010

MEMORANDUM

TO:       University Senate
FROM:    Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D. President
SUBJECT: Campus Report


  • ENROLLMENT PHASE-IN AND DATA FOR FALL 2010:
    • OPENING DAY ENROLLMENT

Stony Brook began the fall 2010 semester with 23,916 students, 202 more than fall 2009. If the current enrollment patterns hold true, we should come close to meeting our projected enrollment by the official snap shot date of September 23. This fall, there were 2,712 new full-time freshmen; 1,160 new full-time West Campus transfers; 1,739 new matriculated graduate students; and 619 new non-matriculated graduate students.

    • FRESHMAN CLASS PROFILE

In terms of our freshman class, it is the best in the University’s history. Almost 28,000 first-year students applied for a class of approximately 2,700 freshmen, and an additional 4,723 transfers applied for one of our 1,200 transfer seats. Preliminary data indicate that the average freshman SAT scores continue to increase, along with the mean high school average of our new students. Additionally, the number of out-of-state students has also increased, with 18 percent of the freshman class coming from out-of-state locations, up from 15.5% last year.

  • STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY BUDGET

The final budget outcomes for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010, were worse than anticipated. We recently completed the distribution of $20 million in cuts to state operating units. This is on top of a $25 million cut executed in early 2009. The process was one that identified line-item targeted cuts where possible (the most noteworthy of which was the restructuring of Southampton) and also protected the academic enterprise to a great degree. The results have been to reduce the state budgets of most administrative and service units by between 25 and 30 percent, with a couple of areas, Advancement being one of them, needing to absorb reductions in excess of 40percent. The outlook for 2011-2012 is not good with a lingering possibility of a mid-year cut in the current fiscal year.

  • PHEEIA

As has been widely reported, the State missed the chance to enact PHEEIA during this most recent budget cycle. The lack of any significant increase in tuition revenue, or the regulatory relief and enhanced entrepreneurial flexibility that PHEEIA would have provided, has forced us to make some very difficult decisions as a University, but we remain hopeful and continue to urge the legislatures and their leaders to stay true to the promise for an agreement on PHEEIA in the near future.

  • NEW BUILDING CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

1.  The Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC), located in the Stony Brook R&D Park, is scheduled to open this fall. The building will house material science labs, engineering labs and specialized facilities for a consortium of University researchers, institutions, and federal laboratories. AERTC will be a LEED Platinum rated building.

2.  The New Student Recreation Center is a 90,000 gross square foot building that will be located on the main campus between the existing Pritchard Gym and the Student Union. The schedule for construction completion has been revised due to circumstances beyond the University’s control. Information supplied to the University by the licensed soil engineer about the integrity of the existing soil was incorrect. As a result, we have developed plans to remediate the situation and are proceeding accordingly. The project is currently in construction and is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

3.  The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics is substantially complete with a scheduled opening later this month. The building is adjacent to the Math Tower.

4.  Nobel Halls, now open with a combined total of 600 beds, are named for Stony Brook Nobel laureates Paul Lauterbur and Frank Yang and are the University’s first LEED certified residence halls. They are located within the Kelly and Roosevelt Quads, respectively.

5.  The Chemistry building has been renovated to include new undergraduate labs, a new lobby, refurbished elevators and new mechanical systems.

6.  The design of a new Marine Science Center at our Southampton campus is complete with a scheduled opening in 2013. This new Center will be approximately 10,000 square feet and will be the home for all the Marine Science programs at Southampton.

7.  Programming for a new 55,000 square foot Computer Science building has begun. Design will be completed in early 2011. The location for the new building is adjacent to the existing Computer Science building.

  • NEW RANKINGS

Stony Brook has recently appeared in the US News & World Report, Princeton Review, Parade Magazine, and Forbes national college rankings, as well as the QS World University Rankings. Each of these rankings has its own unique methodology, yielding a variety of different results.

Most notably, Stony Brook is, again, in the top 100 “best national universities” on the US News list and was recognized in the same listing at #47 for the highest percentage of Pell Grants and as being among “Academic Programs to Look For: Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects.” (Only 38 schools, drawn from all types, doctoral granting and liberal arts colleges, are recognized on the latter listing.) Additionally, Stony Brook ranked among the top 200 universities on the QS rankings list of the top 500 universities in the world and made a repeat appearance on “The Top 50 Public National Universities” list, ranked 45th and ranked 65th (in a nine-way tie), among the best engineering programs in schools whose highest degree is a doctorate. We also made the top 40 on Forbes America’s Best College Buys list. Finally, ParadeMagazine published its lists of their top-25 picks of “schools that often fly under the radar,” which are based on “the recommendations of 43 top counselors across the country.” Stony Brook appears on the lists of top-25 large state schools, the top-25 pre-med programs, and the top-25 schools having flexible scheduling.

  • DEVELOPMENT/FUNDRAISING

The Stony Brook University Foundation will be reporting its largest total fundraising number in its history for fiscal year 2010. Approximately $73 million in cash deposits and gifts-in-kind were recorded during that 12 month period last year. In the year before, just over $40 million was raised, which, at the time, was an all-time record.

Some highlights to the year include payments for the Simon's Center for Geometry and Physics, the Louis and Beatrice Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, the Frey Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Quantitative Finance, and a new pledge from the Knapp family to create an endowed chair in Pediatrics. Chairs must be funded at a minimum $1.5 million level.

The annual Stars of Stony Brook Gala, held in Manhattan, was also a great success, honoring Nobel Prize winning physicist C.N. Yang and netting more than $2 million for undergraduate scholarships.

  • DISTINGUISHED SERVICE, TEACHING AND EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Faculty support and participation are encouraged for the recent call for nominations for the 2010-11 Distinguished Service and Distinguished Teaching Professorships. The nomination form and complete guidelines are available at:
http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/provost/forms.shtml
The nomination form must be submitted electronically by
September 17 and the nomination file must be received by the Provost's Office by November 19.

Nominations for the Chancellor’s Excellence Awards for: Teaching, Faculty Service, Librarianship, Professional Service, and Scholarship/Creative Activities are also being accepted. The nomination form and complete guidelines for preparing the
nomination files are available at:
http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/provost/forms.shtml
The nomination form must be submitted electronically by September 17, and the nomination file must be received by the Provost's Office by November 4.

Information for the 2010-11 Chancellor's Award for Student
Excellence will be posted by the end of the fall semester. Details about the award the application process will be provided at a later date at:
http://www.stonybrook.edu/uaa/scholarshipfellowships/sbscholarships.shtml#chancellors

  • PROJECT 50 FORWARD

As one of the most important initiatives that Stony Brook University has embarked upon in its history, “Project 50 Forward” is designed to create a platform of operational excellence to enable the University to reach the highest levels of academic greatness and to help us build for our future – for the next 50 years and beyond. We have developed a Project 50 Forward Website, introduced last month, which provides a comprehensive overview, addresses frequently asked questions, and encourages participation from every member of the campus community. There will be regular updates to that Website as new information becomes available.

We have made great progress over these first two months. Surveys were conducted that garnered broad participation of staff and administrators across all departments. Through this, we have accumulated critical information that will enable us to assess organizational, procurement and IT functions. In addition, nearly 200 employees participated in formal training sessions, and many more were involved in compiling and reporting the data files.

What have we learned so far?

  • Compared with peer institutions, Stony Brook University is lean.
  • Our employees (this is pre-faculty survey) are generally very happy working here. However, we need to improve managerial efficiency, revamp certain processes and procedures, eliminate unnecessary work, and look to consolidate certain functions so we can reduce our expenses.

We must be strategic. We have to look more closely at what we buy, we have to look more closely at developing revenue opportunities, and we have to eliminate the duplication of efforts across our campuses and departments.

What is next?
More surveys will be distributed to faculty who were not here to complete the survey distributed in July. If you have completed a survey, there is no need to do so again. If you have not, please do so, as your opinion, experience and outlook will contribute to us getting this right. This final push for data collection will lead to recommended areas for review and establishing priorities. Once these prioritized opportunity areas have been chosen by the Steering Committee, initiative teams comprising Stony Brook employees with detailed knowledge of each area will develop detailed designs and action plans. If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, you may address them to any member of the Steering Committee (including me) or you may send it directly from the website.

  • UPCOMING EVENTS

The University Convocation will take place on Wednesday, September 15 at 4 p.m. in the Main Stage of the Staller Center. New faculty will be recognized and the State of the University Address will be presented. The program will conclude with a reception in honor of new faculty.

  • ATHLETICS UPDATE

  Football - defending Big South Conference Champions. Currently 1-1 on the season after beating American International 31-14 this past weekend in LaValle Stadium in front of a great home crowd. The previous week, the Seawolves opened their season in Tampa, FL against the University of South Florida, a member of the Big East Conference. That was Stony Brook's first ever game against a BCS school and with almost 40,000 people in attendance, it was the largest crowd ever to watch a Stony Brook football game. Athletics hosted a pre-game reception for more than 325 Stony Brook alumni and supporters, and more than 500 fans attended the game. While Stony Brook lost the game, it was a very exciting start to the year. The football team travels to Rhode Island next Saturday to take on Ivy League foe Brown University.

  Men's Soccer - defending America East Conference Champions. Opened the season with a big win in OT at Hofstra, followed by five more away games. Currently 2-4-0 on the season, including 2 over-time losses to programs ranked in the Top 20. Beat Dartmouth College 1-0 this past Saturday. The team returns home for four straight home games beginning with Central Connecticut this Friday in LaValle Stadium.

  • Women's Soccer, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Volleyball are all just beginning their seasons.