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HomeReports ProvProvost's Report August 29, 2016

TO: University Senate

FROM: Charles Taber, Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

DATE: August 29, 2016

2017-2018 Call for the SUNY Faculty Diversity Program

SUNY’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) is pleased to announce the Faculty Diversity Program (FDP) for the 2017-2018 academic year. The program is budgeted to provide partial salary support to SUNY state-operated campuses for a limited number of new assistant professor level appointments. The purpose of this program is to advance diversity and inclusive excellence by encouraging the recruitment, retention and promotion of outstanding scholars from different backgrounds, including individuals from groups who have historically been underrepresented in higher education.

Salary support will be provided for three years and distributed annually as follows:

  • 2017-2018 – 80% of negotiated salary up to $80,000 and up to $5,000 for research & professional development
  • 2018-2019 – 75% of negotiated salary up to $50,000 and up to $5,000 for research & professional development
  • 2019-2020 – 25% of negotiated salary up to $15,000 and up to $5,000 for research & professional development

Faculty appointed under this initiative will be required to submit a written three-year spending plan and itemized budget for an active research program and, once approved, will be awarded up to $15,000 to support those efforts. These funds will be disbursed to the campus, and faculty will have up to three years to expend the research support. SUNY institutions are strongly encouraged to nominate outstanding scholars who: have attained a record of distinction early in their academic careers; exhibit promise for scholarly productivity of the highest quality; and have a demonstrated ability to work in diverse learning environments.
Conversely, the review process will also take into consideration the department and/or institution’s demonstration of a commitment to diversity. A brief statement indicating support of the candidate (i.e. mentoring and/or other institutional markers that indicate a level of commitment to the candidate’s success) will be required. A complete dossier will consist of the following documents:

  • Curriculum vitae;
  • Candidate’s statement of interest;
  • Published work or writing sample;
  • Three reference letters;
  • Evidence of candidate’s ability to respond effectively to the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds;
  • Home department/academic unit or dean’s evaluation of candidate’s academic record;
  • Chief Academic Officer’s recommendation for appointment; and
  • Statement on the candidate’s contribution to enhancing campus diversity.

Only two applications per campus may be submitted. The Faculty Diversity Program is limited strictly to new, full-time, tenure-track appointments at the assistant professor level; existing appointments will not be considered. The state-operated campuses must employ recruitment policies and practices that are in compliance with federal and New York States laws and regulations and are strongly encouraged to solicit applications from qualified women and members of underrepresented groups. Only U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible for an award. Disbursement of the award is contingent on the faculty member having completed all requirements for the terminal degree in their discipline prior to the commencement of the 2017-2018 academic year. Campuses are required to reappoint faculty at the end of their initial third-year appointment if their contributions in the areas of teaching, scholarship and service are consistent with the academic standards of the unit in which their line resides.

All applicants must be approved by the area's respective Dean before they can be forwarded to the Office of the Provost for consideration. The deadline for submission of a complete dossier in hard-copy format to Marsha Pollard, Associate Chief Academic Officer, is October 14, 2016. All submissions will be reviewed by the Chief Academic Officer, and only individuals nominated by the Chief Academic Officer are eligible for SUNY consideration. Nominators will be apprised as to whether their nominee will be forwarded to SUNY for further consideration by November 18, 2016. SUNY’s award decision date for the 2017-2018 Faculty Diversity Program is early February 2017. Please contact Marsha Pollard at marsha.pollard@stonybrook.edu or 631-632-7009 if you should have any questions or should require any additional information.

Call for the SUNY Shared Governance Award

The SUNY Shared Governance Award is a SUNY-wide honor conferred on a campus for outstanding achievements in shared governance. This award underscores SUNY’s commitment to academic excellence and public good through collaborative models of governance. Shared governance is defined as administration/faculty/staff/student cooperation that is mutually recognized as effective engagement of the local governance structures and elected representatives on important campus issues and policies that impact the local campus and the State University of New York. This cooperation should include shared and timely decision- making, shared accountability, collaborative dialogue, and open communication. Evidence of shared governance may be indicated by a single activity that has had enduring impact or by a sustained record of cooperation among campus entities. A nomination summary statement, limited to a maximum of five pages must be submitted no later than Wednesday, September 28, 2016 to Maureen Wozniak in the Office of the Provost at maureen.wozniak@stonybrook.edu. The guidelines for the preparation of a nomination file may be found online on the Provost’s web site at: http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/provost/. Please contact Maureen Wozniak if you should have any questions regarding the nomination forms or process.

Call for the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching

The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching recognizes consistently superior teaching at the graduate, undergraduate, or professional level in keeping with the State University’s commitment to providing its students with instruction of the highest quality. There must be positive evidence that the candidate performs superbly in educational environments. The nominee must maintain instructional policies that adapt readily to student needs, interests and problems. Mastery of teaching techniques must be demonstrated and substantiated. Candidates' evaluation of students' work must be strongly supported by evidence. The nomination form only must be submitted electronically no later than Thursday, September 15, 2016 to Maureen Wozniak at maureen.wozniak@stonybrook.edu. The completed nomination file must be received by Maureen Wozniak in the Provost's Office, 407 Administration, no later than Wednesday, October 12, 2016. The nomination form and complete guidelines for preparing the nomination file are located at: http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/provost/. Please contact Maureen Wozniak if you should have any questions regarding the nomination forms or process.

2015-2016 SUNY Distinguished Faculty Ranks Recipients

Distinguished Faculty Rank programs encourage ongoing commitment to excellence, kindle intellectual vibrancy, elevate the standards of instruction and enrich contributions to public service. They demonstrate the State University’s pride and gratitude for the consummate professionalism, the groundbreaking scholarship, the exceptional instruction and the breadth and significance of service contributions of its faculty. Appointment constitutes a promotion to the State University’s highest academic rank, and it is conferred solely by the State University Board of Trustees.

The Distinguished Professorship is conferred upon faculty having achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within the individual’s chosen field through significant contributions to research and scholarship, or through artistic performance or achievement in the fine and performing arts. The Distinguished Service Professorship is conferred upon instructional faculty having achieved a distinguished reputation for service not only to the campus and the University, but also to the community, the State of New York or even the nation, by sustained effort in the application of intellectual skills drawing from the candidate’s scholarly research interests to issues of public concern. It is bestowed on faculty in any of the disciplines or fields of study. The Distinguished Teaching Professorship is conferred upon instructional faculty for outstanding teaching competence at the graduate, undergraduate, or professional levels. Teaching mastery is to be consistently demonstrated over multiple years at the institution where the Distinguished Teaching Professorship is bestowed.

The 2015-2016 Stony Brook University recipients of a SUNY Distinguished Rank, and their respective departments, were:

  • Lawrence Dutton/Music: Distinguished Professor
  • Benjamin Hsiao/Chemistry: Distinguished Professor
  • Chang K. Jung/Physics and Astronomy: Distinguished Professor
  • Daniel Klein/Psychology: Distinguished Professor
  • Philip Setzer/Music: Distinguished Professor
  • Allen Tannenbaum/Computer Science: Distinguished Professor
  • William Chittick/Asian and Asian American Studies: Distinguished Professor
  • Lorna Role/Neurobiology and Behavior: Distinguished Professor
  • Kathleen Wilson/History: Distinguished Professor
  • Michael Frohman/Pharmacology: Distinguished Professor
  • Nancy Hollingsworth/Biochemistry: Distinguished Service Professor
  • Peter Brink/Physiology and Biophysics: Distinguished Service Professor
  • Laura Fochtmann/Psychiatry: Distinguished Service Professor

2016 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence Recipients

The Chancellor's Awards for Excellence are System-level honors conferred to acknowledge and provide system-wide recognition for consistently superior professional achievement and to encourage the ongoing pursuit of excellence. These programs underscore SUNY’s commitment to sustaining intellectual vibrancy, advancing the boundaries of knowledge, providing the highest quality of instruction, and serving the public good. Through these awards, SUNY publicly proclaims its pride in the accomplishments and personal dedication of its instructional faculty, librarians and professional staff across its campuses. The awards provide SUNY-wide recognition in five categories: Faculty Service, Librarianship, Professional Service, Scholarship and Creative Activities, and Teaching.

  • The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service recognizes the consistently superior service contributions of teaching faculty. Eligible service contributions may occur in a variety of areas including service to the campus, the State University, the local community, or contributions at the regional, state-wide, national or international levels. Eligible activities may encompass a combination of service contributions to the discipline or disciplinary and professional organizations and societies, and to leadership in local or system-wide faculty governance. The 2016 Stony Brook University recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service were:
  • Styliana-Anna Tsirka/Pharmacology
  • Richard Gerrig/Psychology
  • Lori Repetti/Linguistics
  • The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service recognizes consistently superior professional achievement within and beyond the position. Nominees for the award must be individuals who have repeatedly sought improvement of themselves, their campuses and ultimately the State University and, in doing so, have transcended the normal definitions of excellence. The 2016 Stony Brook University recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service were:
  • Ginny Clancy/Sustainability Studies
  • Kimberly Joy Dixon/Career Center
  • Kathryne Piazzola/Research Administration
  • Nathan Leoce-Schappin/Physics and Astronomy
  • The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities supports the pursuits foundational to sustaining the intellectual growth of SUNY institutions by recognizing consistently outstanding scholarly and creative productivity, conducted in addition to teaching, by SUNY’s instructional faculty. The 2016 Stony Brook University recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities were:
  • Thomas C. Weinacht/Physics and Astronomy
  • Jadranka Skorin-Kapov/College of Business
  • Alexander M. Orlov/Materials Science and Engineering
  • Martin Rocek/Institute for Theoretical Physics
  • The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes consistently superior teaching at the graduate, undergraduate, or professional level in keeping with the State University’s commitment to providing its students with instruction of the highest quality. Additionally, consideration is also given to sound scholarship (usually demonstrated through publications or artistic productions), outstanding service to students, as well as service to the State University and to the campus. The 2016 Stony Brook University recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching were:
  • John Bailyn/Linguistics
  • Yuefan Deng/Applied Mathematics and Statistics
  • Edward Feldman/Family, Population and Preventive Medicine
  • Angela Kelly/Physics and Astronomy

2016 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service Recipients

The Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Classified Service are System-level awards established by the University to give System-wide recognition for superior performance and extraordinary achievement by employees in the Classified Service. These awards demonstrate the University’s commitment to individuals who provide superior service to its students and the community at large. The 2016 Stony Brook University recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service were:

  • Yadira Fernandez/Custodial Services
  • Laura Stevenson/College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office
  • Jay L. Levenson/Library

2016 Summer Online Teaching Initiative
In order to provide more flexible and accessible instruction for our students and encourage our faculty to explore new teaching modes, the Office of the Provost created the 2016 Summer Online Teaching Initiative. This initiative encouraged faculty to offer online versions of existing courses, particularly courses that have strong demand, support timely degree completion and can serve a large number of students. After a competitive selection process, successful applicants will be supported by the professional staff in TLT and through consultation with experienced online instructors. The Provost's Online Executive Committee reviewed applications, solicited recommendations from a variety of faculty members from across different disciplines, and awarded supplementary stipends of $1500 for each course conversion. In cases where unusual faculty course development effort in adapting the materials and/or pedagogy would accompany the course conversion, the committee provided a higher supplementary stipend.
The 2016 Summer Online Teaching Initiative Grant recipients and their respective courses were:

  • Gabrielle Russo/ANP 120 - Introduction to Biological Anthropology
  • Tilsa Oremonago/ECO 108 - Introduction to Economics
  • Camilo Rubbini/ECO 355 - Game Theory
  • Ramiro Malaga Ortega/ECO 389 - Corporate Finance
  • Anurag Purwar/MEC 262 - Engineering Dynamics
  • Michael Boerner/MUS 304 - Contemporary Traditions in American Music: 1900 to the Present
  • Anna Reguero/MUS 309 – Music Since 1900
  • Hayley Roud/MUS 311 – Topics in Non-Western Music
  • Henry Bokuniewicz/MAR 104 – Oceanography
  • Michael Kryluk/PHI 105- Politics and Society II
  • Hannah Bacon/PHI 105 – Politics and Society II
  • Adam Israel/PHI 105 – Politics and Society II

September 2016 Provost’s Lecture

On Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. in the Humanities Building, Room 1006, the Provost’s Lecture Series is pleased to host Dr. Leonard Cassuto, who will give a lecture entitled “Changing Graduate Education for the 21st Century.” Leonard Cassuto, Professor of English and American Studies at Fordham University, has written and spoken extensively on the history and future of higher education in the United States. He also writes a monthly column on graduate education for The Chronicle of Higher Education and is the author or editor of eight books, including the recent The Graduate School Mess: What Caused It and How We Can Fix It. Cassuto is also an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In this talk, Leonard Cassuto offers a lucid and penetrating analysis of the national state of graduate education. By illuminating the history of how our educational institutions developed and examining the assumptions that perpetuate current problems, Cassuto clearly points toward concrete solutions to redefine the preparation of graduate students and to reinvigorate the public role of graduate education in the United States.