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Office of the Provost
HomeAbout CommunicationsAugust 2022 senate report

August 29, 2022: Office of the Provost

 University Senate Report

Presentation

Investments in Academic Affairs

Updates

Executive Searches

Libraries Dean:

Karim Boughida has been appointed the new dean of Stony Brook University Libraries, effective September 15. Boughida’s most recent role has been dean of University Libraries at the University of Rhode Island, since 2015. He is an internationally regarded leader in data and library/information science. Boughida succeeds Shafeek Fazal, who served as interim dean during one of the libraries’ most challenging periods in adapting throughout the pandemic.

College of Engineering & Applied Sciences Dean:

The search for the next dean of the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences is underway. The university is partnering
with Russell Reynolds Associates on the search. The search is open and progressing on track to have finalists visit campus in November. Nominations are still being accepted by email (SBU.CEAS@russellreynolds.com). Feel free to visit the CEAS search webpage, which will be updated through the process.

College of Business Dean:

The College of Business dean search has begun. For this search, the university is partnering with WittKieffer. The search is now in the active recruitment stage. More information on submitting nominations, the position profile, and search committee members, is available on the College of Business search webpage.

Graduate Dean:

The Provost’s Office is developing a process for feedback on the search for a new dean of The Graduate School. We will seek input from faculty, staff, and students. More detail will be shared by the Provost’s Office in September.

Initiatives

Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholars Program:

The Provost’s Office is working with key partners to develop the framework for this new program, which will welcome its first cohort of students in Fall 2023. The search for the inaugural executive director was conducted this summer, and resulted in a successful hire, to be announced soon.

Strategic Planning:

The Office of the Provost is leading the next phases of strategic planning for the university. The Provost’s Office will incorporate the tremendous insights and aspirations generated by our community through the visioning process led by Vice President Rose Martinelli over the last several months. The work moving forward will focus on refining priorities; building a framework for school, college, and division plans; and developing cross-cutting initiatives to transform the university in key areas.

IDEA Fellows:

The Provost’s Office and the deans of the five West Campus schools and colleges are partnering to expand this program. Originally launched in the College of Arts and Sciences, IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access)  Fellows are early careerscholars 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 (State title of Lecturer) will be a part of a mentored research environment and, upon demonstration of an upward trajectory of scholarly achievement and a successful, demonstrated contribution to inclusion, diversity, and equity, will be invited to join the tenure-track faculty at Stony Brook University after two years (24 months) through an internal promotion process. This new cohort of IDEA Fellows will be recruited this fall to start in Fall 2023.

Academic Programs

Southampton Arts renamed as Lichtenstein Center:

The renaming honors Dorothy Lichtenstein, a longtime SBU trustee and steadfast patron of the University, while associating Southampton Arts with one of the most recognized and distinguished artistic legacies of our times. The Southampton Arts programs will be unified under the “umbrella identity” of the Lichtenstein Center, which will enhance its reputation as a premier cultural institution supporting academic excellence in the widest range of creative endeavors.

  • Recently approved programs:
    • Asian and Asian American Studies BA revision (06/22)
    • English BA revision (06/22)
    • English MA distance education format (06/22)
    • Quantum Information Science and Technology MS new program (07/22)
    • SUNY Korea BE, MS, & PhD in Electrical Engineering new programs (07/22)
    • Music MA & PhD revision (08/22)
    • Liberal Studies MA revision (08/22)
    • Journalism MS distance education format (08/22)

Events and News of Note

New Faculty:

The university is pleased to welcome its newest cohort of faculty to the West Campus schools and colleges. The Provost’s Office has produced a feature webpage with more information on each of our new faculty. 

Inaugural C.N. Yang Colloquium featuring Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Barry Barish:

Dr. Barish is the inaugural featured speaker of the newly established C.N. Yang Colloquium series in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The series honors his fellow Nobel Laureate in Physics and Stony Brook University faculty member Dr. C.N. Yang. Dr. Yang is the namesake of the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics at Stony Brook. The title of Dr. Barish’s colloquium is “Probing the Universe with Gravitational Waves.” It will take place on Sept. 6 at 4:30 p.m. at the Simons Center Della Pietra Family Auditorium, Room 103.

New York Sea Grant (NYSG) 50th Anniversary:

Over the past 50 years, NYSG has brought nearly $180 million to New York state to support coastal environmental sustainability, coastal economic vitality, and coastal citizens’ awareness and understanding through research, extension, outreach and education. NYSG has supported nearly 870 graduate and undergraduate students and over 1,100 researchers across over a dozen New York colleges and universities. NYSG also reaches hundreds of K-12 teachers and thousands of students, exposing them to STEM career opportunities and developing the next generation of coastal environmental stewards, researchers, and decision-makers. NYSG is a university-based federal-state partnership program of the State University of New York, Cornell University, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with its headquarters at Stony Brook.

SUNY Chancellor’s Awards Open:

The call for nominations is open for SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for 2022-23. More information on nomination requirements and deadlines is available in this message sent by the Provost’s Office.

Research and Infrastructure


ProFund Awards:

Six interdisciplinary teams were awarded the ProFund grant. Projects spanned from material science, quantum processing, environmental health, energy storage, and digital pathology.

CASSH provostial seed grants for interdisciplinary work:

Two teams were awarded, one working on scientific communication and one on social biases in infrastructure maintenance. More information on the program is available here.

President's Innovation and Excellence (PIE) Funds:

The Office of the Provost, in collaboration with the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), and the Office of the Executive Vice President for Health Sciences (EVPHS), is working on a roadmap for research investments from the PIE Fund. More information is forthcoming.

Biomedical Tiger Teams:

The Office of the Provost and OVPR are finalizing the composition of the biomedical tiger teams, targeting September as the month for kicking off activities.

Research Space Survey:

A consulting firm has been hired for conducting a comprehensive research space survey. The kickoff meeting is forthcoming. This is a
collaborative project between the Office of the Provost and Facilities and Services.

Faculty Affairs

P&T Working Group:

This joint initiative between the Office of the Provost and the University Senate will review the current processes for promotion and tenure and will come up with a recommendation on new processes and practices that will streamline existing ones and will be more equitable and adequate to the current educational landscape. This working group is co-chaired by Anissa Abi-Dargham (Psychiatry) and Axel Drees (Physics and Astronomy). The working group has been charged and its activities will take place during this fall semester.

Faculty professional development and leadership programs:

Update about summer programs:

  • Chairs Retreat (May 24-25, 2022):

This retreat presented an opportunity for current and future chairs to get together, discuss best practices about managing departments and programs, learn about university policies and procedures, and participate in several training activities.

  • Emerging Leaders (May 26, 2022):

The final retreat of the 2021-22 cohort of Emerging Leaders program presented a panel of university leaders to the program participants and to the potential participants of the Emerging Leaders cohort 2022-23.

Upcoming programs

Navigating Stony Brook University:

A new orientation program for junior faculty will consist of a two-term sequence of workshops to help them acclimate to the campus, know the resources, develop friendships, and become a member of our Seawolves community. Programs have been specifically curated to support the success of junior faculty members. The “Welcome to Stony Brook” session took place on August 26; the Mentoring workshop on September 16 will present an opportunity for junior faculty and mentors to get together and discuss the mentoring process at Stony Brook University. Further information about the “Navigating SBU” program is available on Faculty Pathways.

Emerging Leaders:

During the Emerging Leaders retreat in May 2022, we collected feedback and a wishlist for the next installment of the program. We are currently working on the updated curriculum for this program and will announce details soon. The new cohort of Emerging Leaders will be presented with a number of leadership workshops and group conversations with university leaders and administrators, and will complete a leadership project at the end of the program, allowing them to graduate from the program.


Enrollment Management

Admissions:

    • Improvements and implementation for Slate are going forward in the Graduate and Health Sciences Admissions.
    • Graduate student applications increased 35% from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022.
  • Hires and retirements:
    • Five out of state undergraduate recruiters have been hired.
    • Enrollment Management is moving forward in partnership with the IACS and Economics departments to hire graduate recruiters.
    • Richard Beatty will be joining Enrollment Management on September 6 as the Associate Provost.
    • Judy Burke-Berhannan is retiring from her role as Director of Admissions. If you are interested in attending her retirement reception on Aug. 30, please contact Heather A. Lynch in Enrollment Management

China Center:

Undergraduate recruitment responsibilities for the China Center are moving to Enrollment Management.

Scholarship Universe:

Financial aid has moved to online applications for all of their endowed scholarships. This new software will roll out to other departments and units over the next few years. This streamlines the application process and makes it more transparent for students

Undergraduate Education

Brightspace LMS:

This new Learning Management System is up and running for faculty and students this fall. Over 200 faculty have been working in Brightspace so far. The new LMS has new functionality such as: The Class Progress tool that tracks the overall progress of both your class as a whole and each student individually; Quick Eval, a single location to view all submitted tests/quizzes, assignments, and discussions; and Intelligent Agents, the ability to set up automated feedback for students. For information on training and answers to frequently asked questions, go to: https://brightspace.stonybrook.edu/

Women in Science and Engineering (WISE):

Effective July 1, 2022, the Women in Science and Engineering program moved out of the College of Engineering and Applied
Sciences and into the Division of Undergraduate Education. Other than the administrative move, no changes are planned for the program, and it will continue to serve students in all STEM fields across campus.

Associate Vice Provost for Curriculum:

Gabrielle Russo, Associate Professor of Anthropology and former chair of the Arts and Sciences Senate Curriculum Committee,
is joining this fall as Associate Vice Provost for Curriculum. She will be working on special projects relating to the development of curriculum in Undergraduate Education. Her first project will be to gather a faculty committee together to assess and possibly
update the Honors Program and to begin building a curriculum for the University Scholars Program. Faculty interested in being part of the discussion are welcome to reach out to Gabrielle directly.

Graduate School

Graduate Education Working Group and Report:

As they have acclimated to their new roles, Provost Carl Lejuez and Interim Dean and Vice Provost Celia Marshik have familiarized themselves with the questions and recommendations delivered by the Graduate Education Working Group in its report. They will continue to review these recommendations and engage in dialogue on the questions raised with relevant stakeholders.

Investments in Graduate School staff:

As shared in the Provost’s West Campus Academic Budget Forum, the university is investing in several staff positions in the Graduate School. The full list is available on the Provost’s Office website. These are critical hires to ensure effective support across the range of graduate education functions, and responsive to one of the recommendations in the Graduate Education Working Group Report to fill open staff positions.

New “Conversations in Graduate Education” series:

The Graduate School hosted the first of a new series this summer with a conversation on graduate student mental health and the role of faculty advisors, featuring Provost Lejuez. The Graduate School plans to offer opportunities for high-level discussions of crosscutting graduate education issues going forward.

Global Affairs

Support for Scholars Impacted by Acts of Inhumanity:

In response to President McInnis’ email on April 11, OGA has coordinated the support of six individuals “Impacted by Acts of Inhumanity”. Thank you to the Intensive English Center, the Graduate School, Student Affairs, FSA, and other units on campus for their support and collaboration on these efforts.

International Friends and Family Program:

The International Friends and Family Program for international students is relaunching this fall for the first time since 2020.