Provost’s Newsletter: News and Updates from the Division of Academic Affairs for December 19, 2024
December 19, 2024
Dear Baruch College Community:
The close of the fall semester is not as uneventful as we all might have hoped, given the College-wide network outage. I am immensely grateful to the BCTC leadership and staff for containing a potential problem quickly so that final exams could proceed. I am also deeply grateful to the faculty and staff for managing through this challenging situation. To accommodate the extra time that may be needed for grading as a result of the outage, the grade submission deadline has been extended to Sunday, Dec. 29 at midnight.
As the fall semester wraps up, it is almost time to select the next entering class of Macaulay Honors at Baruch College. Faculty engagement in this process is critical to its success. Details on how you can be part of this important process can be found in the “Teaching and Learning” section below.
The College is upgrading its HyFlex infrastructure with more classrooms fully equipped for teaching in the HyFlex modality. In this modality, students have the flexibility to attend class in person or online via videoconference. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) has updated its HyFlex seminar to support faculty interested in teaching in this modality. Completion of the seminar is required for faculty to teach in these high-tech classrooms in the HyFlex modality. Again, details can be found in the “Teaching and Learning” section.
However you celebrate the season, I wish you and your loved ones peace and joy in 2025!
Best wishes,
Dr. Linda Essig
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Campus Updates
Library Hours During Winter Recess
During the week of December 23-29, the Newman Library will be open to faculty from 9 am to 5 pm on Monday, Dec. 23, Thursday, Dec. 26, and Friday, Dec. 27. Faculty may use the space for research and checking out materials. Additionally, up-to-date hours are posted on the library website.
Save the Date: Spring AI Think Tank Prompt-a-Thon: Thursday, Feb. 20
Microsoft Innovation Officer Michael J. Jabbour will be returning to Baruch College on Thursday, Feb. 20, from 2:30 to 5:30 pm to lead a prompt-a-thon for the AI Think Tank and other interested faculty and staff. Please save the date, with details to follow when the Newsletter returns in January.
Faculty Affairs
Faculty Needs Assessment Survey Request
As part of the realignment of the Division of Academic Affairs, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute (BLSCI) have joined forces and are now housed in the Pedagogy and Online Programs subdivision of Academic Affairs. The new CTL can more holistically support Baruch faculty’s teaching and pedagogic development needs. In order to help inform the future direction of Baruch’s CTL, we are asking that faculty participate in a Faculty Needs Assessment Survey. This ensures a meaningful and strategic planning process. Click here to take the survey.
Travel Alert: UK Implements Electronic Travel Authorization for Noncitizens
Beginning Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, all non-UK or Irish citizens traveling to the UK will need to complete an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). This will impact faculty who are planning to travel to the UK for research purposes in 2025. Click here for more information about the ETA process. Click here to view the application website.
Teaching and Learning
Call for Participation: Select the Honors Class of 2029
All faculty are invited to read applications for students who applied to the Macaulay Honors Program at Baruch College and use the results to offer admissions to both the Macaulay Honors College and the Baruch Scholars Program. Four in-person reading days will be held. Currently, those days are Wednesday, Jan. 15, Friday, Jan. 24, Wednesday, Jan. 29, and Friday, Jan. 31. Alternate dates may be announced if there are conflicts. Snacks, coffee, and peer camaraderie will be provided. Faculty engagement is essential to the success of the Honors Program at Baruch, so please let us know your availability in this survey.
Baruch Center for Teaching and Learning HyFlex Seminar
Baruch has recently upgraded its capacity for teaching in a HyFlex format. Baruch’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is offering an updated HyFlex Seminar this spring to support interest across the College. The seminar is designed for both full-time and part-time faculty to learn about HyFlex pedagogical models and develop a plan to teach in a HyFlex classroom. Faculty will be compensated $500 for completion of the seminar. Please note that faculty cannot teach in a HyFlex modality unless they have completed this seminar. If you’re interested in participating, please complete this survey by Thursday, Jan. 9. Session dates will be determined shortly thereafter.
Registration Now Open: January Brightspace Seminars
Registration is now open for a series of Brightspace workshops being offered in January to support preparation for the upcoming semester. These workshops, held by the Baruch Educational Technology team, will cover a range of topics from Brightspace basics to advanced tools for creating engaging and effective courses. Click here for a full list of workshops, including dates, times, titles, and registration links. Please review the workshop schedule and register for the sessions that best meet your needs.
Getting to Know Brightspace: Requesting Course Merges
Faculty can now request course merges for courses in Brightspace. If you have multiple sections of a course, or courses that you would like to combine into one shell for easier management, please complete the Course Merge Request Form. Please ensure that you provide accurate course details, including the course names and sections you want merged, and indicate which course shell should serve as the primary (merged) course. If you have questions, please reach out to Brightspace Support 24/7 by clicking the blue-and-white dialogue box in the bottom right corner of any Brightspace webpage or via phone at 1-888-895-2511.
Research
IRBManager xForms Cleanup
CUNY Central will be undertaking a clean-up of xForms in IRBManager. xForms that have been inactive for more than six months that are currently in PI signature, FA signature, or Data Entry stages will be removed from the review queue. These forms can be reactivated if researchers are still working on them by contacting the Office of Research Compliance and Outreach and requesting that they be restored to the review queue.
Research Agreements Reminder
Research agreements are contracts entered into by two or more persons or institutions for research purposes. These agreements detail how data will be used, protected and maintained. Examples of research agreements include Data Use/Transfer Agreements, Research Collaboration & Consortium Agreements, and IRB Authorization Agreements. Only CUNY Central officials can provide an institutional signature. Baruch Researchers, Chairs, Administrative Officials, or others cannot sign these agreements on behalf of CUNY. Agreements requiring an institutional signature will be forwarded to CUNY Central and signed by either the General Counsel or a designated signatory. Please contact the Office of Research Compliance and Outreach with any questions.
Faculty Achievements
Lauren Aydinliyim, Assistant Professor, N. Paul Loomba Department of Management, recently had her article “Executive Compensation: The Role of Human Capital and Geographic Preferences” published by the Compensation & Benefits Review.
Alex Mills, Professor, N. Paul Loomba Department of Management, has just had his article “Telehealth in Acute Care: Pay Parity and Patient Access” published in Manufacturing & Service Operations Management.
Please join me in congratulating the recipients of the Interdisciplinary Cluster Proposal Incentive Grants:
- “Mapping Social Communication and Critical Decision-Making Processes Related to Extreme Heat at Local, Governmental, and Corporate Levels” by Mindy Engle-Friedman, Professor, Department of Psychology, Priya Rangaswamy, Assistant Professor, Aaronson Department of Marketing, and Shanique Brown, Assistant Professor, N. Paul Loomba Department of Management, in the Climate Studies Cluster.
- “Take It or Leave It? The Impact of Investments from Tech Giants on Tech Startups’ Funding” by Shuting Wang, Assistant Professor, Paul H. Chook Department of Information Systems and Statistics, and Dexin Zhou, Associate Professor, Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance, in the Data Science Cluster.
Do you want to share something you published, exhibited, performed, or presented with the Baruch community? Submit your information here.
In Memoriam
Remembering Jakob Reich
It is with sorrow that I announce the passing of Jakob Reich, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics. Professor Reich taught at the College for 50 years. His area of research was mathematical probability, with articles published in prestigious journals such as the Annals of Probability. Professor Reich was fiercely dedicated to his students and will be deeply missed.
Reminders
Brightspace Attendance Tool Deactivation Effective Saturday, Dec. 28
Under advisement by the University Office of Enrollment Management, the LMS Transition Team will disable the Attendance tool in Brightspace effective Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. The decision to implement this change is based on CUNY’s status as a non-attendance institution with the U.S. Department of Education. While the College is required to establish commencement of attendance, this is done through the established WN grade process. Any other form of attendance gathering at the Central Office level in addition to the WN process could compromise this status. However, faculty may maintain their own roll books with classroom activity. If you have questions, please reach out to Brightspace Support 24/7 by clicking the blue-and-white dialogue box in the bottom right corner of any Brightspace webpage or via phone at 1-888-895-2511.
Save the Dates: Annual Tenure & Promotion and CCE Workshops in February
Based on feedback, there will be two career advancement workshops for faculty this spring: a tenure and promotion workshop for all tenure-track faculty, and a separate certificate of continuing employment (CCE) workshop for all lecturers interested in applying for CCE status. There will be overviews of these processes at each workshop, as well as an opportunity for faculty to speak directly with recently tenured or promoted faculty about their experiences. The CCE Workshop will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 12:30 pm. The Spring Tenure & Promotion Workshop will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 12:30 pm. A light lunch will be served at both events.
Save the Date: Cross-College Faculty Research Symposium on Thursday, Mar. 27
The Annual Cross-College Faculty Research Symposium will be held on Thursday, Mar. 27, 2025. This signature event for all faculty includes PechaKucha presentations of research, research awards, and more. Please save the date and stay tuned for more information on both presenting your research and attending the event.
Stay Connected
Share Your Research and Creative Activity
Keep the College up to date with your research and creative activity by emailing facultynews@baruch.cuny.edu with the what, where, and when of your publication, exhibition, or award.
President Wu’s Blog
Join the conversation at President Wu’s blog. Read and comment here.
Event Listings
If you have an event for the Academic Affairs Events Calendar, published each Thursday during the academic semester, click here.