Provost’s Newsletter: News and Updates from the Division of Academic Affairs for February 22, 2024
February 22, 2024
Dear Baruch College Community:
I hope you had the opportunity to read President Wu’s recent blog, Why Should We Pay Attention to AI? In it, he recommends the book The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman, the founder of DeepMind, now owned by Google. Among Suleyman’s recommendations (and warnings), he stresses the need for governance and the ethical use of AI. With that in mind, the Governance and Operations subcommittee of Baruch’s AI Think Tank has drafted guidelines for appropriate use of AI for the College community. Links to the draft guidelines and a feedback form can be found in the “Campus Updates” section.
In addition to AI, another topic that has been on my mind is civil discourse. More specifically, how it is foundational to a healthy learning environment, especially in a diverse institution such as ours. Over the course of the semester, you may see events listed under the umbrella title “Civil Discourse in Times of Conflict.” This is an occasional series that kicks off on Tuesday, Mar. 12, with “The Israel-Hamas War: What Comes After?,” a webinar organized by the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. Look for details and the registration link in tomorrow’s edition of the Academic Affairs Events Calendar.
Another way to promote civil discourse in our community is by providing opportunities for informal conversation. In that spirit, please join me and co-host Kathy Pence, Associate Professor of History and Faculty Director of the Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies, for the March Coffee Chat/Tea Talk celebrating Women’s History Month. More details about this event can be found in the “Campus Updates” section.
Also important are the mental and emotional health and wellbeing of our community. Baruch’s annual Mental Health Awareness Week is March 4-8. A collaboration between my office, the Counseling Center, and Baruch Human Resources, Mental Health Awareness Week is filled with resources and programming for faculty, staff, and students. You can find all of the program on the Mental Health Awareness Week website.
Best wishes,
Dr. Linda Essig
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Campus Updates
Artificial Intelligence Use Guidelines Available for Comment
The Governance and Operations subcommittee of the Artificial Intelligence Think Tank—Michele Doney (Director of the Student Academic Consulting Center [SACC]), Provost Essig, Annie Virkus-Estrada (Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Academic Integrity Officer), Mary Gorman (Vice President for Enrollment Management and Strategic Academic Initiatives), Radhika Jain (Associate Professor, Chook Department of Information Systems and Statistics), Nanda Kumar (Professor and Chair of the Chook Department), and Mike Richichi (Interim Vice President of Information Services and CIO)—has drafted guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence in teaching, research, and operations. Academic department chairs have reviewed the guidelines and offered their input. The subcommittee would now like the input of the community at large. You can review the guidelines here and offer your comments here.
Mental Health Awareness Week March 4-8
Check out the Mental Health Awareness Week website for details on all of the resources available to you and to our students March 4-8. From mindfulness to change management, there is program for every interest and resources to support mental and emotional health.
Second Annual Student vs. Faculty/Staff Basketball Game
The Undergraduate Student Government is once again organizing a Student vs. Faculty/Staff Basketball Game, and all faculty and staff are invited to participate. This year’s game will be held in the Baruch Gym on Thursday, Apr. 4. Warmups will begin at approximately 5:30 pm, with the tip-off ball tossed by President Wu at 6 pm. Want to play? Click here to sign up by Friday, March 1.
March Coffee Chat/Tea Talk Celebrates Women’s History Month
Please join Provost Essig and Kathy Pence, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies, for coffee (or tea) and conversation on Thursday, Mar. 7, from 9:30 to 10:30 am in the Newman Vertical Campus (NVC), Room 14-245.
Faculty Affairs
Oral Communication Support for Multilingual Faculty and Staff
Each year, the Tools for Clear Speech (TfCS) program improves the oral communication skills of hundreds of English-language learners and non-native English speakers at Baruch. This support is available to faculty and staff whose first language is not English. Multilingual faculty and staff are also welcome to sign up for student-facing services. Click here to learn more about the TfCs program and its services. If you are interested in receiving oral communication support, please contact Dennis Dolack, Director of TfCS.
Student Success
New Faculty Resources from the Office of National & Prestigious Fellowships Advising
The Office of National & Prestigious Fellowships Advising has updated its website to include new faculty resources to assist faculty working with individual students applying for fellowships as well as faculty who would like to encourage students to apply for a fellowship. Click here to view the new website and here to view the faculty resources page.
Teaching and Learning
Ethics Week 2024
This year, Ethics Week at Baruch will take place from Monday, Mar. 18, to Saturday, Mar. 23. To support this initiative—celebrating its 20th anniversary at the College—we encourage you to invite distinguished guests to speak that week, either in your classes or in an event open to all. Modest stipends for speakers are available. Learn more here. Please contact Associate Provost Dennis Slavin as soon as possible if you are interested in inviting a guest.
Open Educational Resources Seminar
Learn more about open culture, the Creative Commons, and digital tools for open pedagogy with open-source and/or zero-cost resources at the Baruch Center for Teaching and Learning Open Educational Resources (OER) Seminar. This is a paid faculty opportunity with sessions taking place during the weeks of March 4 and March 11. Click here for more information and here for the interest form. The deadline to submit an application is Friday, Feb. 23.
Spring 2024 Teaching Matters: Special Series on Generative AI
Teaching Matters is a free, monthly, one-hour summit of CUNY faculty and staff devoted to sharing innovative teaching strategies and student-centered learning methods. This semester’s series is delving into different topics surrounding the integration of AI in the classroom. Registration for the final session on Friday, Apr. 12, from 11 am to 12 noon, will open on Thursday, Mar. 14. (Registration fills up fast, so please mark your calendar to sign up when registration goes live.) Recorded materials from the previous two sessions will be made available on the Teaching Matters website. Click here for more information and here to visit the site.
Research
Third Annual Cross-College Research Symposium is Friday, Mar. 22
Faculty from across the College will share their research with Baruch colleagues in a fun PechaKucha format at the Third Annual Cross-College Faculty Research Symposium. This symposium will take place in person on Friday, Mar. 22. There will be audience choice awards decided on the day of the symposium, so please plan on attending all day. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Sean Decatur, President of the American Museum of Natural History. Please RSVP by March 15.
Baruch Faculty Writing Group Continues
The Baruch Faculty Writing Group builds a community of scholars across Baruch College by providing an informal weekly working time for research and writing during the semester. We provide a quiet space, tea, and coffee to help fuel your academic projects. The group meets weekly in person on Wednesdays from 11 am to 1 pm in the Newman Library, Information and Technology Building, Room 415 and via Zoom on Fridays from 10 am to 12 noon. For additional details and to indicate your interest in attending the meetings, please contact Elizabeth Edenberg, Assistant Professor of Philosophy.
Faculty Accomplishments
Yue Zhang, Assistant Professor, Stan Ross Department of Accountancy, authored “Corporate R&D Investments Following Competitors’ Voluntary Disclosures: Evidence from the Drug Development Process,” recently published in the Journal of Accounting Research. Read her article here.
Ana Valenzuela, Professor, Aaronson Department of Marketing and International Business, authored “Intimate Transportation: The Persuasive Role of Personal Narratives in Online Reviews,” recently published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research. Read her article here.
Do you want to share something you published, exhibited, performed, or presented with the Baruch community? Submit your information here.
Assessment, Accreditation, Institutional Effectiveness
Interview with MSCHE Vice President for Institutional Field Relations and Commission Liaison
With the aim of highlighting and strengthening the meaningful partnership between Baruch College and its accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), Melissa Sultana, Associate Director of Assessment, reached out to MSCHE to address common accreditation questions. Click here to read her interview with Dr. Tiffany Lee, Vice President for Institutional Field Relations and Commission Liaison.
Reminders
Spring Tenure and Promotion Workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 27
The annual Spring Tenure and Promotion Workshop will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 12:30 to 2:30 pm, in the NVC Room 14-250. All tenure-track, Certificate of Continuous Employment (CCE)–eligible lecturers, Associate Professors considering promotion, and staff members who work on the faculty tenure and promotion process are encouraged to attend. The content and format will be a bit different from prior years, so even if you have attended in the past, please plan on participating. Please reach out to Norene Leddy with any questions.
Faculty Affairs Open Office Hours for Adjunct Faculty on Tuesday, Mar. 5
Norene Leddy, Director of Faculty Affairs, is continuing to offer biweekly open office hours for adjunct faculty. The next session will take place on Tuesday, Mar. 5, from 2 to 3 pm via Zoom. Faculty must register in advance. Upon registering, faculty will receive a confirmation email with a recurring Zoom link that may be used to attend any of the future sessions for the remainder of the Spring 2024 semester. These open office hours are optional and provide an opportunity for adjunct faculty to discuss any questions or concerns they may have. If you are interested in attending but are unable to make the scheduled time, please contact Norene Leddy.
All Faculty and Staff Must Complete E-SPARC and WVP Trainings via Blackboard
All full-time and adjunct faculty, as well as all staff members, are required to take two online, asynchronous training courses each year: the Employee Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Course (E-SPARC) and Workplace Violence Prevention (WVP). Both are available via Blackboard, under “My Organizations.” Please set time aside as soon as possible to complete these mandatory CUNY trainings. For any questions or concerns about the trainings, please reach out to Maximillian Ng, Baruch’s Compliance Training Administrator.
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, presentation, exhibition, award, and so on.
President Wu’s Blog
Join the conversation at President Wu’s blog. Read and comment here.
Newsletter Items?
If you have an item you would like considered for inclusion in the biweekly Provost’s Newsletter, please click here to send an email to the Provost mailbox. If you have an event for the Academic Affairs Events Calendar, published each Thursday during the academic semester, click here.