Provost’s Newsletter: News and Updates from the Division of Academic Affairs for February 7, 2024
February 7, 2024
Dear Baruch College Community:
The Spring 2024 semester is now in full swing. Many in our community will be celebrating the Lunar New Year later this week with friends and family. To all who celebrate—and to everyone else too—I wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year.
This issue of the Provost’s Newsletter is chock full of information and opportunities, including for research funding. I want to call special attention to improvements being made to the “Early Alert” process. Faculty can now submit a report for any student at any point in the semester. Faculty will also have the option of letting students know that they are making positive progress in a course. As a result, “Early Alert” is now “Progress Reports.” Often, student progress is stymied by untimely assignment submission. Alerting students to this is now a Progress Report option. All faculty are encouraged to make use of this system as an evidence-based support for course completion and, by extension, overall student academic success.
There are events scheduled across the College that relate to the work of Academic Affairs, including workshops delivered by the Center for Teaching and Learning, guest speakers, conferences, and symposiums. Please look for event listings in the separate Academic Affairs Events Calendar newsletter, which is distributed each week on Thursdays, except in the summer.
An important calendar reminder: The College is closed on Monday, Feb. 12, and Monday, Feb. 19. On Thursday, Feb. 22, and Wednesday, Feb. 28, classes will follow a Monday schedule.
Best wishes,
Dr. Linda Essig
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Campus Updates
Mark Your Calendars for Finalist Visit for Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Student Success
Finalists for the position of Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Student Success will be visiting campus on Thursday, Feb. 29; Tuesday, Mar. 5; and Wednesday, Mar. 6. Each visit will include meetings with Department Chairs and the Academic Council, as well as meetings with staff direct reports and a community forum. The community forums will be held from 2:15 to 3:15 pm on each of the interview days. Your participation is important, so please hold this time on your calendar on Feb. 29, Mar. 5, and Mar. 6.
New CUNY/SUNY Library Resource Sharing Initiative
CUNY and SUNY libraries have partnered to share their physical collections in a seamless way via OneSearch. Starting Spring 2024, students and faculty can now look in one place for all print books owned by CUNY and SUNY colleges and easily request delivery of what isn’t available in Baruch’s collection. In support of the CUNY/SUNY initiative, the Newman Library has extended its loan periods. Initial loan periods will increase from eight weeks to 16 weeks, with the option to renew material for a maximum of 48 weeks.
Faculty Affairs
National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity Writing Challenge
The challenge is simple: Write for at least 30 minutes every day, Monday through Friday, for two weeks. After you sign up, you’ll get online support for daily writing with a group of your peers and a National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) moderator. Faculty must register here by Friday, Feb. 16. Baruch also has an institutional membership to NCFDD, an online resource to help faculty thrive in academia. To claim your free faculty account, please click here.
Faculty Affairs Open Office Hours for Adjunct Faculty on Tuesday, Feb. 20
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, Feb. 20, from 2 to 3 pm via Zoom. Faculty must register in advance. These optional open office hours 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.
Student Success
“Early Alerts” Changed to “Progress Reports”
The intervention formerly known as “Early Alerts” has been expanded. Now appropriately renamed “Progress Reports,” the new system allows faculty to submit a report for any student at any point during the semester. Faculty also have the option to issue a positive report if the student is performing well in the course. For more information, please click here.
CUNY’s Office of Transformation Seeking Career Success Leadership Fellows
CUNY’s Office of Transformation is seeking two Career Success Leadership Fellows, one representing a senior college and one representing a community college, to lead and sustain the work of the AY24-25 cohort of Career Success Fellows. This is an opportunity for two current or former Career Success Fellows to develop their leadership and academic administration skills by working full time during Fall 2024 and Spring 2025. Please click here for more information. Application deadline: Friday, Feb. 23.
Teaching and Learning
Class Attendance and Participation Clarification
Baruch College does not have an obligation to report attendance to its governing bodies, as noted in the College’s status as a “non-attendance taking institution.” However, faculty must take attendance at the beginning of each semester during the verification of enrollment period. Faculty are required to let the Registrar’s office know the names of any students who have not attended at all. For Spring 2024, the verification of enrollment deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 14. Classroom attendance and participation policies should be communicated on the syllabus.
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.
Lunch & Learn: Incorporating Career Readiness into Your Course
All faculty are invited to a brown bag Lunch & Learn with Clemente Diaz, Associate Director of the Starr Career Development Center, and adjunct faculty from the Department of Psychology to learn about the many services that the Starr Center provides for faculty, including one-on-one consultations to help incorporate career readiness into syllabi and assignments. The workshop will be offered in person on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 12 noon (location TBD) and online via Zoom on Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 1 pm. Whether you join online or in person, bring your lunch! Faculty can RSVP here and indicate which session they’d like to attend. Please contact Norene Leddy for more information.
Research
Call for Nominations for 2024 Feliks Gross and Henry Wasser Awards
The Feliks Gross and Henry Wasser Awards are given to the most accomplished scholars among CUNY Assistant Professors. The competition is open to all CUNY tenure-track Assistant Professors, and faculty may be nominated by Chairpersons, Executive Officers, Deans, or Provosts. Click here for more information about the awards and here for the nomination link. Please contact Sarah Danielsson, Executive Director of the CUNY Academy for the Humanities and Sciences, with any questions. The deadline to submit a nomination is Friday, Mar. 15.
Eugene M. Lang Junior Faculty Research Fellowship
All currently untenured full-time and tenure-track Assistant and Associate Professors at Baruch, with two or more consecutive years of full-time teaching service as of June 1, are eligible for a Lang Fellowship. Eligible faculty members may submit one project for consideration each year. Lang Fellowship award amounts will vary between $3,500 and $8,000, with approximately five to seven awards available. The award period will be June 1, 2024–June 30, 2025. Proposals should be emailed to Melisa Mendez in the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research. The application deadline is Monday, Mar. 4. Click here for more information about eligibility and proposal requirements.
Revised Independent Researcher Agreement Materials
CUNY has revised the Independent Researcher Agreement (IRA) application and its Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) regarding the IRA. If an Independent Researcher indicates non-U.S. citizenship and/or country of residence, the Principal Investigator must forward the application to Keisha Peterson, Director of Research Compliance and Outreach at Baruch, or to Angela Pilla, the University Export Control Officer (UECO), for possible export control screening. Approval by Baruch’s Director of Research Compliance and Outreach or UECO is required prior to obtaining additional signatures (i.e., Departmental Chair, Provost). Please refer to CUNY SOP’s for Independent Researcher Agreements for further information. Click here for the application. If you have any questions, please contact Keisha Peterson or Angela Pilla.
Baruch Faculty Writing Group
The Baruch Faculty Writing Group aims to build a community of scholars across the 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, 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
Matthew Junge, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, authored “Reflections on Teaching Mathematics in Prisons,” recently published in the Journal of Humanistic Mathematics. Read his article here.
Do you want to share something you published, exhibited, performed, or presented with the Baruch community? Submit your information here.
Deadline Approaching for Research Symposium Presenters
All full-time faculty are invited to share their research with their Baruch colleagues in a fun PechaKucha format (20 slides in 20 minutes) at the Third Annual Cross-College Faculty Research Symposium. This symposium will take place in person on Friday, Mar. 22. Full-time faculty selected to present are eligible for one of four $2,000 research awards, made possible by a grant from the CUNY Office of Research. There will also be smaller audience-choice awards decided on the day of the symposium, so please plan on attending all day. You do not need to present to attend; all faculty are welcome. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Feb. 9. Learn more here and apply here. Please reach out to Katherine Pence, Associate Professor of History, with questions.
Provost’s Reading Corner
Dr. Cristina Balboa, Associate Professor in the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, recommends Tomorrowmind by Gabriella Rosen Kellerman and Martin Seligman. Dr. Balboa writes, “This book combines decades of research on what makes us thrive, flourish, and mentally strong…” Dr. Sarah Valente, Co-Director of the Sandra Kahn Wasserman Jewish Studies Center, recommends Patrick Bringley’s All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me. Dr. Valente shared, “It’s a moving read; a brilliant, intimate tour of the beloved museum, and even more, a beautiful journey through loss, time, and finding meaning.” I’ll be adding these to my “To Read” list along with President Wu’s recommended reading on AI.
I’ve read a few interesting books myself lately. I downloaded Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization by Ed Conway, on The Economist’s Best Books of 2023 list. Browsing through The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2023 led me to Yellowface by R. F. Kuang, a book I couldn’t put down. A positive review (also in the Times) led me to Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future by Ian Johnson. I really enjoyed this book. It introduced me to a topic that I knew little about.
Do you have a reading recommendation to share? You can submit yours here.
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 Newman Vertical Campus (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. We ask that you RSVP by Tuesday, Feb. 20. Please reach out to Norene Leddy with any questions.
Take This Brief Survey and Help Us Improve College Communications
Did you know that Baruch College sends more than 200 email communications to faculty and staff every year? One of our goals, as part of the Strategic Plan 2023–28, is to improve and enhance Baruch communications so that our community feels better informed and connected. Please take this brief, anonymous survey by Friday, Feb. 9, and share your honest feedback. Click here to take the survey.
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.