Provost’s Newsletter: News and Updates from the Division of Academic Affairs for May 2, 2024
May 2, 2024
Dear Baruch College Community:
As I write the newsletter this week, it seems necessary to acknowledge the demonstrations at college campuses across the U.S. I am guided in this moment, as always, by the Baruch College Strategic Plan, which articulates “Care and Respect” as a guiding commitment and “Inclusion” as a core value. That value calls for us to “foster a community of belonging, embracing people with diverse perspectives, identities, and backgrounds.” Supporting a community where those diverse perspectives can flourish together in a safe environment is an integral part of my mission.
As we near the end of the spring semester, we’re in the height of faculty hiring season. After hiring a record 61(!) new full-time faculty last year who joined us this past fall semester, we returned this year to a more typical recruitment season. Twelve searches are underway (11 in schools, 1 in library), within a budget environment constrained by the requirement to maintain a 5 percent reserve. New search committees will be forming before the end of the semester to support next year’s faculty recruitment cycle, in which Baruch’s three schools will be searching for a total of 13 full-time faculty members.
There has also been some recent recruitment activity within the Division of Academic Affairs. Under my predecessor, the Office of the Provost included a Chief of Staff. When that staff member retired, rather than hire a Chief of Staff, I made the strategic decision to advance the Baruch College Strategic Plan by hiring a CUNY veteran to support undergraduate research and experiential learning. Other searches, specifically for the Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Student Success and Associate Provost for Assessment, Accreditation, and Institutional Effectiveness are replacements for Dennis Slavin, who is returning to the faculty, and John Osae-Kwapong, respectively. As we look ahead to our next Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation review in 2027–28, experienced leadership combined with accreditation expertise will be especially important for these positions.
Since my appointment almost three years ago, I have worked in collaboration with colleagues across the College to make iterative changes to better serve faculty and students. Examples include the appointment of an IRB/HRPP Faculty Liaison to assist faculty and graduate student researchers, moving College Now to the Division of Enrollment Management & Strategic Academic Initiatives, and effective July 1, joining the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute into a “one stop shop” for faculty pedagogy support. The expanded Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) will have joint faculty and staff leadership. Critical to the success of this new model is the initiation of a faculty advisory committee to the CTL. Details of how to apply for the Faculty Director position and to self-nominate to the CTL Advisory Committee follow, along with a Brightspace update and other news from the Division of Academic Affairs.
I wish you a peaceful conclusion to the spring semester.
Warmly,
Dr. Linda Essig
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Campus Updates
Academic Affairs Coffee Chat/Tea Talk Series Celebrates Caribbean Week
The last Academic Affairs Coffee Chat/Tea Talk of the academic year celebrates Caribbean Week and will be held on Tuesday, May 14, from 9:30 to 10:30 am in the Newman Vertical Campus (NVC), Room 14-270. Dr. Arthur Lewin, Professor Emeritus of Black and Latino Studies, will be the guest host. Dr. Lewin will provide copies of his book, The Jamerican, to the first 20 attendees. All faculty and staff are welcome!
Faculty Affairs
Final Review: College Personnel and Budget Guidelines Draft
The College Personnel and Budget (P&B) Committee received comments from 15 faculty members and the local Professional Staff Congress (PSC) chapter representative during the open review period for the College P&B Guidelines. Comments were carefully reviewed and addressed by the drafting subcommittee (Dr. Frank Heiland, Dr. David Jones, Dr. Kimmy Szeto, and Dr. Jonathan Wang) and discussed by the committee as a whole at its April 16 meeting. Many thanks to the faculty who carefully reviewed and submitted their comments. The new guidelines will be voted on by the College P&B meeting on Tuesday, May 7. You can read the draft that the committee will be voting on here.
Adjunct Faculty Survey Request
Faculty Affairs is launching a survey of all adjunct faculty at Baruch. We want to know how we can better support you and your teaching and to hear your suggestions for new programs and workshops for adjuncts. Your feedback is strictly confidential and greatly appreciated. The results will directly inform our planning and scheduling of adjunct-specific events and resources. Please click here to take the survey. Contact Norene Leddy for more information.
Teaching and Learning
Call for Letters of Interest: Faculty Director, Center for Teaching and Learning
The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is seeking a new Faculty Director for the 2024–25 academic year with possible re-appointment for an additional one to two years. The Faculty Director will provide strategic leadership and vision for the CTL, with a primary focus on faculty development and the advancement of pedagogical practices. This role will be pivotal in shaping a dynamic learning environment that fosters continuous improvement in teaching and in learning outcomes for students. This faculty leadership position reports directly to the Associate Provost for Instructional Excellence and Pedagogical Innovation and functions in collaboration with the CTL’s Senior Director, who also reports to the Associate Provost. Letters of interest should be sent to provost@baruch.cuny.edu.
CTL Faculty Advisory Committee Forming
The Instructional Excellence and Pedagogy Innovation (IEPI) subdivision of Academic Affairs seeks faculty to join its Faculty Advisory Committee. The committee will function as a key advisory body, providing strategic guidance and leadership for advancing instructional excellence at Baruch College. Please indicate your interest in joining this committee by emailing provost@baruch.cuny.edu.
Brightspace Transition Updates
As of April 5, all summer instructional course shells have been loaded into Brightspace. If you are teaching this summer, you should have received an email from Brightspace with additional information and support options in preparation for the summer term. As a reminder, all Baruch courses will be using Brightspace as the learning management system effective Summer 2024. Please be sure to visit the Baruch Brightspace Transition website to stay up to date on the transition. Starting today, students will begin to receive alerts about the transition. Please reach out to the Brightspace team with any questions.
ExCEL Faculty Survey Reminder
The new Office of Experiential and Community Engaged Learning (ExCEL) has been conducting a College-wide survey of two types of experiential learning activities: faculty-mentored student research and community-engaged learning activities aligned with courses/curricula. Please open this survey link and input your responses by tomorrow, May 3. There are many forms of experiential learning conducted at Baruch, including study abroad, internships, and more. This survey only covers student research and community-engaged learning. Thank you for your timely attention to completing this survey.
Research
Available for Review: First Quarter Report from the Office of Research Compliance and Outreach
The Office of Research Compliance and Outreach (ORCO) reports quarterly on its protocol review activities. Forty-five protocols were completed during the first quarter of 2024. The majority required only one or two rounds of review, and the average time in review was just over five days. Read the full report here.
Faculty Achievements
Dr. Cynthia Thompson, Professor, Narendra Paul Loomba Department of Management, has co-authored the book Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior: Evidence-based Lessons for Creating Sustainable Organizations, 4th edition, which was published by Wiley last month.
Dr. Ana Valenzuela, Professor, Allen G. Aaronson Department of Marketing and International Business has co-authored the article “How Artificial Intelligence Constrains the Human Experience,” which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research.
Do you want to share something you published, exhibited, performed, or presented with the Baruch community? Submit your information here.
Reminders
Last Open Office Hours of the Semester for Adjunct Faculty, Tuesday, May 14
Norene Leddy, Director of Faculty Affairs, is holding the final open office hours of the semester for adjunct faculty. The last session will take place on Tuesday, May 14, from 2 to 3 pm via Zoom. Faculty must register in advance. After registering, faculty will receive a confirmation email and the Zoom link. 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. Full-time faculty should complete them no later than Friday, May 31, and all adjuncts have until the end of the current semester. 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.