Provost’s Newsletter: News and Updates from the Division of Academic Affairs for October 2, 2024
October 2, 2024
Dear Baruch College Community:
It was lovely to have faculty and staff together last week for the first Coffee Chat/Tea Talk of the year celebrating Latinx Heritage Month. Please mark your calendars for next month’s on Wednesday, Oct. 23, celebrating LGBTQIA+ History Month.
Also last week, all full-time and part-time faculty received a direct email from me inviting applications to a suite of five one-time grants and awards programs for faculty to support their research and to recognize their innovative teaching with Brightspace and their excellence in assessment practices.
Based on feedback received from both attendees and non-attendees to the Annual Cross-College Research Symposium, that signature event has been redesigned as two half-day research showcases. Full-time faculty are invited to apply to present their research at the Fall Showcase, where two $1,000 research prizes will be awarded. Please save the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 4 for this showcase event, which will be followed immediately by the Inaugural Faculty Mentoring Network reception.
One of the ways in which we are implementing the Baruch College Strategic Plan 2023–28 is by the initiation last year of six cross-college working groups focused on Graduate Student Success, Undergraduate Advisement, Global Engagement, Experiential Learning, Enrollment Management, and Course Scheduling. These working groups, which include faculty, staff, and senior administration, received revised charges that reflect the annual College-Focused Goals announced by President Wu yesterday.
One of the initiatives of the plan is to expand experiential learning opportunities for our students. If you are wondering how experiential and community engaged learning relates to your work, you can join me and the ExCEL team on Thursday, Oct. 17, as we welcome Lisette Nieves, President of the Fund for the City of New York, for a lunchtime forum on the topic (details follow).
Finally, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to show the community the progress made on the 63 Madison project at a community forum next week. See you there!
Best wishes,
Linda Essig
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Campus Updates
New Minor and 4+1 Program Added in the Marxe School
The Marxe School of Public and International Affairs has recently announced two significant program developments. First, the interdisciplinary, cross-school Liberal Arts Minor in Public Service has officially launched. The introductory course is offered by the Marxe School, and additional courses for the minor are offered across all three schools. Secondly, a new 4+1 Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs and Master of Public Administration program is now accepting applications, with student admissions beginning this semester. For more information on the Public Service minor, click here. For more information on the accelerated bachelor’s and master’s program, click here.
Faculty Affairs
Baruch Faculty Mentoring Network Mentee Applications Open Today
The College-wide Baruch Faculty Mentoring Network pilot SharePoint site is now available to support both professorial title faculty and lecturers at all career stages. The site is available via CUNYfirst login (firstname.lastname## @ login.cuny.edu). Eligible full-time faculty can request to be part of the Mentoring Network at this link. Those interested in being mentored will be able to select an area of support and a potential mentor on the SharePoint site before applying. The mentee application will be available until all spots are filled, or Thursday, Oct. 31. Since this is the pilot year of our mentorship program with limited space, mentee applications will be open to Baruch faculty in these categories only:
- Full-time faculty (both lecturers and tenure track) who were hired in AY 2023–24 or AY 2024–25
- Faculty who participated in our mentoring focus groups conducted in Spring 2024
- Associate Professors who have been at rank for five years or more
If you fall into one of these categories and are interested in mentorship, please reach out to Norene Leddy, Director of Faculty Affairs, for more information. Additionally, if you’d like to learn more about the Baruch Faculty Mentoring Network in general, please contact Norene Leddy and Dr. David Jones, Senior Mentor and Professor of Political Science.
Save the Dates: Faculty Mentoring Network Gatherings on Monday, Nov. 4 and Thursday, Mar. 27
In addition to connecting faculty with mentors via the online portal, the Faculty Mentoring Network is working to create a culture of mentorship across the College, with in-person events for all faculty to encourage mentoring and networking. Please save the dates for our Faculty Mentoring Network Gatherings on Monday, Nov. 4 and Thursday, Mar. 27, from 5 to 7 pm. These will happen immediately after the Faculty Research Showcases and are opportunities to meet peers, mentors, and potential collaborators from across the College.
Adjunct Faculty Social on Tuesday, Oct. 8
All Baruch adjunct faculty are invited to an in-person Adjunct Faculty Social held on Tuesday, Oct. 8, from 4 to 7 pm, in the Newman Vertical Campus (NVC), 14th Floor, Room 14-270. Please join us for wine, cheese, snacks, and socializing. Feel free to drop in any time during the social to get to know some of your colleagues. RSVPs are requested but not required. If you plan to attend, please RSVP here. For more information, please contact Norene Leddy, Director of Faculty Affairs.
Student Success
Transfer Student Success Portal Now Available on Brightspace
The Office of New Student Programs is excited to announce the launch of the Transfer Student Success Portal, an interactive digital hub designed to support a smooth and enriching transition for new transfer students. This hub is available on all new transfer students’ Brightspace homepages. Please share information about this resource with transfer students, either in your classes or elsewhere, to help them maximize their success at Baruch.
Teaching and Learning
Lunchtime Forum: Experiential Learning and the Mission of Higher Education
Please join Provost Essig and the Experiential and Community Engaged Learning (ExCEL) team for a lunchtime forum on Experiential Learning and the Mission of Higher Education. Our featured speaker is Lisette Nieves, President of the Fund for the City of New York. Dr. Nieves will discuss her lifetime of scholarship and activism on behalf of underrepresented students and their hands-on learning opportunities in New York. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please fill out this registration form if you wish to attend. The event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 12:30 pm in the NVC, 14th Floor, Room 14-250.
Getting to Know Brightspace: Using Quick Eval and the Grades Tool
Quick Eval consolidates all ungraded activities—assignments, quizzes, and discussions—into one place. This allows you to evaluate submissions across all your courses without switching between individual tools. To access Quick Eval, navigate to your course and click on the “Quick Eval” option in the navigation bar. Use the filters to sort by submission type, or student, allowing you to prioritize the grading order. Quickly review and grade submissions using options to provide text, video, or audio feedback for more personalized responses.
Brightspace’s Grades Tool allows you to easily enter grades manually. Manually entering grades allows you to quickly update the gradebook, whether you’re grading nondigital assessments, adjusting scores, or updating participation marks. This step should be done after verifying that your grading system (weighted or points-based) and grade categories and items (e.g., quizzes, assignments, projects) are correctly configured. To use this feature, first locate the course navigation bar and click on “Grades.” Click on the “Enter Grades” tab to view your gradebook. Here, you will see all the columns for your assessments. Click on “Switch to Spreadsheet View” and then click inside the grade cell for each student in the relevant column. From there, you may enter the grade for that specific assignment, quiz, or participation score. Once all grades are entered, click “Save” to ensure the grades are recorded. For more information, instructors can review this tutorial on Grading in Brightspace. For any 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.
Newman Library Resources in Brightspace
If you haven’t yet noticed the “Library Resources” link in the navigation bar in your Brightspace course pages, please click on it to ensure that the Newman Library webpage that opens has resources relevant to your students’ research needs. This automated system, set up by the library first in Blackboard, is now available in Brightspace. Baruch librarians have long been publishing custom research guides on the library website for your students’ needs. Now, in Brightspace, there is an easy and direct way for your students to access those guides. If you’d like to work with a librarian to further customize a guide, please contact the appropriate liaison from the library to your department.
Research
Call for Applications and Save the Date: Fourth Cross-College Faculty Research Symposium Fall Showcase on Monday, Nov. 4
Full-time faculty from across Baruch College are invited to apply for a presentation slot at the Fall Showcase of the Faculty Research Symposium. This showcase will take place in person on Monday, Nov. 4 from 1:30 to 5 pm and will be followed by a networking reception. Faculty presenters are eligible for two $1,000 research awards chosen by the audience. Please see the call for applications and submit the required materials by Monday, Oct. 21. All faculty are invited to attend, learn about the exciting research projects that their colleagues are working on, and vote for their favorite presentation. If you have any questions about the showcase or the application process, please contact Associate Provost Raquel Fich.
Export Control Reminders
Please contact Keisha Peterson, Director of Research Compliance and Outreach, if you will be conducting the following activities:
- International collaborations with foreign nationals or institutions
- International research with students or faculty
- International shipping
- Hosting international visitors at Baruch College
- International travel: CUNY graduate students, faculty, and staff planning to travel abroad or to a U.S. territory or protectorate for College-related purposes, whose travel is not already reported by the campus Study Abroad Office, are required to register their travel plans with CUNY-GO.
Revised Human Subjects Templates
The Office of Research Compliance and Outreach (ORCO) has created templates based on the types of research involving human subjects commonly conducted at Baruch (e.g., benign behavioral interventions, eye tracking/fMRI studies, EEG studies). Researchers will be required to use these revised templates for all IRB submissions beginning Monday, Oct. 28. The templates have been posted on the Templates, Forms & Documents page of ORCO’s website. To assist researchers in determining the correct template(s) required for their studies, ORCO will also be introducing a Template Wizard tool. The Qualtrics form for the tool will be available beginning Monday, Oct. 21.
Faculty Achievements
Theodore Joyce, Professor, Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance, has been awarded a Student Success Research Grant by the American Talent Initiative to further his research study “SEEK-ing a Better Future: An Evaluation.” Additionally, Dr. Joyce was invited by the editors of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences to write a commentary on the impact of racial concordance between physician and patient and its effect on infant mortality entitled “Do Black Doctors Save More Black Babies?” Congratulations on these two achievements!
Els de Graauw, Professor, Department of Political Science, has co-authored the article “DACA’s Stratified Tracks for Economic Mobility and Lessons for Addressing Immigrants’ Long-Term Inequality,” which has been published by the UC Law Journal (formerly known as the Hastings Law Journal).
Do you want to share something you published, exhibited, performed, or presented with the Baruch community? Submit your information here.
Reminders
The Dialogic Classroom Workshop: Applications Due Friday, Nov. 1
As part of our yearlong series of programming related to respectful dialogue and civil discourse, Baruch Connects, the Office of the Provost has again engaged Essential Partners to lead a two-day workshop on “The Dialogic Classroom.” Last spring, 25 faculty members completed the training and gave the program high marks. The training will support instructors in creating a more open, connected, and conversational culture within the classroom and provide real tools for managing classroom conflict. The workshop will be held on Thursday, Jan. 23 and Friday, Jan. 24. Faculty must attend the full two-day workshop to receive a $500 stipend. Space is limited, so please apply by Friday, Nov. 1 at 5 pm.
NCFDD Faculty Success Program Application Due Wednesday, Oct. 30
This year, there are two spots available for the Spring 2025 NCFDD Faculty Success Program (FSP). FSP is a 10-week virtual program that includes weekly small group meetings led by a seasoned faculty coach, additional self-led online modules, and access to support platforms and a peer community. The online application is now open. All Assistant Professors on tenure track are encouraged to apply. The College has several faculty members who have gone through the FSP and have shared its positive impact on their careers. Click here for more information. Please submit an application by Wednesday, Oct. 30.
Adjunct Community Space in Brightspace
The Adjunct Community Space is updated regularly to provide resources and announce events, trainings, and other critical information for adjunct faculty—please be sure to turn on notifications. If you are an adjunct faculty member and you do not see the Adjunct Community Space in your list of Brightspace courses, please contact Adjunct Services to be added as soon as possible.
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.