Provost’s Newsletter: News and Updates from the Division of Academic Affairs for October 30, 2024
October 30, 2024
Dear Baruch College Community:
The Baruch Connects Respectful Dialogue Series kicked off in earnest last week. I had the pleasure of providing welcoming remarks at the Marxe School’s World Café and the Department of Political Science’s forum on “The Presidency as an Institution.” I also attended the uplifting keynote address delivered by Kazu Haga on “Dialogue as a Stepping Stone for Social Change.” He shared his experiences working both in protest movements and with incarcerated people to advance peace and healing by bringing people to the table to talk with one another. In his closing, he shared this quote from the poet Rumi: “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” When we learn to treat each individual as if they hold the whole ocean within them, we can then engage in constructive and respectful dialogue.
For the past two years, the production of the newsletter has been supported by the extraordinary Diane Harrigan of the Office of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs. Last week, we celebrated Diane’s retirement after three decades at Baruch. This is the last newsletter that Diane’s careful attention to grammatical detail will benefit from. She will be missed!
With best wishes,
Dr. Linda Essig
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Campus Updates
Michael Hughes Selected as Next Dean of the Newman Library
Pending approval by the CUNY Board of Trustees, Dr. Michael Hughes has been selected as the next Dean and Chief Librarian of the William and Anita Newman Library following a national search. Dr. Hughes currently serves as University Director of Collections and Metadata Strategy for the CUNY Office of Library Services. He previously served as Collections Management Librarian for Brooklyn College and as Acting Head of the Institute of Fine Arts Library at NYU. Dr. Hughes holds an MLSIS from Long Island University, along with MA and PhD degrees in philosophy from SUNY Stony Brook. A big “Thank You” to the search committee: Marxe Dean Sherry Ryan (chair), Angel Arcelay, Raquel Fich, Stephen Francoeur, Gerry Jiao, and Michael Waldman.
Faculty Affairs
First Faculty Mentoring Network Gathering on Monday, Nov. 4
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 join us for the first Faculty Mentoring Network Gathering on Monday, Nov. 4 from 5 to 7 pm in the Newman Vertical Campus (NVC), 14th Floor, Room 14-250. Please RSVP here. This is a great opportunity to meet peers, mentors, and potential collaborators from across the College. There will be both organized ice-breaking activities and informal networking opportunities.
Faculty Affairs Open Office Hours for Adjunct Faculty on Friday, Nov. 1
Director of Faculty Affairs Norene Leddy hosts biweekly open office hours for adjunct faculty. These open office hours are optional and provide an opportunity for adjunct faculty to meet with Ms. Leddy and discuss any questions or concerns they may have. This session features Tamara Gubernat, Associate Director, Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at Baruch. She will give a brief overview of the CTL and its resources for adjunct faculty. The event will be held from 2 to 3 pm via Zoom. Adjunct 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 Fall 2024 semester. If you are interested in attending but are unable to make the scheduled time, please contact Norene Leddy.
Teaching and Learning
Please Submit Progress Report Surveys by Tuesday, Nov. 5
Each term, all faculty members are asked to identify students who are experiencing academic difficulties, such as earning a grade lower than C or missing assignments, through progress reports. While all faculty can submit progress reports on any student, the progress report survey lists only students in courses that are in their first year at Baruch and so is designed to proactively contact students new to Baruch who may be disengaged, to commend students who are on track, and to connect students to advisors or tutors as early as possible in their academic career. The survey was distributed on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Please respond by Tuesday, Nov. 5. This work is important, as students who seek help from campus resources are more likely to complete their courses successfully and remain enrolled at Baruch.
Getting to Know Brightspace: Gradebook Settings and Configuration Tips
Effective Gradebook settings and configuration in Brightspace are crucial for faculty, as they streamline grade management, ensure accurate assessments, and enhance communication of student performance. These settings include releasing final grades, excluding an item from final grade calculations for a points-based or weighted-based grading system, hiding a student’s grades or grade item in the Gradebook, configuring grade categories, and quickly finding specific students or organizing data. Click here for instructions on how to properly set up your Gradebook. 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.
Research
Faculty Achievements
Nine Baruch College professors, including Associate Provost Raquel Fich, were named to the Stanford/Elsevier 2024 list of “World’s Top 2% Scientists.” The list evaluated more than 6 million scientists around the world and encompasses researchers from more than 20 diverse disciplines. All three Baruch schools are represented on the list, which you can read more about here.
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology George González’s latest book, The Church of Stop Shopping and Religious Activism: Combatting Consumerism and Climate Change Through Performance, will be released by NYU Press on December 17.
William Organek, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, recently had his article “Up in Smoke: Bankruptcy by Contract in the Legal Cannabis Industry” published in the American Bankruptcy Law Journal. Following publication, Professor Organek was interviewed by Judge Elizabeth Gunn, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Columbia.
Nizan Packin, Professor, Department of Law, has had two articles published recently. “A Google Breakup Would Frustrate Users by Creating Disruptions” was published in Bloomberg Law, and “Rethinking Board Observers: Balancing Innovation and Antitrust Scrutiny in the Tech Sector” was published by the American Bar Association.
Valerie Watnick, Chair and Professor, Department of Law, garnered a write-up in The Regulatory Review at the University of Pennsylvania for her article “Proposition 12 and a New Paradigm for Federal Law: Toward More Humane and Ethical Farm Animal Practices in California and the U.S.,” initially published by the Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review at the University of Missouri School of Law.
Wenqing Zhao, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, was invited to a convening on “Spiritual Traditions and Biotechnological Futures” at the Global Observatory for Genome Editing at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Faculty in the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy have been extremely productive recently. Listed below are some of their publications in 2024:
- Svenja Dube, Associate Professor, authored the article “Trading Off Managerial and Investor Uncertainty in Firm Disclosure: Evidence from R&D Investments and Management Guidance,” which was accepted for publication to Contemporary Accounting Research.
- Yanrong Jia, Assistant Professor, authored the article “The Effect of the Federal Judicial System on Public Enforcement: Evidence from SEC Enforcement Actions,” which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Accounting Research.
- Seil Kim, Associate Professor, co-authored the article “Fragmented Securities Regulation, Information-Processing Costs, and Insider Trading,” which has been published in Management Science.
- Edward Li, Associate Professor, and Monica Neamtiu, Professor, along with Zhiyuan Tu, Assistant Professor, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), co-authored the article “Do Firms Withhold Loan Covenant Details?,” which has been accepted for publication in The Accounting Review.
- Brandon Lock, Assistant Professor, authored the article “The Impact of News Media Coverage on Voluntary Disclosure,” which has been accepted for publication in Contemporary Accounting Research.
- Elisha Yu, Assistant Professor, co-authored the article “New Accounting Standards and the Performance of Quantitative Investors,” which has been published in the Journal of Accounting and Economics.
- Yue Zhang, Assistant Professor, has had her article “Corporate R&D Investments Following Competitors’ Voluntary Disclosures: Evidence from the Drug Development Process” published in the Journal of Accounting Research.
Do you want to share something you published, exhibited, performed, or presented with the Baruch community? Submit your information here.
Focus on Funding
Call for Proposals: Asian American/Asian Research Institute Faculty Research Support Program
The Asian American/Asian Research Institute (AAARI), a CUNY-wide institute housed under Queens College, is offering five awards up to $10,000 each in research funding for the Spring 2025 semester. This program is open to all full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty as well as doctoral lecturers conducting research relevant to Asian American and Asian diasporic communities. Priority will be given to research that supports a work in progress (e.g., book project, article, major proposal submission, creative work) and research that has relevance to current policy questions concerning Asian American communities. Funds must be spent by the end of the Spring 2025 semester. Applications are due by Monday, Nov. 18, at 5 pm. Click here for more information and application details.
In Memoriam
Remembering Lewis Friedman
It is with great sorrow that I announce the passing of Lewis Friedman, Associate Professor, retired, Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. Dr. Friedman was a beloved Marxe faculty member, donor, advisor, and mentor. He served as a faculty member for 28 years before retiring in 2000. In recent years, Dr. Friedman served on the Marxe Dean’s Advisory Board and as a Baruch College Fund Trustee, lending his valuable insights and expertise for the betterment of our work.
Reminders
NCFDD Faculty Success Program Application Due Today
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 the end of the day today, Wednesday, Oct. 30.
Application for Dialogic Classroom Workshop Due Friday, Nov. 1
As part of the Baruch Connects initiative, Academic Affairs is offering a second cohort of the popular Dialogic Classroom workshop. This two-day training for up to 24 faculty members supports instructors in creating more open, connected, conversational culture within the classroom—what better time to build those skills than now! You can apply here to be part of Cohort 2 and read more about the learning goals for this workshop. The workshop will be held Thursday, Jan. 23, and Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Participants receive a $500 stipend.
Artificial Intelligence Forum on Thursday, Nov. 7
The Baruch Artificial Intelligence Think Tank will be hosting an interactive presentation led by Dr. Michael J. Jabbour, Innovation Officer at Microsoft. The event will be held on Thursday, Nov. 7, from 3 to 5 pm, in the NVC, Fifth Floor, Room 5-150. Dr. Jabbour will cover AI use cases for education, AI governance, and AI prompt architecture. The presentation will be followed by a hands-on “prompt-a-thon,” which will be announced at a later date. Seating is limited to 150 people and is filling quickly, so please RSVP at this link today.
Applications for Joint Projects from Faculty in Strategic Research Clusters Due Friday, Nov. 15
Full-time faculty in any of the three strategic research clusters (Climate Studies, Data Science, and Entrepreneurship and Innovation) are invited to form an interdisciplinary cross-departmental team and propose a joint research project. Promising early ideas for joint research projects aligned with the theme of the cluster will be considered for a $5,000 research award. Awards can only be used for research-related expenses for this project and must be spent before Monday, June 30, 2025. The goal of this seed funding is to help teams develop a viable proposal for submission to an external funder by the end of the award period. For more information, please see the full details in the “Cluster Research Interdisciplinary Incentive Grants” section of the Faculty Grants and Awards for 2024-2025 webpage. The deadline for the proposal application is Friday, Nov. 15. For more information and questions about this call, please contact Associate Provost Raquel Fich.
Save the Date: Spring Faculty Mentoring Network Gathering on Thursday, Mar. 27, 2025
Please save the date for our Spring Faculty Mentoring Network Gathering on Thursday, Mar. 27, from 5 to 7 pm. This will happen immediately after the Faculty Research Showcase and is an opportunity to meet peers, mentors, and potential collaborators from across the College.
Baruch Faculty Mentoring Network SharePoint Site Now Available
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 to all full-time faculty via CUNYfirst login (firstname.lastname## @ login.cuny.edu). It includes faculty resources and contacts, as well as events, workshops, deadlines, and more. The mentor pairing program is now at capacity; however, faculty interested in being paired with a mentor can still fill out the mentee application and will be added to a waitlist. If you’d like to learn more about the Baruch Faculty Mentoring Network, please contact Norene Leddy, Director of Faculty Affairs, and Dr. David Jones, Senior Mentor and Professor of Political Science.
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.