March 12, 2024 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Curtis Bennett, Krzysztof Slowinski, Barbara Taylor (10:50), Jesse Dillon, Lijuan Li, Lora Stevens, Will Murray, Prashanth Jaikumar, Jim Kisiel, Christine Whitcraft, Babette Benken, Henry Wu, Christina Hall, Margaret Karteron, Lindsay Aymar, Tatiana Avila

  1. Approve agenda (10:00am) – Approved
  2. Approve minutes from February 27 – Approved as amended
  3. Announcements
    1. Budget
      1. Reminder to get your SEF proposal and your current year report ready
        1. Received the proposal request today.  
        2. Write 1-2 sentences about student success initiatives in reports
      2. Complete orders for this year's SEF budget
      3. Department rankings due before Spring Break
      4. Student council to join CDC April 9 for SEF presentation.
    2. Operations
      1. Commencement Regalia orders are due Friday 3/15
        1. Still need new faculty sizing information
      2. Margaret Karteron will reach out to Commencement awards winners to inform them and ask for pictures
        1. Need thesis titles for MS graduates
      3. CNSM reception will be at "Home Plate" gate
      4. Next meeting on March 21
        1. Will get more information on hooding then
      5. Nominations reminder for spring elections
        1. Nomination reminder email will be sent this afternoon
          1. Received a few (but not many)
    3. Dean
      1. Senate report
        1. RTP Document due dates:
          1. College: December 2
          2. Departments: Next Spring
        2. The state is $79B short
      2. Draft minimum teaching policy update
        1. Adding advising information for clarification (edits to document made during meeting)
          1. Will come back and vote on document after College Council reviews
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. Recent Clarifications and Updates from Enrollment Services
        1. All freshmen are admitted as Pre-Majors, when they advance to Major status (automatic process through Enrollment Services)
        2. Students were advanced to Major status who shouldn't have been
          1. Clarification email was sent to students
      2. Response to Advising Review
        1. Will be shared next week, send feedback to Krzysztof Slowinski
      3. SEF HVDI Budget
        1. Funded for what we requested
      4. Showcase
        1. Any departmental updates need to be shared with Tanya Piloyan ASAP
    2. Research
      1. College migration to Teams voice
        1. Migration won't be completed until end of fiscal year – we do not know exactly when (department by department)
        2. Can opt to be assigned a new number (individuals cannot pick)
        3. Chairs need to collect current information on phones from faculty
          1. Barbara Taylor sending sheet to chairs to fill in + current information on department office lines
    3. Graduate Programs – No updates
  5. CPACE discussion
    1. Need to increase CPACE enrollment numbers (actual number TBA)
      1. Colleges asked to come up with ideas/programs on how to increase enrollment to be implemented in Fall '24
      2. CPACE can do buyout to help faculty put together programs
    2. Can collaborate with other colleges
  6. Tenure Track Hiring Requests discussion
    1. Departmental request presentations/discussions
      1. Biology:
        1. Losing 2 faculty
        2. Requested 3 hires
          1. Replacement for Microbiology
          2. Physiology
          3. Molecular biologist
      2. Math
        1. 2 requests
          1. Pure Mathematics (Algebraist)
          2. Machine Learning/Data Science (statistical)
      3. Physics
        1. Requesting 2 positions
          1. Replacing Optics with Theoretical Astrophysics
          2. Combining Astro/Particle physics and
          3. Asking for Materials Science (experimentalist)
      4. Chemistry
        1. Requesting for 1 position
          1. Chemical Educator
      5. Earth Science
        1. Requesting 1 position
          1. Oceanography/Earth Materials
      6. ES&P
        1. Climate Change Scientist
    2. Draft Rubric discussion
      1. Dean's portion due to Provost Monday 3/18
        1. Feedback requested before then
  7. Open Discussion
  8. Adjournment (11:59am)

Upcoming Dates

  • March 12: BeachScholarship Applications Close
  • March 12: Women in Science and Math (5:00pm-6:30pm in USU)
  • March 15: Regalia orders due
  • March 23: Math Day at the Beach
  • March 23: Data Day at the Beach
  • March 29: Mini Review Due from Departments
  • April 1-7: Spring Recess
  • April 1: Cesar Chavez Day Observed
  • April 2: FAFSA Deadline (altered timeline this year only due to "late" change of federal process)
  • April 8: Deadline to submit thesis to Thesis and Dissertation Office
  • April 13: CNSM Showcase / Day at The Beach (8:00am-3:00pm)
  • May 10: Last Day of Classes (Friday)
  • May 23: Graduation @ Angel Stadium (9:00am)
  • July 20: Sharks @ the Beach and Science in the Halls

Meeting minutes were APPROVED Tuesday, March 26, 2024.

Note: The minutes above reflect discussion on the date of the CDC meeting about policies, not actual policy. Faculty and staff should wait for official communication on each subject before acting.