August 15, 2023 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Curtis Bennett, Prashanth Jaikumar, Lijuan Li, Will Murray, Lora Stevens, Jim Kisiel, Jesse Dillon, Barbara Taylor, Krzysztof Slowinski, Christine Whitcraft, Babette Benken, Margaret Karteron, Lindsay Aymar.

  1. Approve agenda (10:00) - Approved
  2. Approve minutes from May 16 – Approved
  3. Announcements
    1. ASM
      1. Budget Cuts
        1. CE fund is 38% down from previous year (currently $400K)
        2. Distribution
          1. New model will allocate 80% of new budget ($320K) for distribution – will hold less in the college budget (effectively cutting college budget 80%)
          2. More to come in November on how college will spend remaining 20%
      2. Computers
        1. Employee computers are eligible to be refreshed every 4-5 years.
          1. We have refreshed a lot in the last 2 years, so we will not need to for another 2 years at least.
          2. Full time employees get 1 computer – if more are needed for research, that would come from research funding.
            1. Part-time lecturers should contact their department for computer needs.
          3. With the new budget allocation model, departments need to be responsible for paying that out of department funds
        2. G2 Lab decommissioned computers
          1. Several desktops are being decommissioned, so possibly available for faculty who need an extra desktop monitor (if anyone takes those, they will not be able to refresh those for 4-5 years)
        3. Tech audit coming in April, so important to make sure custody forms are going out to keep track
      3. Telecommuting
        1. Switching to Voice over Teams
          1. 1 time payment in September from CE budget
          2. Will also be keeping landlines, but preferred use will be in Teams
    2. Operations
      1. Scholarships Event
        1. September 22 after research symposium in USU
        2. Ballroom will be reconfigured for scholarship reception – soft rollout of annual decoupling scholarship recognition and commencement recognition
          1. Symposium lasts 11-2/Awards will be 3-4 (subject to change)
          2. Dedicated to donors and students – want matches of students and donors at the event in effort to maximize turnout symposium is 11-2/ scholarship will be 3-4? Still a few details
          3. Invites going out no later than September 5
          4. There will be food, but not a formal sit-down – Dean will make a few short remarks
        3. There will be a program with printed list of participants and donors, rather than all names being announced
          1. Ideally would like all the department chairs to be there – if a donor to your department RSVPs, the chair needs to be there (you will be given notice upon donor RSVP)
          2. Faculty mentors also need to be present
          3. Biology and Chemistry have already done this, so there probably will not be many present
          4. We need a list of people who attended the Commencement awards so we can explain the repeat invite
      2. Committees
        1. Committees that start in spring need to be populated in the fall so that it's easier to spread out service assignments
        2. College Council -
          1. amendment ballot going out in the first week of the fall semester – automatically sends reminders to vote
          2. 1 more tenure track faculty member for academic senate needs nominees
        3. Scholarship committee needs people late March through middle April
          1. We are not doing scholarships as late as past years
          2. Need better streamlining in alternative select area because they operate outside of Beach scholarships
        4. ETF's service is expected – NSF advance award project
        5. Restarting RTP document at academic senate – accepted where we got to last semester, but now we're going to go over it again to make service more equitable and equitably rewarded
      3. Beach Volunteers Platform
        1. Beach Volunteers program (through the alumni office) online platform with registry and contact info on alumni who have expressed interest in volunteering
          1. Not typical volunteer appointments, they're one-offs for specific events or tasks
          2. Not through HR
    3. Dean
      1. Missed class sheet
        1. If faculty is going to not be on campus for an on-campus class, they MUST fill out a missed class sheet
          1. Policy states that up to 3 weeks can be remote, but we must keep track with the sheets
        2. TA's are entitled to substitute pay when there's a formal substitution – if a TA is going to a voluntary conference and asks someone to cover for them, no substitute pay should be expected
          1. TA's are responsible for making sure their classes get covered when they go to conferences.
        3. Possible on-boarding doc explaining vacation/travel forms etc.
      2. Travel reminders
        1. AB 1887 states
          1. We can't use state-funding to travel to those states (always check which apply) - States must satisfy 1 of the 7 exceptions
          2. Students should use department RS for travel
            1. Students can also apply for $1000 through Fellowship Center
          3. Any travel over $3K needs Provost signature
        2. Foreign travel per diem
          1. Per diem is easier than reimbursing receipts and faculty are encouraged to use it for all foreign travel
          2. Will be switching to per diem January 1 for foreign and domestic (pending CO executive order)
      3. Enrollments
        1. Math GE is up 10%
          1. 3% in non-support courses, 7% in support courses
        2. Chem 111A enrollment is up – we do not know why
          1. Repeaters are up, number of first time, first year students is up, some transfer acceptance without prerequisites completed (but none of this accounts for a full 10%)
        3. UC's are accepting 5% more CA students and 10% more transfer students
          1. CC's are at a 30% decline
      4. Lecturer Evaluation Policy
        1. New evaluations this Fall will contain question on completion rates (need to let lecturers know ahead of time)
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Research
      1. IT updates
        1. Desktop support is moving to HSCI-222
          1. Will need to find replacement room for hang-out area for students (used to be HSCI-222)
          2. Computer room in FO3 is staying – no changes
        2. Poster printing will be in HSCI-222
          1. Online forms will still say G2 Lab
        3. Research symposium posters
          1. Money for poster printing needs to come out of faculty budgets
          2. We cannot print posters for faculty in other colleges
        4. Support team has 3 members – No official lead
          1. Muhammad and Thuy will be in HSCI-222, Danny will stay in HSCI-154
          2. Currently interviewing for another support staff
          3. No timeline on hiring a lead
          4. We will keep the same ticketing feature for support requests
        5. Computers
          1. Campus-wide audit will happen no later than April 2024
          2. Will need an inventory of every computer in the college
          3. Checking to see if update requirements are being met (at least once per semester) - Dr. Taylor will send instructions
          4. Starting with desktops and laptops – if there's time we will audit iPads and other accessories
        6. Phishing security breaches – Higher Ed research students are a common target
          1. Add line to syllabus about staying vigilant with internet security concerns (send to Margaret to be added)
      2. Microscopy Updates
    2. Graduate Programs
      1. Enrollment
        1. number of active students 431 (approx. where we were last fall) - have not decreased masters student enrollment
        2. 125 students across the college who have already matriculated
        3. New master's students – applied and have been accepted but not matriculated
          1. Grad advisors have been informed so they can reach out to students
  5. Graduate Student Workshop(s) update/discussion
  6. YouVisit
    1. Launching ASAP
  7. Open discussion

Upcoming Dates

  • Aug. 17: (THURSDAY) first day of Fall Semester
  • Aug. 22: Fall 23 classes start

Meeting Minutes were APPROVED on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.

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.