May 6, 2025 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Curtis Bennett, Krzysztof Slowinski, Kelly Young, Jesse Dillon, Lijuan Li, Lora Stevens, Will Murray, Prashanth Jaikumar, Jim Kisiel, Babette Benken, Jeanine Pociask, Christina Hall, Margaret Karteron, Lindsay Aymar, Tatiana Avila

  1. Approve agenda (10:00am) - Approved
  2. Approve minutes from 4/15/25 - Approved as amended
  3. Announcements
    1. ASM - No updates
    2. Operations
      1. Election currently in progress
        1. Filled 3 senate nominees and a lecturer nomination
        2. There will be a call for nominations in the Fall term to fill the remaining seats
      2. Scholarships
        1. In progress
        2. Student notifications have not gone out from Beach Scholarships
        3. Assistantship letters going out likely next Wednesday
      3. Mini's got extension – will get to candidates by May 13
    3. Communications
      1. Commencement
        1. Circle of Banners will be positioned at Home Plate Gate, spaced for crowd size
        2. Faculty Marshals will not assist with seating, but will be needed while students are in line approaching the stage
    4. Development
      1. Commencement
        1. Christina will be there every day, but will be working our check-in table on Thursday
      2. Math Donor update
        1. Thank you to Will and Curt for hosting - the gift is being updated
    5. Dean
      1. Budget
        1. Still waiting on updates from May revise
        2. NSF says they will have 15% overhead on new grants – anticipating RS may be less going forward
        3. 5 grants in the college have been terminated at the current grant year
        4. Worst case scenario – the College is out 600K (if grants get terminated mid-way through)
        5. 2 position continuations have been sent back for more information – work with Jeanine Pociask regarding any temporary appointments
        6. At retreat we will discuss back-up options
        7. At the moment, the Dean is still authorized to do emergency hires
      2. Senate updates
        1. GWAR changing policy resolution failed (which is a good thing)
        2. GWAR C policy is coming back because we didn't finish last year
        3. The EmeritX policy is coming back (regarding space/software)
        4. BK was elected vice chair of Academic Senate
        5. Amanda Fisher will be on the nominating committee
      3. Staff attending thesis defenses
        1. It's fine if it's appropriate to do so, and should always have the department chair, the thesis chair and student approval to attended  
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. Update on Spring 2026 scheduling timeline
      2. Update on SOAR and advising discussions (if there is anything new)
        1. Still under discussion
      3. F25 Admissions update, admission status as of 5/6 distributed
      4. Considering a one-sheet on college success
        1. Need 1 department-specific item of pride from each department (completion rates/number of degrees/progress/rankings)
    2. Research
      1. Grants
        1. LSAMP was terminated
        2. University is currently appealing URISE and Bridges to the Doctorate termination
        3. Currently unable to appeal NSF terminations
      2. Facilities
        1. Vehicle safety training went well
        2. Covered insurance concerns
      3. Faculty Retention
        1. Workshops for RTP and Minis
          1. Reappointment workshop will be on the 16
          2. Workshop for people who haven't mini's before will be on the 19
        2. Department Chairs and Kelly should meet to align on messaging to faculty
    3. Graduate Programs
      1. CNSM AI guidelines
        1. Met with graduate advisors last week on changes and policies relating to grad studies
          1. Topic of whether or not AI is problematic for thesis and projects
          2. Maybe not formal policy, but guidelines would be helpful
  5. CDC retreat
    1. Monday August 4 and Tuesday August 5
  6. Purchasing update
    1. Meeting with assessment consultation
    2. Had representation from Steve Mezyk, Deb Fraser, Jesse Dillon, Prashanth Jaikumar, Kelly, Jeanine Pociask, Matt Becker
    3. Meeting went well - a lot of emphasis on impacts on student experience and interruptions to instruction
    4. Follow-up meeting scheduled for today (5/6) so more information to come
    5. Safety received consultation on working with DCM
  7. Shared Equipment use policy
    1. Figuring out FERPing faculty space allocation and policy on grant assigned time
      1. Feedback on handout prepared by Kelly needed by next CDC (so we can get the policy to College Council by Fall)
        1. Also concerns technician time/billing per equipment use
  8. Adjournment

Upcoming Dates

  • May 9: (Friday) Last Day of Classes
  • May 12-17: Final Examinations
  • May 18-22: (Sunday-Thursday) Commencement (Angel Stadium)
  • May 22: CNSM Commencement 9:00am (Angel Stadium)

Meeting minutes were APPROVED Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

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.