September 26, 2023 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Prashanth Jaikumar, Lijuan Li, Will Murray, Lora Stevens, Jim Kisiel (via Zoom), Jesse Dillon, Barbara Taylor, Krzysztof Slowinski, Christine Whitcraft, Babette Benken, Margaret Karteron, Henry Wu, Lindsay Aymar.

  1. Approve agenda (10:00) - Approved
  2. Approve minutes – Approved
  3. Announcements
    1. ASM
      1. When using SEF money, stick to the budget line item (if you didn't include things like tax and shipping, you have to pay for that – there's not carry-over budget for it)
      2. Henry and the Dean to speak further on resuming staff telecommuting
      3. Increasing course fees – email Henry with the following information:
        1. What course
        2. How much
        3. Cost/student
        4. Enrollment (upper division or major only – lower division is SEF)
      4. University is looking into a University-wide 360 tour
    2. Operations
      1. Scholarship reception was a success!
        1. The students and donors appreciated being recognized in this way
        2. Going forward we will continue to have it following the Symposium – the posters really increased engagement for scholarship awards
        3. We want to set a date for next year's Symposium and Reception ASAP
        4. Invitations to students need to have the date on them
        5. Timing to be discussed (was 4pm-6pm an issue with traffic?)
        6. No Biology donors came, so we want to make sure we reach out to ensure some come next year
        7. We can accommodate more tables/donors
        8. Consider organizing tables by donor for future events for easier match-up
        9. Being able to use the Foundation lot was a huge help as it is outside the beginning of the semester event parking moratorium
        10. For visuals/slide show: consider video student interviews with posters/more information on labs and general research activity
      2. "Pretty Darn Good Professor" and "Pretty Darn Good Lecturer" (separate awards) nominations will be due October 16.
        1. Nomination information for both will go in the same email because anyone (faculty and staff) can nominate
        2. Will require a letter of nomination and a current CV of the nominee
      3. RSCA Applications for CNSM 2024-2025 Awards
        1. RSCA applications for CNSM RSCA awards will go out sometime week of 9/25 – University deadline is November 3rd
        2. University Mini Grants and Summer Stipend Applications were sent out 9/18/2023.
      4. Sabbatical eligibility letters will be sent to eligible faculty during the 3rd week of October.
  4. Chancellor's Strategic Workgroup Black Student Success Report and CNSM response
    1. Everyone should have received an email regarding the upcoming report and survey
      1. While we don't have programs designated specifically for black students, we do have a lot of minority-focused programs, so that is what we should be listing
      2. Chairs should send their responses to Dr. Slowinski and Dr. Bennett so that they can review and consolidate before sending the report to faculty affairs
      3. Email responses to Dr. Slowinski by EOD Friday 9/29
  5. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. Curriculum Cycle
        1. Department submit changes before October 9th (deadline)
      2. Transfer admissions Spring '24
        1. Spreadsheet available on teams – summary for CNSM
        2. Handout
          1. 1000 more freshman than last year – admissions shifted towards freshman for once more than half of admitted students
          2. 755 for CNSM – its 100 more than our highest numbers in the past
          3. Local preference – they live in immediate service area, athlete or veteran – mainly that you went to local high school
          4. 3500 students are not local
          5. % of students in category M1 highest number ever
          6. Keeping enrollment consistent means admitting more transfers
      3. SOAR model for freshmen and transfers, update
        1. Enrollment model timeline for making changes to transfer admission requirements (MSR's) is 2 years
      4. CNSM Advising Self-Study
        1. Will be submitted to academic affairs this week (week of 9/25)
        2. Chairs to read executive summary and last page
          1. Argues why we need faculty advising and why the current model works for CNSM students
        3. Send any notes (to make more persuasive) to Dr. Slowinski ASAP
    2. Research
      1. Clarification on Dr. Taylor's previous email
    3. Graduate Programs – N/A
  6. Open discussion

Meeting Minutes were APPROVED on Tuesday, October 3, 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.