April 20, 2021 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Curtis Bennett, Barbara Taylor, Margaret Karteron, Henry Wu, Chris Brazier, Andreas Bill, Christine Whitcraft, Dessie Underwood, Rick Behl, Kris Slowinski, Will Murray, Babette Benken, Allie Puz, Laura Henriques, Natalie Cannon, Olivia Kridler.

 

NOTE: THESE MINUTES REFLECT DISCUSSIONS THAT HAPPENED ON THE DATE OF THESE MINUTES.  DUE TO THE COVID-19 SITUATION, THINGS ARE RAPIDLY CHANGING.  FOR OFFICIAL POLICY PLEASE WAIT FOR DOCUMENTS FROM THE APPROPRIATE OFFICES.   

 

  1. Approve agenda (10:00)
  2. Approve minutes from April 13
  3. SEF for Students
    1. Designated Funds for Departments
      1. Biology
        1. Fluorescence Gel Imager
        2. Replacement Engines for the Parker (Boat Used in Marine Science Courses and Research)
      2. Chemistry
        1. Plate Reader
        2. Biochemistry Small Equipment
        3. Top Loading Balances
        4. Benchtop Autoclave
        5. UV/Vis Spectrophotometer
      3. Geology
        1. Portable Spectrophotometer
      4. Physics
        1. Advanced Experimental Class in Soft Condensed Matter Physics
        2. Power Supplies for Electronics and Upper Division/Graduate Labs
        3. Equipment for Undergraduate and Graduate Instructional Laboratories
      5. Science Education
        1. iPads and Accessories
      6. College
        1. Service Contracts
    2. Technology That Touches Students (SEF Course Fees for FY 20/21 Re-Purposed)
      1. Biology
        1. Upgrade of qPCR
      2. Geology
        1. Augmented Reality Sandbox
        2. Student Field Instrumentation
      3. Physics
        1. X-Ray Diffractometer Update/Maintenance
    3. Competitive Funds Requests (Ranked by Proposal – Not Yet Approved)
      1. Biology
        1. Dual Cab, 4x4 Truck to Haul Students, Field Gear, Boats, Etc.
      2. Chemistry & Geology
        1. Scanning Electron Microscope
      3. Physics
        1. Portable Helium Leak Detector
      4. Chemistry
        1. Centrifuge
      5. IIRMES & Geology
        1. GC/MS-IRMS System
      6. Chemistry
        1. Chiral HPLC
      7. Physics
        1. Rolloff Roof for 6 Telescopes
      8. Physics
        1. Computational Physics Lab Computers
      9. Biology
        1. In-field Conductivity Instrument for Detecting Salinity and Magnetic Fields
      10. Biology & Chemistry
        1. Service Contracts
      11. Physics & Astronomy
        1. Node for the University High Performance Computing Center
    4. HVDI Allocation: $388,000
      1. Split Between 3 Categories:
        1. CNSM Academic Advising
        2. Peer Learning Programs
        3. Program Licensing
  4. Announcements
    1. Operations Update
      1. Commencement
        1. Monday, May 31 at 9:30 am.
        2. Graduate Processional
          1. 8:30 – 9:30 am
          2. Grads will appear on the scoreboard
          3. Grads should walk slower than guests to entrances so that guests can be seated in time to see their grad.
          4. Seats according to year: 2020 or 2021
        3. Spoken Program
          1. Commencement Speaker: Dr. JB Durand
            1. Distinguished Alumnus 2015, Graduated 1984 with B.S. in Biology. Currently Medical Director of Cardiomyopathy Services & Director of Cardiovascular Genetic Research. He is an Associate Professor at University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center.
          2. 2 Minute Graduate Commencement Speakers – One from the Class of 2020 and One from the Class of 2021.
          3. Dean Bennett
          4. President Conoley
          5. Provost or Designee Present the Graduating Classes
          6. Alumni Representative Welcoming New Alums
        4. Stage and Platform Parties
          1. Current Number of Seats is 32 (8 on stage, 24 on the stage in front of the dugout)
          2. Faculty in the Platform/Processional – Faculty Required
        5. Stadium Suites
          1. Space to host JB Durand and Guests
        6. Regalia
          1. Faculty Order Deadline: Friday, April 23rd
          2. Robing Room will be Available for Faculty
        7. Key Dates
          1. May 1: Deadline for students to personalize their grad slides
          2. Mid May: Students will receive their grad passes and their tickets in the CSULB student email addresses.
    2. Dean’s Report
      1. HEERF Funding Proposals with Other Colleges
        1. We discussed whether departments would have Interest in Using AR/VR Classrooms, and it appeared that all departments would be interested.
        2. We discussed whether requesting an Active Learning classroom be made HyFlex would be worthwhile.  There was mixed opinion on this, but it seemed that most felt that focusing on regular classrooms was more important.
        3. If a department wishes to have a department FLC this summer, it was likely that there would need to be someone from the Faculty Center as a leader.
      2. COVID Chair Support Ideas
        1. Send any ideas to Curt before the next Dean’s Council meeting on Wednesday 4/26.
      3. Grading Assistance to Faculty
        1. At Academic Senate it was announced that the union had negotiated for grading assistance for faculty that need it during COVID.  However, this will not likely occur until the fall semester.
      4. Search Discussions:
        1. Academic Affairs is looking to pilot a program where rather than asking for letters for candidates we conduct phone interviews of the references of the semi-finalists (or finalists)
          1. Departments interested in being a part of the pilot should let the dean know.
          2. A reason for this is that letters have been shown to contain unconscious biases and trigger the halo effect
        2. Pool Approval
          1. Academic Affairs is looking to pilot a program where departments can start reviewing files prior to pool approval (however if pool approval is not given then the search will be shut down).  Interested departments should let the dean know.
          2. We note that departments would still have to establish all search criteria prior to looking at any files.
  5. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. Waitlists and Scheduling
    2. Research
  6. New Business

 

Upcoming Dates:
Apr. 20: SEF Discussion with Students
Apr. 30 – Proposals for New CARES Due from Departments
May 7 – Fellows Colloquium: Michael Peterson
May 14 – Proposal for New CARES Due from College
May 31 – Commencement in regional stadium
 

Meeting Minutes were APPROVED on Tuesday, April 27, 2021

*Note: This reflects 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.