March 22, 2022 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Curtis Bennett, Margaret Karteron,  Andreas Bill, Dessie Underwood, Maryanne Horton, Allie Puz, Lijuan Li, Will Murray, Lora Stevens, Lisa Martin, Kris Slowinski, Babette Benken, Henry Wu.

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 March 15
  3. Announcements
    1. ASM
      1. N/A
    2. Operations Update
      1. Noticed an imbalance of departmental representation at university level committees, including Academic Senate.
        1. Working to be corrected and better reflect our departmental diversity.
      2. Commencement Discussion
        1. Hooding ceremony lengths differ by department.
        2. Discussion of pre-commencement ceremony hooding on one of the provided micro stages.
          1. Subject to available space and logistics.
    3. Communications Update
      1. Weekly list of newsworthy items to the Provost.
        1. SLC exhibit, Freshman showcase, physics distinguished lecturer series, faculty awards,
        2. Discussion:
          1. Rotate department focus to ease the stress of asking weekly bullet points.
          2. Soliciting bullet points via email vs. in CDC meetings.
    4. Dean’s Report
      1. 2022 Physics Nobel Laureate Speaker, Dr. Donna Strickland, will be giving a virtual lecture via Zoom on Monday, April 4 at 9:30 AM (technical lecture) and 3:00 PM (general lecture). Invitation forthcoming.
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. Freshman Showcase: Saturday, April 23, 2022 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.
        1. Need faculty and staff participant commitments to Kris by next week.
      2. SOAR Feedback
        1. Transfer SOAR for CNSM will be done in a single workshop this year.
        2. Three main elements to 2022 SOAR Event:
          1. Academic Advising (mostly via Zoom) leading up to the SOAR date.
          2. Orientation Workshop; “Orientation to Campus Life & Resources (OCLR) Breakout Sessions”.
      3. Upload distribution of DFW grades and completion rates to InterFolio.
    2. Graduate Programs
      1. Have received 23 applications for GF D. Green.
        1. Would like more representation across departments in the future.
  5. SEF Discussion
    1. Will need to cut out roughly $370,000 between the designated and (ranked) competitive lists.
    2. Discussion: $225,000 over budget for designated requests.
      1. Some items will need to be moved from designated to competitive.
        1. Service contracts.
        2. Vehicles.
      2. Some items might be eligible for HEERF funding if we can purchase them quickly.
        1. Requests that qualify as HyFlex spaces.
        2. Requests that are the fault of the pandemic (e.g. items that have fallen into disrepair because of pandemic shutdowns, staffing, etc.).
        3. Technology upgrades.
    3. Ranking Discussion
      1. High-Ranking Competitive Requests by Department
        1. Geology
          1. #1: New Ford 4WD Van
        2. Biology
          1. #1: Seahorse HS Mini Cell Metabolism Analyzer
        3. Chemistry
          1. #1: ALFA-II IR Instrument
          2. #2: Stacked Incubators
        4. Physics
          1. #1: In Plane Option Upgrade of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) system
        5. Service Contracts across departments.
    4. Consider all sources of funding in case some items are not fulfilled (CE, Startup, Department Funds, etc.)
  6. New Business
    1. N/A

Upcoming Dates:

March 28 - April 1: Spring Break
Apr. 4th: Nobel Prize Lecture, Dr. Donna Strickland (Tentative 9:30 am). More detailed talk at 3:00pm
Apr. 18-22nd: Week of RSCA
April 20th: Fellows Colloquium (7:00pm Hybrid)
Apr. 23rd: CNSM Showcase (9:00 am – 1:00 pm)
May 17th: College Commencement (1pm, between COTA (9am) and COB (5pm)) at the stadium

Meeting Minutes were APPROVED on Tuesday, April 12, 2022

*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.