Dear Chairs,
Thank you all again for a successful retreat last month; I’m pleased to present the next phase of our shared vision development process for the College.
As you’re aware, the College utilized a self study process as a starting point in determining strategies for our success;
the
self studies
prepared last year have been useful tools in examining our expectations, aspirations, challenges and opportunities.
To date, our collaborative efforts have included multiple rounds of listening meetings with all of you, as well as meetings with
College leadership, junior faculty, and leadership of other academic units on campus. These conversations have been invaluable in determining ways to implement changes that will allow us to accomplish short and long term goals.
To continue the process, we will form eight faculty work groups that will assist in outlining a long-range plan that defines actionable steps for the future. Essentially, these work groups will be asked to expand on the six breakout session questions (posed at last month’s retreat) to formulate a working proposal. The work groups will meet between March 1 - April 30, 2019, to develop these plans.
I would appreciate your input as to who should be included in these work groups,
defined here
. Via this
Google form
,
please nominate faculty members of any rank who you believe will actively invest time in this effort and work well with other stakeholders. No self-nominations will be considered; please do not nominate faculty currently on leave.
The deadline for nominations is Monday, February 11, 2019 at 9:00 am EST.
Based on your nominations, the CAS associate deans and I will finalize members of each work group by balancing rank, disciplines and departments.
I will personally contact those selected to invite them to serve. During the week of March 4, we will provide background information and a specific charge for each group for the semester.
Finally, with respect to faculty searches next year,
please make requests by February 22, 2019
that explain and justify how your hires fit within the emerging shared vision we created through the process described above. Specifically indicate:
- how the proposed hire aligns with the CAS vision
- the intellectual benefits to research and education
- how the hire addresses areas of high enrollment demand
Bear in mind that resignations and retirements will not be automatically replaced; rather, we must build a case for reinvestment of these recovered funds in the future of CAS that includes contributing to the cost of future salary increases.
I will use the information you provide as we head into the mid-year budget condition review for 2018-2019 and the planning process for 2019-2020 with the Provost. By focusing on our articulated goals for advancement through external funding, I believe that together, we can make a strong hiring case.
Cheers,
Nicole
Nicole Sampson
Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
@CASdeanSBU
