SUNY Cortland School of Arts and Sciences Annual Report 2018-19 September 3, 2019 R. Bruce Mattingly, Dean Vincent DeTuri, Associate Dean Mary McGuire, Assistant Dean Meghan VanDeuson, Secretary II, Dean’s Office Michele Lella, Secretary I, Associate Dean’s Office i Table of Contents I. Introduction 2 II. Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes 2 III. Enrollment Trends and Budget Analysis 3 IV. Highlights and Major Accomplishments 4 A. Personnel Changes 4 B. Sabbatical Leaves and Other Leaves of Absence 5 C. Faculty Awards and Honors 6 D. Faculty Promotions effective Fall 2019 9 E. Alumni Awards and Honors 9 F. Department Highlights in Teaching, Research and Creative Activity 10 G. Faculty Service Activities 20 H. Associate Dean’s Report 21 Appendices 1. Academic Standing Data Tables 2. Faculty Publications and Creative Activities 3. Faculty Presentations 4. External Grants 5. Faculty Service Activities i I. Introduction We are pleased to present the 2018-19 Annual Report for the School of Arts and Sciences. This year, we were pleased to add a new member to our team, as Vincent DeTuri joined us as the new Associate Dean. Faculty across all eighteen departments continued their excellent work in all areas of responsibility. Christa Carsten, Mathematics, won the Non-Tenure Track Excellence in Teaching Award, and Scott Moranda, History, was the recipient of the Rozanne Brooks Dedicated Teaching Award. Tiantian Zheng, Sociology/Anthropology, was promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor, and Donna West, Modern Languages, received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. Kathleen Lawrence, Communication and Media Studies, won the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service, and Jenn McNamara, Art and Art History, received the campus award for Outstanding Achievement in Service. We invite you to read more about the accomplishments of our faculty, students and alumni in the pages ahead. II. Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes In 2018-19, all departments in Arts & Sciences met the requirements for student learning outcome assessment. All departments have submitted data on their student learning outcomes or an action plan for the upcoming year. There is continuum in the quality of assessment data and action plans based on the collected data. Four departments are developing methods to assess learning outcomes or need assistance in writing measurable learning outcomes. Nine departments have acceptable learning outcomes with meaningful data and action plans supported by the data. Five departments have well-developed assessment methods and are implementing action plans based on the data. Some departments are using indirect measurements for assessing learning outcomes. While this is fine to document a student’s perception of achieving a learning outcome, direct evidence provides observation of student knowledge or skills. For some departments assessment of student artifacts happens outside of the classroom. One suggestion to reduce faculty workload is to move assessment into the course by merging the assessment rubric with a grading rubric. The excellent reports have measurable learning outcomes and apply a rubric to a student artifact to directly assess knowledge or skill and use the collected data to develop an action plan before the next assessment cycle. In the coming academic year, the dean and associate dean will meet with each department individually to provide them with detailed feedback and discuss strategies for continued improvement. Two departments, Modern Languages and Africana Studies, completed their self-study documents in 2017- 18, but did not host their external reviewers until this year. Dr. Carmen Rivera, SUNY Fredonia, and Dr. Joanne O’Toole, SUNY Oswego, visited the Modern Languages Department on September 14, 2018. Dr. Patricia Clark, SUNY Oswego, and Dr. Doreen Loury, Arcadia University, conducted their campus visit for the Africana Studies program on March 7, 2019. The Geography and English Departments completed their scheduled program reviews in 2018-19. Both departments completed their self-study documents in the fall semester. The Geography Reviewers (Dr. James Mowers, University at Albany; and Dr. Wendy Lascell, SUNY Oneonta) visited campus on March 29. The English Department reviewers (Dr. Ann Ryan, Lemoyne College; and Dr. Robert Yagelski, University at Albany) held their campus visit on April 1-2. The Art and Art History Department completed its self-study document in fall 2018, and will host their external reviewers’ visit in fall 2019. The Chemistry Department 1 also began the program review process but will need to complete it next year. They have also been working on having their degree programs approved by the American Chemical Society (ACS), which will enable them to certify graduating students as having met ACS guidelines. In the coming year, the dean’s office will work with the Chemistry Department to ensure that their program review and ACS approval efforts complement one another, and that duplication of work is avoided. Departments scheduled for program review in 2019- 20 include Communication and Media Studies, History, and Physics. The associate dean’s office compiled data regarding student academic standing from 2018-19, summarizing it in three tables found in Appendix 1. The percentage of students on probation this year is the highest yet. The percentage of students suspended has dipped to 4.20% from a high of 4.73%, while the dismissal rate of 0.83% is a new high. The appeal numbers for dismissed or suspended students was 38% in the fall and 51% in the spring. Of those students who appealed, 26% were successful in the fall and 43% were successful in the spring. It is also worth noting that the Dean’s List group has again passed the 1,000 mark (over one third of the A&S student body). III. Enrollment Trends and Budget Analysis A review of the data provided by the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment reveals that overall enrollments in Arts and Sciences have continued a recent trend of relative stability. Key statistics of interest include the following: • Undergraduate enrollment in Arts and Sciences decreased by about 2% from fall 2017 to fall 2018. The unduplicated enrollment of 3027 represents about 48% of Cortland’s undergraduate population. A&S undergraduate enrollment (counting double majors) has remained above 3100 since fall 2011. Under-represented groups made up 26% of the school total, compared with 23% at the college level. Women accounted for 56% of our undergraduates, both at the school and college level. • There were 766 undergraduate degrees granted in A&S in 2017-18, 19 less than the previous year. • The departments with this highest number of majors in fall 2018 were Economics, at 458 students, followed by Biological Sciences (365), Communication and Media Studies (318) and Psychology (316). Enrollments across the Adolescence Education programs increased for the third straight year, to 438 students. The Musical Theater program enrolled 50 students in fall 2018, the highest number of majors since the program began. Africana Studies had nine majors in fall 2018, a 20-year high for that program. • Graduate enrollment in Arts and Sciences decreased for the eighth straight year to a new low of 49 students. Our graduate program in TESOL declined from eleven students in 2017 to only three in 2018. Modern Languages, English and History all participated in discussions during the year to identify strategies for revitalizing their graduate enrollments. • Retention of first-time, full-time A&S undergraduate students at Cortland improved slightly, from 78% to 79%, remaining below the overall college rate of 80%. Budget analysis Chairs reported that their OTPS budgets are generally adequate to support departments’ basic operating expenses. However, they are rarely able to support special initiatives. Traditional areas of concern have been funding to maintain and upgrade scientific instrumentation and specialized technology such as audio and video production equipment. The Provost and the Vice President for Finance and Management have provided invaluable support to departments by providing funding for unscheduled repairs, capital 2 equipment replacement, and academic equipment replacement to address these specialized needs. Some departments have established course fees to cover the costs of classes that use consumable supplies, although for a variety of reasons, other departments that would appear to benefit from course fees have had limited success in having them approved. A couple of departments observed that there does not seem to be a readily identifiable source of funding to replace office furniture. Adequate travel funding remains a concern for many faculty, and most department cannot provide supplemental funds. The Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office had $77,648 in expenditures charged to the state operating budget, and another $37,556 charged to the Research Foundation account, for a total of $115,204, a decrease of 0.2% from last year. Travel, in one form or another, accounted for nearly 90% of the spending. Major expense categories included the following: Faculty conference travel $82,200 71.4% Dean’s office operating expenses $ 6,541 5.7% Travel for faculty searches $ 6,350 5.5% Administrative travel $6.076 5.3% Travel for student recruitment $6,057 5.3% Faculty professional memberships/journal subscriptions $4,370 3.8% Student travel $2,900 2.5% Honoraria $ 700 0.6% IV. Highlights and Major Accomplishments A.