Newsletter — Office of the Provost

Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Volume 2 Issue 15

Warmer weather and sunshine must mean that spring has finally, really arrived at Brockport. As I’ve mentioned to several folks, this was my third year in Brockport, but my first winter (in recognition of the relatively mild winters we had in the prior two years). I am truly glad to be able to get outdoors for my morning run, to be able to hang up my heavy coat, and to enjoy my walks across campus. And, I am looking forward to the many celebrations we will have on campus over the next two weeks culminating in commencement on the 16th, and then the more relaxed pace of the summer.

As we approach the end of the academic year, I would like to use this opportunity to reflect on the many activities in which the academic division has been engaged, highlighting some of our accomplishments from this past year.

Reorganization

Dr. Jana Craft, currently at Winona State University in Minnesota, has been appointed Dean for the School of Business and Management and will begin her new position July 17. Susan Lowey has been selected as Assistant Dean for the School of Nursing and begins in that role on July 1, while also continuing to oversee special sessions for the remainder of the summer. The College of Education and Health has completed their selection process for their Assistant Dean and is awaiting final internal reviews before officially extending an offer. Once that is complete, the academic administration will be in place for next year (and hopefully, many more years to come).

The task force that I established on Departmental Administrative Structure has submitted its final report, which has been reviewed by Dean’s Council. The report provides guidelines around which we can determine departmental needs for Associate Chair and program coordinators. The Deans are currently reviewing how the task force recommendations could impact current department staffing. Once we have a better handle on that, we will be able to share the recommendations broadly with department chairs and faculty, providing us with the opportunity to begin identifying those faculty who could be interested in filling some of these new roles. Some of these functions might be filled internally while others might require additional staff. We will continue to refine our plans during the summer and move into the hiring process early in the fall semester.

Faculty hiring and promotion

I am pleased to report that we completed 18 searches for new faculty during this academic year, with an additional five still finishing up. One search failed and will be carried out next year, for which we have been approved for another 17 searches. Included among those searches are five lecturer positions designed to support high demand courses that have traditionally been taught by multiple adjunct instructors. We believe that full-time lecturers will be able to provide greater attention to and continuity for our students, leading to higher success rates. This also reduces the burden on chairs who otherwise would need to identify multiple adjuncts and offers the opportunity to distribute some of the service and advising load. These hiring numbers demonstrate the commitment of SUNY Brockport to hire the faculty needed to accompany the growth in enrollment that we have experienced over the last few years.

In addition to our new faculty hires, we approved 33 faculty for promotion, tenure, or both, and renewed 18 assistant professors, lecturers, and instructors. Thank you to all the faculty who participated as members of their APT committee, and congratulations to all faculty who have achieved this milestone this year.

Additional successes

The Experiential Learning committee received 10 applications for our new Microgrant program to implement project-based initiatives into courses during the fall. The committee is completing their final reviews in advance of making recommendations on awards and amounts. I am grateful to all the faculty that have embraced this initiative and developed these new activities that will benefit our students.

Scholars Day was a huge success, with over 400 student participants, the largest number we have had over the last four years. The addition of our keynote speaker and the use of food trucks to provide lunch for presenters and faculty mentors created new excitement for this signature event. We could not have done this without the tremendous work of Matt Kotula and the Scholars Day committee, as well as the many faculty and staff volunteers who worked to support our students. Please mark your calendar for April 14, 2026, when we hope to have some additional new components to add to this signature event.

APS (now APEX) was offered this year as a pilot alternative to provide greater support for new first-year students. Laurel McNall and her team successfully completed seven sections in the fall and six sections in the spring, with over 120 students completing both semesters. Preliminary data suggests some of the benefits from this expanded first-year experience, but also led to some restructuring for next year that should make the course more attractive for incoming students. I appreciate all the hard work of the faculty engaged in this initiative to bring about this substantial change that can positively impact our students’ success.

Online Education makes up a significant portion of all the classes we teach at SUNY Brockport. Working in conjunction with CELT and special sessions, we developed a committee to review existing support for online education and recommend opportunities to fill in the gaps. The committee met throughout the spring and provided a series of recommendations, including identifying a central office to review best practices, develop policies, centralize resources, and help lead the creation of a strategic plan for online education.

Through our student success equity intensive, we streamlined several policies to make them easier for students to navigate. We also recently completed eight focus group sessions to get a better understanding of students’ sense of belonging, and how we can improve our commitment to students that will help them to be more engaged in their educational environment. This was a great team to work with and I look forward to continuing this effort next year.

Assessment and continuous improvement remained as priorities this year. Faculty in the School of Arts and Science are preparing for their first continuous improvement professional development day event on May 22. This work complements the ongoing efforts of many departments throughout the University who are engaged in their own assessment, accreditation, and continuous improvement activities.

Closing remarks

Beyond those items identified above, faculty and staff throughout the academic division are heavily engaged in many department, school, and University initiatives. As I’ve made my way around to all our academic units, I have heard countless stories of the successes you’ve had in the classroom, working directly with students on research and scholarship, community engagement, mentoring, and general support for students that go beyond their educational needs.

While we often focus on the challenges we face, there are many positive outcomes happening every day. I encourage you to think of all the successes that you have had. Think about the students that started the semester unsure of their ability to complete your course, but through hard work and dedication, succeeded and thrived. Reflect on your efforts to help a student find an internship or work experience, the scholarship they received for which you provided a recommendation, or their ability to persevere through difficult times because you opened yourself and listened to their concerns. Our students succeed because of the support they receive from our faculty and staff.

I finish this month as I often do, by thanking you for your hard work and dedication. You make SUNY Brockport a great place to learn and a great place to work. We have a few more weeks to finish strong and then enjoy the more relaxed pace of the summer. Thank you.