Stenger updates faculty on University initiatives

Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger covered a lot of ground in his semi-annual presentation to the full faculty Tuesday.

Starting off with a thank you to essential employees who had put in hours of work during Winter Storm Stella, Stenger said the University’s groundskeepers deserved special recognition for relocating “tons of snow.” Stenger also noted that Sodexo continued to open dining halls and feed students, and reserved hotel rooms across the street for employees who couldn’t make it home between shifts.

“Life also gets more complicated for faculty during snow days,” Stenger said. “Thank you as well, and if you need help recording lectures that were missed, James Pitarresi and the Center for Learning and Teaching have offered to help.”

Stenger also addressed the accidental death of 18-year-old freshman Conor Donnelly over the weekend.

“We’re very concerned about 80 students right now who are in counseling because they were either present when Conor died or part of his community,” Stenger said. “I want to thank faculty again for working with these students when they say they can’t perform well, but ask that, if you’re approached by any students in distress over this death, have them go through the Dean of Students Office, which will help them with faculty connections. It will make it easier for the students and the faculty.”

Stenger also spoke of a rise in gifts and donations to the University. Giving in 2015-2016 was up 27 percent from the prior year to $11.5M, and 2016-2017 is running 20 percent ahead of 2015-2016. He highlighted several donations, including seven-figure gifts from Professor Emeritus Tsuming Wu and his wife, Grace Chin-Fa, to support graduate students; from an anonymous donor to endow the George Klir Professorship in Systems Science; and from retired Air Force Colonel Jim Warner ’60 for scholarships for students who commute. Additionally, EOP recently received its largest donation in its history when Mable Payne ’71, an EOP alumna, gave $100,000 to the program.

Other topics Stenger addressed included:
• Student success: According to The New York Times, Binghamton University alumni earn on average $65,700 at age 34 – about $5,000 more than their peers.
• Faculty recognition: A number of faculty have published, received fellowships and been named distinguished fellows in national academies.
• Athletics: Four of Binghamton University’s head coaches were selected coach of the year in their sports last year (out of 10 possible) and Athletics Director Patrick Elliott was named Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year for NCAA Division I-AAA.
• Faculty hiring: This year, 61 searches were authorized, 25 positions have been confirmed and eight offers are outstanding, for approximately 30 net new hires, putting us a bit over the 150 NYSUNY 2020 hiring goal.
• Administrative changes: Elizabeth has been hired as Harpur College dean, the Graduate School of Education merger with the College of Community and Public Affairs is moving forward and the Graduate School dean search is ongoing with a pool identified.
• Budget: Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will be on campus March 23 to talk about Excelsior Scholarships for students from families making $125,000 or less. They could increase our pool of highly qualified students but there is pressure to increase enrollment without a plan for future state support or infrastructure investments. “We’ll see how it plays out and watch our enrollment numbers very carefully,” Stenger said.
o UUP negotiations are underway. “I don’t anticipate a contract before the budget is completed this year, but it does impact how we look at our SUNY allocation and we hope there is room in the budget to help us pay the increases,” Stenger said.
o Maintenance of effort is under discussion and we believe it’s going to be there.
o Critical maintenance will increase, but we’re uncertain how much and anticipating about $11 million for next year.
o Final budget is expected April 1
• Admissions: We received a record 33,156 freshman applications, up from 32,080 the year before. Nine percent were from out of state. We changed the way we communicated with prospective students this year. Graduate admissions are up 28 percent over the last five years, though this year applications are down slightly with a higher yield. The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SOPPS) is on track to have an inaugural class of 80-90 students this fall.
• Construction update: There will be a soft opening of the Southern Tier Incubator on April 18, with the name of a donor announced. The donor’s endowment will allow the incubator to operate at zero cost so rental income can be used to help develop companies.
o Smart Energy Research and Development Facility: The building is almost complete and a grand opening will be held in the summer.
o SOPPS and the Decker School of Nursing (DSON): Work is beginning on the interior of the SOPPS building and asbestos abatement is underway in the DSON, which received $21 million in Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) funding for renovating the building it will relocate to, probably sometime in late 2019.
o The University received a $2 million refund from FEMA for damage done to the University Downtown Center during the 2011 flood. An additional $700,000 reimbursement is expected. The funds will be allocated to Nuthatch Hollow and a Welcome Center.
o A dry room for NorthEast Center for Chemical Energy Storage battery research has been funded through the REDC.
o Renovations are beginning on Science 4 psychology labs and office spaces.
• Road Map Renewal: In the past four years, 120 initiatives have moved forward, including the SOPPS, Freshman Research Immersion and the enhanced Center for Learning and Teaching.
o The renewal will utilize the same strategic priorities and processes but focus on collaboration.
o Teams are meeting and developing projects. “We’re looking for big projects,” said Stenger, “even conceptual projects.”
o Final proposals will be submitted by May 1, then a review process will involve the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, Budget Review Committee, Professional Staff Senate and Graduate Student Organization to rank those proposals and make final decisions in June.

After Stenger’s presentation, the Faculty Senate conducted its business meeting, approving motions to revise the Budget Review Committee’s by-laws, to not mandate applied learning/high-impact learning experiences as a University-wide requirement for a bachelor’s degree and to revise the Student Academic Honesty Code.

A discussion was also held on the proposed TeachNY policy, with Fernando Guzman, Faculty Senate chair, urging all senators to provide comments to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee by week’s end, so the FSEC can join with others to provide comment on the policy before the comment period closes April 3. A motion was approved noting the Faculty Senate’s opposition to the proposed policy.

The meeting ended with an open conversation on restructuring SOOTS discussion. Senators were asked to send additional comments to the FSEC, which will revisit the topic in the near future.