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President’s October 2022 Report to the Academic and Professional Faculty

SUNY New Paltz

Dear Faculty and Staff:

As the midpoint of the semester draws near, I am excited to continue in the tradition of sharing monthly updates.  My early months have been filled with many introductory meetings with individuals and organizations both inside and outside the campus, and I’ve enjoyed being part of the rhythms of the New Paltz academic cycle and the signature events that bring us together as community during the early weeks of autumn.

I continue to be impressed by the welcoming spirit of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and friends of the New Paltz campus during my daily walks around campus and in my meetings.

Below, I highlight important news, updates and events I wish to share:

Student Centeredness

The following report highlights the institution’s commitment to the core principle that all we do as individuals and collectively must ensure student success.  There are many successful initiatives occurring across the campus.  I am invigorated by the many encounters with staff, faculty and students sharing the narratives of student engagement, persistence, and successes.  We must continue to identify these elements wherever they exist on our campus and build upon them to create more coordinated and cross-college initiatives readily available to all students.

In recent weeks, I have heard of the many experiences’ faculty, students and staff have had with our newer platforms, Brightspace and Starfish.  While it is expected that these systems will enhance our ability to achieve cross-campus operability, I understand there a number of areas for improvement.  I am working with colleagues across the campus to identify, catalog, track, rectify and report on the implementation of these systems.  As we build out the status implementation reporting mechanisms, please look for updates and continue assisting to assure that all of our systems are working to support our student’s success.

Provost and VP for Enrollment Management and Faculty search Updates

 After four years of service to New Paltz, Interim Provost Lyman, will at long last, be able to pass on this important role at the end of the 2022-23 academic year. In addition, Mr. Jeffery Gant, our VP for Enrollment Management, left at the end of September to assume a VP position with another institution.  Both positions are essential, and we will work diligently to fill them both during the academic year.

Provost:

On Sept. 30, faculty governance issued a call for nominations for the three faculty vacancies on the Provost Search Committee, consistent with Faculty By-Laws. I wish to thank those who served on the Provost Search Committee in 2019-20 who have agreed to continue the effort to find a new academic leader.

Once I have those names, I can finalize the committee makeup, including who is chairing/co-chairing the search, and a meeting with the fully constituted search committee will be scheduled.

The new consultant Maya Kirkhope leading this search, with whom I have worked successfully on searches at previous institutions, has held virtual listening sessions with the Interim Provost, academic deans, Cabinet, and direct provost reports. Remaining sessions are scheduled as follows:

  • Two virtual Faculty/Staff Open Session Meetings:
    • Friday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
    • Wednesday, Oct. 26, from 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
  • Virtual meeting with Faculty Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 4 p.m.

VP for Enrollment Management:

As I shared earlier, we have established interim leadership of the Division of Enrollment Management while we pursue a national search for a new vice president. We are in the process of securing a search firm and hope to have this position posted early in 2023 with the goal of having a new vice president hired and ready to start in August 2023. Unlike Provost searches, vice presidents for enrollment management can be hired on a shorter search timeline and outside the academic year cycle.

Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management Jessica Binns-Dickinson continues to oversee Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions, among other responsibilities, and has assumed oversight of Veteran & Military Services. Binns-Dickinson reports to Vice President for Communication and Chief of Staff Shelly Wright during this transitional period.

College Registrar Stella Turk has assumed a new title as Executive Director of Student Services. She continues to manage her existing portfolio and has also assumed supervision of the Directors of the Scholars’ Mentorship Program, the Center for Student Success/Office of Academic Advising, Student Accounts and Student Financial Services. Turk reports to me during this transitional period. Associate Registrar Sarah Roberson has assumed the title of Interim Registrar and has taken on new duties to enable Turk to expand her portfolio.

Our overriding goal is to enable staff to sustain the excellent work being done in the Enrollment Management units. I thank these individuals for their leadership and willingness to take on new responsibilities through this process. I also thank the many other members of our campus community, especially those in Enrollment Management units, who make exceptional contributions every day to help us recruit, retain and support or students.

In consultation with Interim Provost Lyman, I have approved funding for 18 faculty searches this year.

Enrollment

 We’re seeing a larger presence of first-year students on campus this fall, with first-time freshman enrollment up 2.5% from last year, and new graduate student enrollment up by 8%. While these numbers are certainly encouraging and alleviate the 4.8% overall enrollment decline we faced compared to Fall 2021, our current institutional enrollment is still 5.6% behind where we were prior to the pandemic. While our enrollment challenges are not an anomaly in the Northeast, we’re proactively working to implement strategies and tactics that will position us to withstand increased competition from our regional competitors and the predicted demographic decline in traditional college-age prospects. These efforts include a larger allocation of staff time and financial resources toward yield (the number of accepted students who enroll), a transition to rolling undergraduate admission, a market-friendly transfer evaluation process, and a more optimized and streamlined graduate application experience. As we head into the most critical part of our recruitment season and prepare to welcome hundreds of visitors to campus at our Fall Open House on Oct. 29, we are reminded that at the very core of our efforts is a commitment to continuously improving the prospective, new, and continuing student experience at SUNY New Paltz.

Budget

Please mark your calendars to attend the annual Budget Forum on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 1 p.m. in Lecture Center 100. The forum will be livestreamed, recorded and shared afterwards for viewing. Vice President Michele Halstead, Interim Provost Barbara Lyman and I will outline elements of a budgeting cycle for the 2022/23 academic year, and various scenarios for how we can bring our expenditures in line with our revenues. The SUNY Board of Trustees’ decision to freeze both tuition and fees, while good for our students and their families, has increased our current deficit to more than $10M.  The College can manage this significant stressor because of its overall fiscal health and controls put in place by our VP for Administration and Finance.  However, as we move through the remainder of this fiscal year and plan for future years, we must have realistic and actionable plans that enable us to operate in a context of decreasing state assistance and greater need for non-tuition revenue sources.  I will continue to update you and draw on the collective wisdom to inform my thinking and actions.  In advance I thank you.

Student Health Updates

After an uptick of COVID cases on campus following the Labor Day Weekend, the number of cases on campus among students have dropped significantly, even to 0 on several days, similar to what we experienced last October. Our September 2022 numbers were less than the same point in the semester last year. Students are not experiencing significant symptoms in most cases, and the CDC estimates that 95% of the U.S. population now has some immunity. We have a limited amount of isolation space on campus but are strongly encouraging students to isolate off campus and students who cannot go home will isolate in place in most cases, effective Sept. 16, consistent with practices at other SUNYs. Immunocompromised students whose roommates have COVID will be prioritized for isolation as well.

The Student Health Center is offering students the COVID bivalent vaccine, which offers more protection against the Omicron variants. Bivalent vaccinations are also available at the New Paltz Walgreens, the Ulster County POD in Kingston (Best Buy), and other pharmacy and physician offices.

Additionally, the Student Health Center, in partnership with Dedrick’s Pharmacy, are offering flu vaccine clinics for students by appointment this month. We also encourage all faculty and staff to get their flu shot.

University Designation Status

I wish to thank the Faculty Senate and the College Council for endorsing the change in our status for SUNY New Paltz from college to university designation at their respective meetings on Sept. 7 and 12. NYS Regents voted in January 2022 to redefine the “university” designation. Under the new definition, SUNY New Paltz, which to date has been classified by the state as a “college,” qualifies for redesignation as a “university.”

The SUNY Board of Trustees passed a resolution at its Sept. 21 board meeting to allow this change for New Paltz and other SUNY comprehensive campuses. We are awaiting SUNY guidance on the formal application process to the State Education Department to put this in place.

As a reminder, this does not change anything about the demands for us for research. It’s not moving us to be a research center. It’s just accepting that we now meet the new bar of recognition, which is actually a plus for us because it says you’ve done such great work in advancing your mission that you can have this designation. Seeking this new designation requires no change to the institution’s mission, teaching loads, research obligations or other criteria. New Paltz is a regional public comprehensive institution and will remain so.

There will be no change to the primary name of the institution, which would still be “SUNY New Paltz” after adopting the “university” designation. No campus signage would need to be updated or replaced. Once we have received state Education approval, we will update the campus style guide so that when we refer to the campus on second reference, we can all use “university.”

Listening Tour, SUNY Presidential Inauguration

The listening tour is well under way. I have meetings scheduled this month with the deans, the associate deans, and the department chairs and soon you will see an email from the President’s Office inviting academic faculty to sign up for one of a dozen or so faculty listening sessions over the coming weeks. We will schedule as many as we need to accommodate the hundreds of adjunct, lecturer, tenure-track and tenured faculty.

We have identified dates for the presidential inauguration. Events will kick off with the ringing of the carillon at noon on Wednesday, April 19, and conclude with the ringing of the carillon at noon on Friday, April 21. The formal investiture, inaugural address, and a community reception will take place on Thursday, April 20. The inauguration is an opportunity to honor the past, present, and future of SUNY New Paltz and engender excitement about a new chapter in the life of the university both within and beyond the campus community.

Upcoming Events (need locations)

  • Recognition of New and Newly Promoted Classified Staff on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 1 p.m. in LC 100.
  • Distinguished Speaker Series, Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. in LC 100
  • Budget Forum, Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 1 p.m. in LC 100; also livestreamed and recorded
  • The President’s Holiday Open House for all Academic & Professional Faculty, Retired Faculty and Management Confidential employees, Saturday, Dec. 3, between 2 – 6:30 p.m. at the President’s Residence.
  • The President’s Reception for Outstanding Graduates, Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. in Student Union Multi-Purpose Room.
  • Staff Appreciation and Recognition Holiday Luncheon for all Classified Staff, including those on Research Foundation Grants, and University Police, Friday, Dec. 16 – from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Student Union Multipurpose Room.

I’m looking forward to seeing you at the Faculty Senate Meeting on Oct. 12 and to taking any questions about my report or other topics at that time.

Have a restful Fall Break!

Darrell P. Wheeler
President