Introduction:

A summary report like this one cannot do justice to the multitude of activities that make SUNY Oswego such a wonderful institution of higher education. It cannot do justice to all the hours of teaching that occurred, to the hours of advising that students received, to the co-curricular and extra-curricular activities developed to enhance learning, to all the scholarly and creative efforts of our faculty members, or to their services to their departments, professions and our region.  To gain a fuller appreciation of all the activities of the past year, I invite you to read the unit reports submitted to the Provost’s Office and the department reports that were submitted to the deans. In those reports is a wealth of information that will make us proud.

This Academic Affairs report provides a summary of the division’s accomplishments in relation to our annual initiatives (Parts I and II), an overview of honors, awards, and other recognition received (Part III), and a review of our accomplishments in relation to institutional goals (Part IV).  I am grateful to all divisions and departments for providing information for this annual report.

Part I:  Provost’s Council Annual Goals

At the beginning of last year, the Provost’s Council discussed a variety of projects that we might undertake during the year and decided to identify 10 goals for particular attention.  Those annual goals helped us to make progress on projects already underway and to initiate new projects where needed.  The process of setting annual goals and reporting on them at the end of the year will be a regular process for us in the years ahead.  Overall, for this year we can report progress on all of our goals, though as the reader will see, we made more progress on some goals and have more work to do on others.

1.  … advance the discussion across campus of ways to help students integrate their learning experiences.

This discussion occurred in a variety of ways, including through the Catalyst grant activities and through other projects in departments and programs.  The Catalyst grant, headed by Rhonda Mandel, Linda Rae Markert, and Sara Varhus, and guided by a campus-wide Advisory Board of faculty and staff, is designed to study:  how our students apply their knowledge and skills, if they see the connections in their studies, and how our students are changed by their education.  The purpose of the project is to help the campus identify and strengthen integrative learning and to encourage students to be more intentional learners. One recommendation that has already emerged is to have an integrative freshman project; this recommendation will be piloted in the fall.  The Catalyst project information has also become part of the training of First Choice faculty.  The project will continue until 2007.

Departments and programs strengthened learning opportunities through increasing integration in course sequences; through developing new capstone courses, internship, or service learning opportunities; and through developing new interdisciplinary minors.  Many examples appear in final reports, including:  The Math department’s work with other disciplines to increase their use of mathematics, especially through student research projects; Library’s work with First Choice classes on information literacy and research; Business faculty’s integration of ORI reading and writing in their upper division expository courses; Psychology/HCI developing a 5-year combined program; integration of Artswego activities with course requirements. Future developments may include the recommendation from the Task Force on Academic Quality to strengthen students’ integrative skills through writing requirements.

2.  … review opportunities currently available to faculty and professional staff members for professional growth and develop strategies for appropriate enhancements.

In this area we made very good progress.  Campus committees and departments were consulted about their views of faculty development opportunities, both what we are currently doing and what they would like.  Those ideas became the foundation for the articulation of professional development goals.  Discussions on campus of those goals led to a 3-year Professional Development Plan based on the following overarching goal:  Academic Affairs units will regularly provide opportunities and resources to promote continuing professional growth for successful careers at our institution.  Specific areas of focus were articulated and responsibilities were assigned.  To see the complete plan, go to http://www.oswego.edu/ administration/provost/documents.html.  At the end of spring semester, the deans and provost offered the first Chairpersons’ Workshop in support of one focus area (developing leadership and administrative skills).

Many examples could be given of professional development opportunities offered by various groups this year.  Lecture series and other events often are professional development for attendees; there were many of these this year.  CELT offered a series of programs entitled “Conversations on Teaching and Learning,” as well as Winter Breakout and a spring symposium.  Education offered a six-topic series of programs entitled “A Community of Leaders and Learners” on professional ethics, professional collaboration, social justice, culture of childhood, diversity, and launching into the profession. CTS and Continuing Education offered training programs.  The Associate Provost organized advisor training workshops.  Faculty Enhancement Grants, Faculty-Student Grants, and Student Grants were awarded to support professional development.  Deans funded off-campus travel to conferences.  OIEP funded 40 international travel grants for conferences and presentations.  Mentoring of junior faculty members through their writing of annual plans was also part of faculty development efforts.

Faculty and professional staff have demonstrated their commitment to professional development in their disciplines and teaching practices.  Departments report that 246 faculty and staff members participated in at least one professional development opportunity on campus, 176 attended a campus or professional conference on teaching or curriculum development, and 301 attended at least one professional discipline conference in 2004-2005.  At least 226 attended CTS workshops.

3.  … provide recommendations to Facilities about the development and renovation of academic spaces.

Many academic units worked with Facilities this year on renovations and building projects.  Big projects included developing final plans for Poucher and Swetman and planning for Wilbur and Sheldon.  Renovation planning for Lanigan for CCIT and CTS is in process.  The Library accommodated the WRVO move.  The sciences continued with their interdisciplinary planning efforts, and a Library Visioning Committee was launched. 

4.  … develop strategic goals for the future of graduate studies.

In this area we were quite successful.  Many departments and faculty committees offered ideas about the future of graduate studies on our campus.  Over the course of the year these were refined into six major goals:  clarify mission, role, services, and goals; strengthen recruiting and marketing practices; establish strong institutional policies and practices; analyze and improve use of resources; explore and evaluate new program ideas; and assure quality through continuing assessment.  Discussion of these goals was part of the interview process for the new dean of Graduate Studies and Research, whose primary responsibility will be graduate studies.  In addition, after a national search, a new graduate dean was hired:  Dr. David King.

There were other developments related to graduate studies.  OIEP is working with the Graduate Office to develop overseas academic partners for graduate programs.  The Library is working to respond to graduate students’ loan needs.  Several programs, like Communications and Honors, offered workshops for students interested in attending graduate school.

5.  … develop strategic goals for future initiatives in scholarly and creative activities and in Research and Sponsored Programs.

Under the leadership of Interim ORSP Director Tom Darvill, many faculty members participated in discussions about what we are currently doing and what we might be doing in three areas:  to expand student participation in scholarly and creative activities; to expand faculty participation in scholarly and creative activities; and to enhance services of ORSP.  Their meetings resulted in a summary document of suggestions that will be reviewed this summer by the Interim Director and Provost’s Council for further development in the fall.

In addition, Arts and Sciences has a working committee that made recommendations on undergraduate research and creative activity and faculty activity.  Education launched a Journal of Authentic Learning to encourage the scholarship of teaching and learning. Library hosted a “Display to Archives” reception of recently published works.  Many departments are encouraging undergraduate research and participation in Quest.  Faculty members mentored several McNair scholars to completion on their projects.  More students applied and received scholarly/creative awards than in previous years.  For more information on the scholarly and creative activities of our faculty and students, see Part IV, number 4.

6.  … study issues and set goals related to the size and mix of our undergraduate and graduate programs and 7.  … develop recommendations regarding student-faculty ratios and the appropriate mix of faculty appointments to provide the best learning environments for our students.

Several groups participated in discussions of goals 6 and 7, among them Provost’s Council, Priorities and Planning, Academic Policies Committee, and chairperson’s groups in the schools.  From those discussions emerged several themes that we will explore further in the future.  Groups generally recognized not only the importance of quantitative data in campus decision-making but also the importance of institutional mission and goals as well as departmental/program goals and responsibilities.  The Provost’s Criteria for Prioritizing New Hires reflect these three areas of consideration in providing the best learning environments for our students.

8.  … identify additional strategies for increasing students’ learning about international and global perspectives.

OIEP launched five quarter courses, taking 79 of our students this year to London, Dublin, Brazil, Paris, and Rome.  These courses build a trip overseas into a regular course.  More courses are being planned for next year.  Opportunities for new exchange programs were initiated in Mexico, Australia, and England.  Business launched a minor in International Business, and other programs across the institution are increasing attention to global issues and study abroad opportunities. Experienced Based Education has organized international internships and Continuing Education is part of the SUNY Cross-National Project initiative.   New recruitment and retention efforts for international students have begun under the leadership of OIEP and a cross-campus advisory board.  We will continue to expand these efforts in the year ahead.

9.  … develop a planning process for the use of technologies in support of learning.

In this area many technology-related activities are underway.  Institution-wide the most notable new project was the Hybrid Task Force report, which led to the recommendation for a pilot project on hybrid courses for our campus.  Currently a committee is preparing guidelines for implementing a pilot in Spring 2006. In addition, in Provost’s Council we have been discussing information literacy skills and technology support needs in order to clarify a vision that will be the foundation for our planning.  This planning will continue next year.

Some notable developments in particular units include:  migration of departments and programs to our new website; plagiarism tutorial and other modules for library instruction on the library website; laptop loans in the library; planning the laptop requirement in Business and exploring a requirement in SOE;  training, and beginning implementation of Schedule 25 software in the Registrar’s Office; Transfer Advisement Guide in pdf on line; electronic advisement and orientation developed by Continuing Education; development of data management system for NCATE reviews. 

For current uses of information technologies in our unit, see Part IV, number 6.

10.  … develop recommendations for the President related to a new teaching symposium, graduate school mentoring, Phi Beta Kappa, and new initiatives for improving retention and graduation rates.

Academic Affairs has contributed to progress on these initiatives in the following ways:  A new teaching symposium with a guest speaker and poster presentations by departments is planned and will be held Sept. 16.  Some departments launched programs to encourage students to consider graduate school, and the McNair Program, preparing underrepresented students to go to graduate school, is successfully underway.  Information on Phi Beta Kappa has been collected. Our expanded First Choice program for every entering student and our five new learning communities planned for the fall may contribute to improving retention rates.  These activities will be enhanced next year.

Part II:  Progress by Units on their Annual Goals

In addition to the many activities that units undertook related to the Provost’s Council Goals, each school, department, and other AA unit pursued its own annual goals for continuing improvement.  What is reported below is a synthesis of reported accomplishments of each unit in relation to its unit goals.  For more information about unit accomplishments, please read the reports from each unit.

It should be noted that the Women’s Studies Program, which has reported to the Associate Provost, will move into Arts and Sciences on July 1.  In addition, CTS responded to and successfully supported many of our initiatives and activities, but their report will be included in that of Finance and Administration.

Arts and Sciences:  Many curricular developments help maintain currency in the disciplines and provide programs of interest to students.  Several new curricular and research clusters are developing in the sciences and mathematics, environmental and Great Lakes studies, in the Center for Communication and Information Technology, in Information Sciences and Human Computer interaction, in the fine arts, and in Cinema and Screen Studies. To strengthen interdisciplinary programs, the college involved those programs in departmental searches.   The college also began to develop some 5-year programs for students with a proposal for Psych BA/ HCI MA.  Several departments developed new approaches to enhancing student international and multicultural understandings in their programs.  The Theatre department received accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Theatre, and Art hosted an accreditation visit from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.  Other programs are investigating accreditation. 

The working committee on undergraduate research, scholarly, and creative activities recommended a website with information about on-campus opportunities for students, preparing students in their first years to undertake scholarly and creative activities, funding for summer research fellowships for students, and incorporating supervision of students in course structure.  The committee on student evaluations proposed best practices, inspired a campus-wide chairs’ workshop on student evaluations, and resulted in 10 A&S programs/departments’ revisions in evaluations.

Business:  The School of Business successfully pursued annual initiatives in support of their AACSB goals.  Students and faculty were actively involved in applied learning opportunities in SIFE competitions, VITA (tax preparation), the alumni symposium, and Quest.  The MBA Advisory Council held its first meeting.  In collaboration with the Center for Business and Community Programs, the Business Commons was completed. The number of international students in the MBA increased.  Faculty members are involved in a project to evaluate the economic potential of the Oswego Port Authority.

Education:  Many of Education’s accomplishments relate to goals reflecting their commitment to continuing accreditation by NCATE and NYSED.  Cross-school committees were active in this work.  Seven committees completed draft reports and another committee started a review of the impact of the school’s Conceptual Framework.  The Diversity Committee continued to identify issues, develop recommendations, and coordinate activities in support of diversity initiatives; their success is reflected in the increase in the percentage of faculty from underrepresented groups from 12.5% in 1999 to 18.3% in 2004. The Assessment Committee helped oversee and develop the FIPSE-supported SUNY-wide project regarding teacher education program assessment.  The Relocation Steering Committee has helped with planning for renovations in Education space.  The Field Placement office was extremely busy; it hosted a consultant in late May to help review organization and operation practices for further improvements. 

Graduate Studies:  In addition to the development of goals for the future of graduate studies at Oswego (see Provost’s Council Goal 4), new initiatives of the unit this year included improving communications with the Graduate Council and graduate directors across campus, working with graphic design students to develop a graduate view book, working with OIEP to recruit more international students, and working with the other deans and faculty members on program development.

Continuing Education: Continuing Education worked on several initiatives this year.  They successfully hired replacements for a Business Development Specialist and an Instructional Designer.  They moved forward on a more aggressive marketing strategy for online degree completion programs and summer sessions, launched three new Summer institutes, improved registration and payment processes, helped with international recruitment and language program efforts, and explored new market opportunities. Summer stipends for teaching were increased by 5%.

Library:  All areas of the library identified progress on their projects.  Most notable is the increasing use of electronic technology to support such areas as reserves, instruction, public services, collection expansion, and interlibrary loan.  Wireless access has been expanded.  Staff members are cooperating with other faculty members on initiatives in information literacy, First Choice programs, orientation, OLS and CELT.  An art display system was installed, and several groups held receptions in the Lake Effect Café.  This year Penfield Library was up in attendance, ILL, reserves, and web activity.  During busy times of the year, the Library averages about 1650 people a day.

OIEP (Office of International Education Programs): Our options for students’ overseas studies continue to expand with the quarter courses program, the planning of a London Winter Session for 2006, a new exchange agreement with a Paris school for cinema studies, and a new internship opportunity in Australia. OIEP was recognized by Institute of International Education as a leading institution among masters institutions for the number of students sent abroad.  New efforts on the recruitment and retention of international students are underway.

Honors:  Honors reported on the largest freshman honors class ever in Fall 2004 (88 students, each of whom is a Presidential Scholar) and a new Seminar Leader Program in which juniors lead freshman Honors seminars under the guidance of the Director and Associate Director.  Several projects are on-going including the Honors Thesis, which 70 students completed this year.

General Education:  General Education Council met 17 times this year, including two retreats.  Important discussions involved considerations of revisions to Information Literacy, Critical Thinking, and Natural Sciences components of the General Education Program. 

EBE (Experienced-Based Education):  This office continues to expand both undergraduate and graduate internship sites for our students, adding 419 new positions to the database this year.  It also expanded its listserv on new positions to 384 subscribers.  A record number of students (890) participated in internships, career awareness, and service learning activities.  EBE also participated in the planning efforts this year for an Education Planning Center in Swetman. 

Women’s Studies:  Women’s Studies met many of its goals this year, including completing program review, creating a new brochure to enhance visibility, moving to a new location with other interdisciplinary programs, correcting some scheduling problems for students, and collaborating with the Women’s Center and Artswego on many projects.

OLS (Office of Learning Services):  This unit continues to provide important services for special admissions and underrepresented students.  Some notable developments this year include increased numbers of students trained as tutors, improved academic planning counseling services, new strategies for intervention with at-risk students, and development of a database for helping to advise students in their academic planning.

First Year Program:  This office oversees implementation of the First Choice program and First Year Advising.  Notable accomplishments this year include migrating to the new website, revising First Choice pre-registration, improving registration processes in some areas, working on new Living and Learning Communities, training First Year advisors through a workshop series, and helping improve the training of peer advisors and peer educators.

Transfer Office:  New articulation agreements head the list of accomplishments this year as well as various activities for and with transfer students. The “Transfer to Oz Series” provided support for transfer students and a variety of workshops for students and faculty advisors were held.  Tau Sigma honorary was active and inducted 69 new students.  The Advisory Council provided advice on a variety of transfer issues.

CELT (Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching):  Some accomplishments are mentioned under Provost’s Council Goal 2.  In addition, CELT moved to space in Penfield Library and helped to organize the 25^th anniversary of  Quest.

Artswego:  Artswego sponsored an impressive array of programs, including a new Chamber Music Series, a Jazz Guitar Festival, and new residency programming in the arts.  They pursued grants and other fund-raising opportunities.  Artswego has been an excellent collaborator with academic programs and faculty members encouraging students’ interest in the arts.

Registrar:  This office continued to improve its services to students by working on a course equivalency project with the Admissions Office and creating a feature on the web site to allow new non-matriculated students to register entirely on line.  They began the process of implementation of scheduling software (Schedule 25) and helped with workshops for advisors and chairpersons on FERPA requirements.

IRA (Institutional Research and Assessment):  IRA continues to meet the information and data collection needs of the campus.  Major accomplishments this year included launching the On-line Faculty Annual Report pilot, updating the various Oswego reports, designing and administering 15 surveys, developing new statistical reports, supporting program review and accreditation self-studies, submitting the many national requests for reports and information, and receiving a local grant for a Performance Measurement Project. 

Part III:  Honors, Awards, and other important Recognition

1.  Students

We can be very proud of our students and young alums.  Many were recognized this year for their academic success. For example, 500 of our students were inducted or participating in national honoraries this year. The Honors Convocation in the Spring recognized 93 students.  Approximately 223 students won awards from campus groups and at least 53 won awards from external groups.  Departments have estimated approximately 170 of this year’s graduates have already been admitted to graduate school (official figures are gathered by Career Services 6 months after graduation).

Students who were recognized by off-campus groups for their outstanding work include:

·         Antoine Dufour, David Johnson, Paul Perrier (all Chemistry), Lynn Halloran (History), Michael Nirsberger (Music), Jen Pufky (WS) SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence

·         Ashley Champion, Ashley Pierce (both Human Development), Emily King (Journalism), Jeffrey Storch (Business), Lawrence Nadel (C&I) and others in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, 2004-05

·         Jesse William, Lindsey Guile, Melissa Newcomb, and Annerys Vasquez selected for Best of SUNY Art Exhibition, Albany, summer 2004 and 2005

·         Annerys Vasquez, honorable mention in an exhibition entitled Observations of the American Experience, Brockport, 2004

·         Christina Hopkins , first place in Syracuse Vineyards Serenity Exhibition and second place in Oswego Arts Associations Lakeside Exhibition

·         Deanna Ford, semi-finalist, movie trailer for “Lost in Translation”

·         Jennifer Mott, Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award

·         Michael Capel, Stony Brook Short Fiction Prize

·         Kate Botha, award for travel to Japan

·         Christopher Solan, German Academic Exchange Service Grant for summer study

·         Melissa Sierson, Best Actor/Actress, Mt. Holyoke German Theater Festival

·         Margot Matvyak, Goethe Institute Award for study of German

·         Ian Guzzone, Kennedy Center honorable mention for prop design

·         KaeLyn Rich (WS) Academy of American Poets’ Prize honorable mention

·         Liz Kalisiak, Gilman International Scholarship for study in Japan

·         Karen Cornelio and Madonna Hernandez, Freeman-Asia Scholarships to study in China

·         Patricia Piazza, Travis Smith, Brent Reed, and Barghavi Natarajan, CPA awards from Syracuse Chapter of NY State CPAs

·         Karrie Clark and Kristen Sladewski (both CPS students), Ted Bernstein Award winners, NY Association of School Psychologists

Student groups were also recognized for excellent work:

·         Society of Human Resource Management, Superior Merit Award from their national association

·         Beta Gamma Sigma, Oswego chapter, the national honorary society for AACSB-accredited schools, achieved exemplary status for annual accomplishments.

·         Technology Education competition team, won first, second, and two third place awards in the TECA Eastern Regional Competition

Recent graduates also achieved recognition:

·         Tom Foley (PS alum), first US citizen to work for British Lord Justices

·         Travis Durfee (Journalism ’02) New York Press Award Rookie of the Year

·         Jessica Brosch, recognized in 40 under 40, Oswego County

·         Steven Goldberg (CPS alum) Counselor of the Year, New York State School Counselor’s Association

·         Carlo Cuccaro (CPS alum) NY School Psychologist of the Year

·         Concetta Calabretta, (MSED) MBEA Award of Merit

2.  Faculty and Professional Staff

We can also be very proud of faculty and staff members who were honored this year for a variety of academic and personal achievements.  The accomplishments that led to these awards help make our academic community strong.  Among those honored this year were:

On Campus Awards

·         Steve Abraham(MM) and Ding Zhang (MM) President’s Award for Scholarship & Creative Activity

·         Diane Chepko-Sade (Bio), President’s Award of Excellence in Academic Advisement

·         Florence Kirk (AFL) President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

·         Ana Djukic-Cocks (ML), Sharon Kane (C&I) COLT Certificate of Teaching Excellence

·         Bob Ballentine (ES), Rolando Arroyo-Sucre (OLS), Excellence in Sponsored Research, ORSP

·         John Smith (Comm), ML King Community Service Award

·         Emily Oaks (Bio) Friend of OLS

·         Geraldine Forbes (Hist), Maureen Curtin (WS), awards from Women’s Center

SUNY Awards

·         Jacki Reihman (Psych), named Distinguished Teaching Professor

·         Al Stamm (ES), Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service

·         Helen Zakin (Art) and Bruce Altschuler (PS), Chancellor’s Research Recognition Awards

·         Ivan Brady (Anth), Jack Narayan (Math), Marilyn Smiley (Music), Gerry Forbes (Hist), Kenneth Hyde (Chem) received Distinguished Teaching Professor Medals; Paul Voninski (Anth), Norm Weiner (Soc) received Distinguished Service Professor Medals

State, National, International Honors and Awards

·         Paul Roodin(EBE), one of seven Gerontology and Geriatrics Education Fellows in Association for Gerontology

·         James Seago (Bio), Merit Award, Botanical Society of American

·         Peter Rosenbaum (Bio), Conservation Hero Award, US Fish and Wildlife Service

·         Craig DeLancy (Phil), Junior Faculty Fellowship, NEH

·         Jonel Langefeld-Rial (Theatre) and Mark Cole (Theatre) were chosen for Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers

·         Linda Loomis (Journ), Certificate of Merit, NACADA

·         Donna Matteson (Tech), NY Distinguished Woman Award, Senator James Wright

·         June Dong (MM), Chow Teaching Fellowship

·         Ding Zhang (MM), Research Project Award, NSF of China

·         Ian Cuthill (MM), Chartered Scientist, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK

·         Charles Spector (AFL) and Florence Kirk (AFL), Allied Academics International Conference Distinguished Research Awards

·         John Lalande (ML), Goethe Institute Scholarship

·         Ana Djukic-Cocks (ML), NY Foreign Language Teachers Scholarship

·        Patricia Clark (Eng), NEH Summer Seminar

Other Awards and Recognition

·         Ann Bunch (Anth), Distinguished Alumni Award, Medina High School

·         Kathy Budd (Art) and Juan Perdiguero (Art), artist residencies

·         Kathryn Timm (Art), Winsor & Newton Award, Cooperstown Arts Association

·         Bruce Frassinelli (Comm) Best Writing Award, Syracuse Press Club

·         Maureen Curtin (WS), Rob Auler (Music),  Jodi Mullen (CPS), 40 under 40, Oswego County; Rob Auler is President of the group

·         Cheris Lawrence (Trans), Distinguished Service Award, NY Transfer & Articulation Association

·         Larry Mayo (CE), Volunteer of the Year Award, Oswego Heritage Foundation

·         Arcenia London (C&I), YWCA Academy of Achievers Award

3.  Programs

·         The National Association of Schools of Theatre accredited the Oswego Theatre Department.

Part IV.  Accomplishments in support of Institutional Goals

Since Engagement 2000, SUNY Oswego has been working in a number of areas to enhance the academic experiences of our students.  This year we are pleased to report continuing progress in many of these areas.  What appears in this section is a summary of our continuing progress in representative areas.  Other accomplishments may be found in the reports from each unit. 

1.  Curricular initiatives and new program development

The energy and commitment that academic departments devote to keeping program offerings up-to-date for students is one measure of academic excellence.  This year many departments proposed changes in their programs to emphasize applied learning, to make connections with other disciplines, to better integrate their own program learning goals, to enhance opportunities for students’ learning, and/or to address current interests of our students. In addition, academic and professional units made changes in their programs to support better learning experiences for students.

Among the new program developments this year were the following: 

·     Development of Cinema and Screen Studies Curriculum 

·          Design of MAT in Mathematics and external evaluator’s visit

·         MBA Track in Arts Management launched

·         C&I developing joint Early Childhood Education programs with Onondaga Community College and Cayuga Community College

·         Play Therapy Graduate Certificate Program developed

·         First Choice (small class initiative) with 2 linked courses expanded to every first-year student in Fall 2004

·         Five living-learning communities planned for Fall 2005

·         OIEP development of five quarter courses with overseas study component

·         OIEP launched a new summer globalization institute in partnership with Huron University in London and Winter Session scheduled for January 2006

·         Teaching Assistant Program for undergraduates offered by Experienced Based Education

·         Three new courses to support year-round English for Academic Purposes program in Continuing Ed

·         The Writing Institute, a one-week summer intensive program, developed for graduate students interested in expanding their writing skills

·         Hollywood POV, designed for college students interested in Broadcasting, Theatre, Writing Arts, and Business, will offer students an opportunity this summer to study the broadcasting and entertainment industry by traveling to Los Angeles

2.  Innovative active and applied learning opportunities for students

Many programs at SUNY Oswego encourage students to be actively engaged in their learning.  EBE reports 259 undergraduate and graduate students in internships and 270 in service learning.  Departments report higher numbers of 633 in internships, 1781 in service learning classes, and 781 in student teaching (not included in internship numbers).  The differences in calculations must include some overlap in reporting, so at this time campus totals are not clear.  Nevertheless, what is clear is that many students have opportunities to apply their learning in “real life” situations.

There are wonderful examples in annual reports of active and applied learning opportunities, both within and beyond the classroom, including the following:

·         Theatre students designed, produced, and performed No Such Thing as Solo, an exploration of issues and feelings arising from domestic violence through a collaboration of students, faculty and several community groups (Services to Aid Families, Oswego Art Association, and the Oswego Players) with the visiting artist Peggy Shaw, support from Artswego, and a grant from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. 

·         Students in English 349, Writers of the Beat Generation, participated in a road trip with Donald Masterson through New York and Massachusetts, with a primary focus on sites, like the Kerouac Museum, related to Beat poetry movement. 

·         Matt Friday’s (Art) mural painting class, in collaboration with students and faculty in the School of Business, designed and painted a mural in the foyer of Rich Hall.  In addition to the technical and artistic experience, the Art students experienced first hand the process of working with a “client.”

·         Anticipating the “Freshman Project” pilot, Professor Dale Zych (Physics) introduced experiments and presentation into the freshman Physics seminar.

·         Human resource management students, under the direction of Barry Friedman, worked with CBCD to implement HR audits with local small businesses.

·         Students in Jody Fiorini's (CPS) Research & Program Evaluation course worked with the Liberty Partnership Program to evaluate the effectiveness of the program activities as authentic learning experiences. 

·         Eric Olson (C&I) organized a group of 20 Oswego State students to lead 100+ Oswego County preK-12 students through a serious of hands-on problem solving investigations in the ‘Eckerd Drug Quiz’ which is an annual event sponsored through the SUNY Oswego’s Lifestyles Center.

·         Five students in Technology Education built a robotic, radio controlled miniature Zamboni 

·         Artwego provided an experiential laboratory for students enrolled in Arts Administration Minor 

·         Artswego developed a collaborative and innovative residency programming designed to extend the reach of arts programs on campus

·         W. R. Grace Company gave 11 of our students an opportunity to participate in a formal half hour professional interview for an internship, resulting in two paid internships at company headquarters.

·         OIEP student interns wrote pre-departure guidebooks for Oswego students studying abroad

·         The Communication Studies first Annual Speech Competition involved speech topics that were based on issues of national and international importance. 

·         Upper division Accounting students participate in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service.  In partnership with the Oswego County Department of Social Services, SUNY Oswego accounting students filed for approximately $100,000 in earned income tax credits on behalf of low income families in Oswego County.

3.  Innovative student mentoring inside and beyond the classroom

An important part of working with students is the mentoring we provide to succeed in the classroom, to prepare for their first jobs in their fields, and/or to enter graduate school.  A good example of mentoring for professional development is seen when faculty members encourage students to attend professional conferences; this year approximately 385 students attended professional conferences.  An exciting development for the future is the new Education Planning Center that will be housed in Swetman.  EBE, First Year Programs, and Transfer Programs worked this year with Career Services, Student Advisement, and the Center for Community Service to plan for this new center. 

Some examples of valuable mentoring activities this year for students included the following:

·         Professor Cynthia Clabough (Art) formed a working group for Graphics students considering graduate study.  Topics discussed included finding the right school or program, seeking funding, preparing an application, and preparing a portfolio.

·         T. Mark Morey (Psych) began an initiative to offer special course sections only for new transfer students in Psychology.

·         The International Language and Education Center (ILEC), ENG 102 and COM 210 collaborated to offer international students linked course work and academic support.

·         The Conversation Partners Program provides mentoring for visiting international students.

·         Students on the SOB Student Advisory Council had the chance to work with faculty and alumni to plan and organize the annual symposium; they worked with 11 alumni and 14 faculty members.

·         Seven student members of Beta Alpha Psi, the national accounting and finance honor society, traveled with professor Florence Kirk (AFL) to regional and national conferences where they participated in a variety of events, presentations, and workshops.

·         Faculty members and the MBA Advisory Council welcomed the 2005 MBA graduates at the annual reception.

·         A Library marketing committee called the “Passionate Marketeers” obtained funding for the Library to host, in Lake Effect Café, two evenings of “Free” cookies and coffee for students during exam time.

·         Experienced Based Education’s required assignments in the Career Awareness Class include discussing the process of interviewing, reviewing sample behavioral interview questions, and practicing an interview.

·         Experienced Based Education collaborated with Career Services to host the annual fall Career and Internship Fair and collaborated with Community Service and Service Learning to host the annual Careers in Aging panel discussion.

·         The first annual Upstate Theatre Job Fair for theatre designers and technicians was held in collaboration with eight professional theatres and four universities.

·         First Year Programs offered  Academic Warning Workshop for Undeclared students with Student Advisement

·        First Year Select, the five-year old OLS Learning Community achieved a 60% retention to graduation, a significant accomplishment considering that national data for similar cohorts averages 40% retention to graduation. 

4.  Scholarly and creative activities

4.a.  Of Students

                 Increasingly we see students involved in scholarly and creative activities.  Based on the reports of faculty members this year, we estimate that about 525 students collaborated on projects with faculty members; approximately 345 students were engaged in independent research, scholarly or creative activities beyond the classroom; and approximately 1026 published, presented, or displayed their work on campus outside of the classroom.  Many of these projects came to fruition in professional presentations.  This year a record 201 students participated in Quest.  Even more impressive is that 155 students published, presented, or displayed their work at a professional conference off campus. 

            There are many examples of the kinds of scholarly and creative work that our students undertake, including projects like the following:

·         Lee Baker, supported by a Rice Creek Summer Research Grant written by Professor Brad Wray (Phil), examined the scientific method used by students involved in a turtle study under the supervision of Professor Peter Rosenbaum (Bio).

·         Ben Patterson and Professor Craig Warkentin (PS) will attend the International Studies Association Meeting in San Diego to present a paper, which will then be submitted for publication.

·         Damian Piascyhk with Professor David Valentino (ES) presented “Variations in L- and S- Tectonites within the Piseco Lake Ductile Shear Zone, Adirondack Mountains, New York” at the Geological Society of America Northeastern Section - 40th Annual Meeting, (March 2005)

·         Laura Lenker, a first-year School Psychology student worked closely with Betsy Waterman (Psych) developing counseling activities for use with students whose parents had been deployed to active duty in the armed forces--some to war zones.

·         Music students auditioned to participate in the first annual Collage concert, in which they performed with faculty in a showcase program.

·         Student representatives of Students in Free Enterprise organization presented at the regional conference.

·         Student representatives of the Society for Human Resource Management presented at their annual conference.

·         Four Honors Program students gave a panel presentation at the annual conference of the Northeast Region of the National Collegiate Honors Council 

·        Over 50 students in Issue Analyses did research and made presentations during their EAD601 classes.  The results of these projects have been used to re-do school starting times and to change bussing in some communities.  Some projects are being revised for publication with Corwin Press.

            4.b.  Of Faculty and Professional Staff

            Many of our faculty and professional staff members are regularly engaged in scholarly and creative activities.  From department reports this year, we estimate that 191 faculty and staff made one or more presentations at a professional conference; 131 faculty and professional staff members published/created approximately 246 articles or creative works; 48 faculty and professional staff members published 43 books or other large creative works; 45 faculty and professional staff members were awarded external grants and contracts for an estimated $4.8 million through the Research Foundation.  We hope to recognize by name all the scholarly and creative accomplishments of individuals early in fall semester.

In the meantime, some representative examples of faculty scholarly and creative work include:

·         Art faculty who exhibited work in solo or two-person exhibits: Kathy Budd (A Question of Value, Gallery Subversive, Cedar Rapids, Iowa); Matthew Friday, New Paintings, Mercer Gallery, Rochester,  New York), Julieve Jubin, Drawings from Life, University of Rochester; Richard Metzgar (with Paul Bartow), (Aggre-Fabrications, James Madison University); Juan Perdiguero, (Canes, Marcia Wood Gallery. Atlanta, Georgia, Galgos. Galeria raya-Punto, Salamanca, Galgos2, Galeria Artificial, Madrid; Michael Thomas, (Two Person Exhibition, Tabor Hill Gallery, Ann Arbor, Michigan) 

·         Faculty who published scholarly books in the first edition: David C. Conrad (Hist) (Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples, Haskell, 2004), Geraldine Forbes (Hist) (Women in Colonial India: Essays on Politics, Medicine, and Historiography, Chronicle Books, 2005), Gwen Kay (Hist), Dying To Be Beautiful: The Fight for Safe Cosmetics, Ohio State University Press, 2005), Mary McCune (Hist) (The Whole Wide World, without Limits: International Relief, Gender Politics, and American Jewish Women, 1893-1930, Wayne State University Press, 2005) , Judith Wellman (Hist) (The Road to Seneca Falls: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the First Woman’s Rights Convention, University of Illinois Press, 2004), Tina Pieraccini (Comm) (co-author, Color Television: 50 Years of African-American and Latino Images on Prime Time Television, Kendall Hunt), Marilyn Smiley (Music) (NYS AAUW: The Decade From  1990-2000)  

·         Faculty who received new grants from off-campus agencies: Paul Tomascak (ES) (Co-investigator on NSF grant, “Li isotopic investigations of the crust and mantle”), Ranjit Dighe (Econ) (Grant-in-Aid from the Rockefeller Archive Center and a Hagley Museum and Library Grant-in-Aid), Edward O’Shea (Eng) (NEH grant to offer Seminar for Teachers), Patricia Clark (Eng) (Fellowship to participate in an NEH Seminar), Joe Gaskin (Math) (NASA Summer Faculty Research Opportunity), Craig DeLancey (Phil) (Army Research Institute grant and NEH Fellowship), Leigh Bacher (Psych) (National Eye Institute), David Valentino (ES) (New York Geological Survey).  Drs. James McDougal (CPS) and Michael LeBlanc (CPS) were awarded a $60,000 grant as part of a larger grant awarded to Syracuse City School District Smaller Learning Communities Program.  This grant was funded by the U. S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Washington, D.C.

·         Doug Deal (Hist) appeared as a slavery expert on the 4-part documentary broadcast on PBS channels in February 2005.

·         Professor Mian (MM) and his colleagues completed Project Monarch, a 3-year NAFTA related project. Oswego hosted the 3-member team of researchers in January. 

·         Thomas Ingram (CE) and Yvonne Petrella with Thomas Fuhr of SUNY Potsdam presented “Open vs. Restricted Access to Online Courses:  What Price Glory?” at the Tenth International Conference on Asynchronous Learning Networks Conference in Orlando, Florida (November 14, 2004) 

·         Members of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction initiated an online professional journal entitled Journal of Authentic Learning, co-editored by Faith Maina and Audrey Rule (http://www.oswego.edu/jal/) based on an idea from the School of Education’s Conceptual Framework.  The mission of the journal is to be a forum for dissemination of original ideas in research, practice, or theory relating to authentic learning and teaching.

·         Josh McKeown (OIEP) presented a paper titled “Measuring Intellectual Development of U.S. Study Abroad Students” at the Annual Conference of AMPEI (Mexican Association for International Education), Quintana Roo, Mexico, November 2004

            4.c.  Of Department Events/Speakers/Performers

            A culture of scholarly and creative activity is nurtured by the events, speakers, and performers who share their work with the campus.  Sometimes members of our own community share their work publicly with the campus.  Other times speakers or performers from other places enrich academic life on the campus within classrooms as well as outside of them.  This year a number of events were highlights for our academic community.  Some of them, like No Such Thing as Solo, have been mentioned earlier in these pages.   As we recognize these events, we also remember appreciatively the planning efforts by individuals who made them possible.  For example: 

·         The Science Planning Committee sponsored, under the leadership of Professor Dale Zych (Physics), a year long, weekly lecture series, entitled Science Today.  The purpose of this series, which included both visiting lecturers and Oswego faculty and staff, is to promote interdisciplinary awareness of research and teaching in the sciences and mathematics.  

·         Artswego’s Kenekt offered its first season of six chamber concerts, featuring Oswego Music faculty with outside professional performers.  Music Professors Seung hee Yang, Robert Auler, Todd Graber, Rick Holland, Juan LaManna, Elizabeth LaManna, and John McNeil performed in this series.

·         The conference, “Interdisciplinarity: Cultures of Knowledge in a Global Media Age,” sponsored by Conversations in the Disciplines and organized by IPAC, hosted more than a hundred scholars from Oswego, SUNY, and variety of other states and institutions.  Conference session examined the intersection of disciplines and the ways in which disciplines are shifting in the age of global media.

·         The Presidents’ Panel, organized by CELT members on the topic “Changing Face of Higher Education:  Challenges and Promises,” drew approximately 250 faculty, staff, students, and community members.

·         The research team of Project Monarch, in cooperation with CBCD, made a presentation to the Oswego Chamber of Commerce summarizing their NAFTA business incubator report.

·         The 65^th Technology Education Conference brought over 400 alumni and colleagues to our campus.

·         Women’s Studies faculty offered programs, especially during Women’s Herstory Month, while also supporting the Women’s Center’s events, ranging from Take Back the Night to the Vagina Monologues.

·         The American Democracy Project offered a series of thought-provoking panels on the Tsunami disaster.

5.  Multicultural and international initiatives

            Units in Academic Affairs have worked to promote a deeper understanding of human diversity, especially as that relates to gender, race/ethnicity, class, and national/cultural backgrounds.  This year a number of activities were designed to heighten awareness, to offer opportunities to broaden understanding, and to promote a culture of inclusiveness.

Among those activities mentioned in unit annual reports:

     Activities relating to Student Recruitment and Retention:

·         Rameen Mohammadi (CS), Jack Narayan (Math), Margaret Groman (Math), Rolando Arroyo-Sucre (OLS), and Rhonda Mandel secured a 2^nd NSF grant to support scholarships for financially disadvantaged students in Math and Computer Science. 

·         In liaison with the SUNY Turkish Higher Education Council initiative project we have enrolled a Turkish student in the MBA program and are hosting a scholar in-residence from late June through August. 

·         SOE Diversity Committee makes recommendations on student recruitment and retention opportunities.

·         The School of Business mailed BS/MBA brochures to 120 metropolitan New York area high schools in an effort to attract students with diverse backgrounds to our MBA program.

·         International students on IREX fellowships have placements in the local community to complete their required 120 hours of service. 

·         Continuing Education has received approval for three new courses to support the International Language and Education Center’s year-round program.

·         The OLS Academic Planning Center’s staff members serve as faculty advisors to various student clubs and organizations (El Ritmo Latino, NAHA, LEAD CENTER, Sigma Lambda Upsilon, Omega Phi Beta, and BASIC) and the OLS director serves as advisor to the Gospel Choir.  Outreach and Recruitment efforts include representing SUNY Oswego at GEAR-UP College Fairs for underrepresented students in New York City; attending the Minority Recruitment Reception for accepted students in New York City; promoting and arranging for campus visits by underrepresented high school students; and interaction with Native American groups to begin developing networking opportunities.

Programming:

·         Arts and Sciences faculty and staff organized an array of extracurricular programs on multicultural and international themes; including Hispanic Heritage Month (Beatrice Salcedo-Stumpf (ML)), German-American Month (Drs. Lalande (ML) and Djukic-Cocks (ML)), “Films from Germany” and “Germany in War and Peace” (Greg Parson (Hist) and Ana Djukic-Cocks (ML)), Latin American Films (Leo Hernandez (ML)).

·         Working with the New York Press Association, Linda Loomis (Journ) arranged for Garry Pierre-Pierre, Pulitzer Prize-winning publisher of The Haitian Times, to speak to Journalism classes about international and global issues in journalism.

·         Artswego programs often bring multicultural and international perspectives.

     Faculty Development:

·         At Huntington Elementary School, a new team of 10-12 teachers and one IHE faculty are focusing on understanding poverty and its impact on student achievement.  

·         CELT offered a workshop on diversity with Dr. Grayson during Spring Breakout. 

·         Dr. Gilmour (Ed Admin) met with college faculty in Hong Kong and Beijing to open the door for exchanges and collaborative research.   She also helped to design the new mission for NYSAWA which highlights diversity and helped to design workshops addressing this topic.  The upcoming summer institute will have this as its theme. 

6.  Applications/ Uses of new technologies

            Much of the work of the institution is changing as new uses of information technologies are integrated into our lives.  We offer approximately 100 courses on line through SLN and approximately 30 faculty members are now using Coursespace.  We offer 2 undergraduate programs entirely on line: Vocational Teacher Preparation; Broadcasting and Mass Communications.  Training and support continues for faculty members through SLN and Campus Technology Services. In addition to new web sites this year for all departments and programs, many processes are moving to an electronic format, such as the faculty reporting process, communications with students, and scheduling of classrooms.  Some interesting examples of the impact of information technologies on our academic pursuits and the facilities in which we work include the following:

·         Slide Curator Kate Timm (Art) is in the process of digitizing the Art Department’s slide collection.  Over 1,500 slides are now in digital format as tiff and jpeg. 

·         John Kane (Econ) and Bill Goffe (Econ) have developed international reputations for making educational resources available over the web.  Kane maintains econometrics resources and journal web pages that receive over 8000 hits per week.  Goffe maintains “Resources for Economists on the Internet” with the support of the American Economics Association, which receives around 5 million hits per year.

·         Internet Strategy Simulation, a Business strategy simulation, is used extensively in the capstone courses.  

·         Classroom spreadsheet projects and assignments in finance and accounting courses make extensive use of database software.

·         Introduction to Family Systems in CSP now incorporates online research into family history

·         The Library has added several significant new electronic resources to its collection, participated in SUNYConnect IDS (Interlibrary Document Delivery Service) pilot project, and implemented checkout of borrowed materials in ILLiad only

·         The Library has helped integrate a library presence into web-supported classes,

·         First Year Experience collaborated with Campus Technology Services on the FirstChoice Pre-registration process.

·         Alie Finsterwalder led the Continuing Education staff in refining electronic advisement and orientation for both evening degree and online degree students. Basic standards and policies for tracking student information were implemented.

·         The wireless network access was expanded to cover the entire first & second floors of Penfield Library and the Snygg Hall Computer Science wing.

·         Mahar 301/303 was renovated into the new Human Computer Interaction Lab. A video observation system for four computers was designed and installed to provide the environment for recording/studying both the content of the computer screen and the user interaction with the computer.

·         Lanigan 23 is a video-editing lab used by Broadcasting majors. This past year a project connected the workstations utilizing Firewire to a new Apple X-server for storage of student projects.

·         Campus Technology Services supported the pilot project use of classroom response systems for the Chemistry department in the Snygg lecture halls.

·         The Broadcasting Program received an $875,000 grant to incorporate digital technology in both television studios and renovate the radio lab.

7.  Community Service, partnerships, outreach

            The community service and outreach that faculty and professional staff members provide ranges from service on college committees to community boards to regional and national associations.  Students are engaged in many clubs and organizations and in volunteering in the community.  This year at least 295 faculty and staff members served on at least one campus committee.  At least 205 served on at least one community or external (including professional associations) association.  Faculty and professional staff not only model community service but also encourage it in their courses through service learning and/or other mentoring activities. Some faculty and departments have built partnerships with community groups.  In support of service learning, Paul Roodin (EBE)serves on the Statewide Advisory Board member of New York Campus Compact, a national organization committed to furthering the pedagogy of service-learning and student community involvement. Doug Deal (Hist) convenes the American Democracy Project, a project encouraging the civic engagement of students.  This year Academic units reported on the following community service, partnership, and outreach activities of students, faculty and staff:

A.     Of Students:

·         During the summer and academic year, graduate students in the MSED-Literacy Education Program participated in a semester-long, after school reading clinic experience in collaboration with the Oswego City School District.  Through this partnership, we diagnosed and tutored approximately 100 at-risk students.

·         Graduate students in MSED also provided tutoring in literacy and other areas to 50 elementary students with disabilities in Oswego and Onondaga County schools.

·         Jodi Mullen (CPS) developed a new partnership with the Pulaski School District.  Practicum students are now providing much needed clinical support for young children through the use of play therapy interventions.

·         Students and Technology faculty continue service to the Oswego Maritime Foundation.  This is a twenty-five year connection, quite possibly the longest running semi-annual community service activity on campus.

·         Faculty in the Communication Studies Department have incorporated service in several upper-level courses.  In COM 3113 and COM 317 students worked on a project for the Alliance for Organ and Tissue Donation, including the development of a survey and brochures; in COM 415, they organized the 14^th annual SUNY Oswego United Way Walk-a-Thon; in COM 490, students worked with a number of community organizations, including S.A.F.E. (Services to Aid Families), F.A.S.T. (Families and Schools Together), Bishop’s Commons, and the Oswego Middle School.

·         Penfield Food for Fines collected 3,455 food items for the Human Concerns Food Pantry.

·         Experienced-Based Education estimates that student volunteers contributed 83,880 hours of services, worth $1,472,094 of benefit to the local economy (Bureau of Labor calculation of value).

B.  Of Faculty and Staff:

·         Ed Administration faculty members have mentored new administrators through networking with alumni and the New York State Association of Women in Administration. 

·         Mary Harrell (C&I), PDS/PDPS specialist, developed a joint inquiry project at the Central Square Middle School, infusing literacy into science education.  She helped science teachers develop an interdisciplinary, inquiry-oriented unit of instruction, which they implemented and assessed, using pre/post assessment of student learning. 

·         Mark Kulikowski (Hist) continues to send boxes of textbooks, scholarly journals, and other academic materials (collected mainly from his Oswego faculty colleagues) to universities in central and eastern Europe that cannot afford to purchase these themselves; Leonardo Hernandez is participating in a project to raise funds to preserve archival materials at the National Archive of El Salvador.

·         Said Atri (Econ), in collaboration with three faculty members from the School of Business and SUNY Oswego’s Center for Business and Community Development, prepared and submitted a grant proposal to Oswego County to study the commercial and tourism opportunities for the Port of Oswego to increase the volume of its business trade between the U.S. and Canada.

·         Susan Camp elected treasurer of Academy for Career and Technical Teacher Education.

·         Business Faculty report significant service interactions with the following: Little League board of directors, Onondaga Citizen’s League, Oswego Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Oswego Health, Oswego Muslim Student organization, Oswego Library, Harborfest board of directors, Oswego Maritime Foundation, Oswego County administration, Oswego County office of social services, and the Oswego Asian student organization.

·         Continuing Education staff serve on boards for Oswego Heritage Credit Union, North Country Consortium, Chamber of Commerce, NYS ACME, American Society of Training and Development, Oswego Health, Library Board, Seneca Hill, United Church of Fayetteville.

·         OLS staff members report service on the Town of Oswego Zoning Board of Appeals and the Board of Directors, the Onondaga County Cultural Resource Center, the VFW, Scriba Fire Volunteer Department, and they hold  leadership roles on Faith United Church committee,  Arts and Culture for Oswego County, North American Indian Educators’ Association, Polishing the Chain, New York Folklore Society, and the Oswego Garden Project.

·         Institutional Research staff members are involved in a number of community services including: Habitat for Humanity, Adirondacks Mountain Club, Beaver Lake Nature Center, Student Advisor to students dealing with Judicial Affairs/Student Hearings, participation in the Corporate Challenge – SUNY Oswego Team, volunteer, design and support website for Syracuse Academy of Dance, USA Track and Field Certified Master Official, Assistant Track and Field Coach for SUNY Oswego, ”Quilt for a Cure” fundraiser, participation in the “WalkAmerica” fundraiser for the March of Dimes, and fundraising for the Arthritis Foundation.

·         The Institute for Professional and Organizational Development offers a variety of training and development opportunities in either a customized or open enrollment format. 

·         The Library welcomed several high school classes from local area schools and provided instruction in use of a college library

·         ARTSwego staff members serve on the Board of Directors for the Oswego Music Hall, the Board of Directors for the Institute for Aesthetic Education, and have an active role in the Oswego Film Group initiative.

·         Donna Matteson (Tech) serves as Chair of NYSTEA’s Promoting Diversity in the Classroom Committee

·         The Library coordinated with local BOCES to establish a student-with-disabilities work program within the Circulation/Reserves Department

Conclusion:

            It has been a productive year for the Academic Affairs Division.  We can be proud of our many accomplishments in relationship to strengthening student learning experiences, expanding professional development, enhancing the role of graduate studies, exploring new opportunities for student and faculty scholarly and creative work, initiating some new approaches to study abroad and recruiting international students, and making good use of information technologies to enhance our work.  Throughout this report there are many examples of the ways in which we worked to promote student success, to seek and maintain our accreditations and high program standards, to create an environment of academic engagement and inclusion, and to reach out as individuals and departments/units to our communities.

However, there are still many improvements we can make to ensure that our students are deeply engaged in their learning, that they are supported in pursuit of their educational goals, that they have many opportunities to develop the skills and knowledge for successfully beginning their lives as our graduates, and that each of them has a vision of  “unlimited horizons.”  We need to continue to nurture an academic community in which faculty and professional staff members are passionate in their commitment to teaching and mentoring students as well as furthering the work of their fields.  We hope to ensure that our many activities as an institution contribute not only to our students’ educations but also to the economic, social, and cultural development of our region. 

            As we move forward in planning for next year, I welcome comments and questions on this report as well as suggestions for future initiatives to undertake.