Thank you for agreeing to participate in this planning committee that will help SUNY Oswego to build on our current strengths in scholarly and creative activities and to identify strategies for strengthening areas where we might do better.  The purpose of this committee is to help us to assess and strengthen that aspect of our learning-centeredness that we call “scholarly and creative activity.”  Through your discussions this semester we will also be preparing ourselves for interviewing a permanent associate dean/director who will oversee the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and who will broadly encourage student and faculty scholarly and creative efforts.  Our Interim Director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Tom Darvill, will lead this planning effort.

            By the end of this semester I hope you will be able to give me a draft plan of goals and action steps in relation to my charge, which is explained below.  I would anticipate some additional discussion of faculty members and administrators in the summer and early in the fall, so that together we will complete a “working draft” of a plan to guide our activities next year and into the future, to help us to interview for the permanent director, and to give that director a starting point for his or her work

During your discussions, I encourage you to think about scholarly and creative activities in the context of institutional goals, institutional resources, and national best practices.  Please consider how scholarly and creative activities at an institution like ours coordinate with broader initiatives of the institution, such as offering excellent programs of study; participating in community and economic development; improving recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students; attracting, retaining, and affirming diversity; and/or helping our students master oral, written, and creative skills.  You should also consider how scholarly and creative activities relate to resources of funding and of time. Proposals for new funding need to be considered in the context of generating new funding or re-allocating funds from something else.  Proposals for new activities need to be considered in relation to our institutional commitment to teaching well and having faculty with expertise in the classroom;  that teaching commitment must be taken into account as we plan time for scholarly and creative activities.  Finally, please develop goals for our institution that will reflect “best practices” or establish “best practices” for institutions of our type in the nation.  Please work from an expanded knowledge and understanding of what is going on nationally in comprehensive institutions.

The specific charge for this planning committee is in three parts:

            1.  Please review current levels and areas of scholarly and creative activities of students on our campus and set goals and action steps for the next five years related to creating a campus on which students are exceptionally well prepared with scholarly or creative skills that will be useful for graduate/professional education or for students’ future lives and careers.  In this part of the charge you may consider both class-related and co-curricular activities that will contribute to this part of your plan.  For example, if you decide that one of our goals is encouraging more students to participate in more collaborative as well as independent scholarly and creative activity, what actions do we need to undertake?  If a goal is getting more students to publish, display, and/or present their works—on and off campus, what actions do we need to undertake?  If a goal is engaging students in faculty members’ scholarly and creative activities, first as assistants, then as partners, what actions do we need to undertake?

            2.  Review current levels and areas of scholarly and creative activities of faculty members on campus and set goals and actions for the next five years related to enhancing our culture of learner-centeredness, so that all faculty members are engaged in and reporting scholarly and creative activities—broadly understood.  Some questions to ask yourselves might include: What goals and actions will encourage and promote faculty efforts?  How can we encourage faculty activities in collaboration with student activities?         

            3.  Review the past and current operations of ORSP and identify goals and actions for an even more successful future, including making proposals about levels and types of responsibilities and services.  For example, if the major goal of ORSP is expanding sponsored research on campus, what are the responsibilities of the director and staff?  Are current policies and procedures appropriate or do they need to be reviewed?  How can the office support expanded grant-writing and sponsored research?

Again, thank you for your participation on this planning committee. I want to encourage you to dream and to do so within the contexts I have suggested.   I am looking forward to energetic discussions about the future of scholarly and creative activities at SUNY Oswego.

c.  Provost’s Council