College Council Minutes for Sept. 16, 2016

State University of New York at Oswego
College Council Meeting
September 16, 2016
Rice Creek Field Station

Ms. Deborah F. Stanley, President

Mr. Nick Lyons, Vice President for Finance and Administration

Dr. Jerald Woolfolk, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment

Ms. Mary Canale, Interim Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations

Ms. Pam Caraccioli, Deputy to the President for Economic Development and External Partnerships

Mr. Pranay Chapagain, Programmer Analyst

Ms. Kristi Eck, Chief of Staff and College Council Recorder

Dr. Lisa Glidden, Faculty Assembly Chair

Mr. Howard Gordon, Executive Assistant to the President

Ms. Ellen McCloskey, Assistant to the President

Mr. Wayne Westervelt, Chief Communication Officer

1. Welcome and call to order: James McMahon, chair of the College Council, called the meeting to order in Rice Creek Field Station at 1:24 p.m.
   
   
2. Approval of Minutes of April 15, 2016: James McMahon asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the April 15, 2016 meeting. Michael Goldych made a motion for the minutes to be amended (in relation to Item 8) to include that SUNY labs be made available for a multitude of public purposes. Gary Sluzar seconded the motion to amend the minutes. The minutes of April 15, 2016, as amended, were approved by the Council.
   
   
3. With Passion and Purpose: Before discussing the With Passion and Purpose: The Campaign for SUNY Oswego, President Stanley introduced Mary Canale, Interim Vice President for Alumni and Development. Kerry Dorsey, previous Vice President for Alumni and Development, has retired. President Stanley also introduced Lisa Glidden as the new Chair of Faculty Assembly and Wayne Westervelt, the new Chief Communication Officer.
   
   President Stanley announced that on June 30, 2016 the campaign was closed at $43.48 million dollars. It was the largest comprehensive sector campaign in SUNY to date. Mary Canale described the success of the With Passion and Purpose campaign and introduced Communications and Marketing employee, Pranay Chapagain, who helped build the With Passion and Purpose campaign website: www.oswego.edu/campaign (see site for details on campaign’s priorities, success and impacts), and presented examples of videos on the site. President Stanley shared that the campaign website and all videos were produced completely in-house by campus staff.
   
   Mary Canale introduced Jerald Woolfolk who explained the Oz Leads program, which is funded by a donor who supported the campaign. Sixteen students completed the Oz Leads program in its inaugural year of 2015-2016. The program will continue this year. It has been hailed as very impactful and successful thus far.
   
   Discussion also included how SUNY Oswego’s campaign compared to other SUNY institutions’ campaigns, how our endowment is managed and how we decide to invest our assets. 
   
   
4. Alumni Report: Rick Yacobush provided the alumni report. He asked all to mark their calendars for June 8-11, 2017 for the college annual alumni reunion. Homecoming 2016, the second year of the new tradition, will be held Nov. 4-5, 2016. Last year’s Homecoming was very successful; this year will continue to include activities for current students to participate in with alumni. Alumni-in-Residence (AIR): To date, three of 36 AIR participants have returned to campus for 2016-2017. Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK): 22 presentations have already been completed this year. Regional events: 10 events have already taken place in 2016 and there are 23 more events to take place before December 31, 2016. First ever “welcome back” senior class picnic will take place at King Alumni Hall on September 22, 2016. Gold Leadership Council: held an August 2016 teleconference meeting and two new members joined (GOLD is Graduates of the Last Decade). CNY Career Connections: Wednesday, October 5, 2016 at the SUNY Oswego Metro Center: alumni of the region will attend to share career advice with current junior and senior students. Future Alumni Network (FANS): First meeting of the semester was September 8, 2016. Athletic Hall of Fame: November 5, 2016 as part of the Homecoming celebration. Legacy Students and their families will be invited to a celebration at King Hall on October 22, 2016. OsweGoConnect has continued to grow: since launching in April 2013, more than 7,180 alumni users have signed up. The summer issue of the Oswego Alumni Magazine features a story on Lake Ontario. The fall issue will highlight an overview of the college’s 30th anniversary year of ALANA and also feature the new Oz Speaks series and celebrate the success of With Passion and Purpose.
   
   
5. Faculty Report: Lisa Glidden shared that one Faculty Assembly meeting was held this year so far. We have two new senators: Frank Byrne (History) and Eve Clark (Sociology). They will be going to SUNY Cortland later this fall to attend the SUNY Faculty Assembly Senate meeting. Lisa shared that a Faculty Assembly task force was charged last year to examine the ways teaching assistants should be used in classrooms and to develop consistency in policy around how teaching assistants are used. Saleem Cheeks asked what the focus from SUNY will be this year (for Faculty Senate). Lisa Glidden said one focal item is whether or not every campus should require that all students have an applied learning experience before graduating. Teach NY is the other. President Stanley added that Chancellor Zimpher visited the campus this summer and she had a discussion and listening session with the faculty from the School of Education about Teach NY.
   
   
6. President’s Remarks / Campus Update: President Stanley reported on Fall 2016 Student Demographics, Graduation and Retention Rates, Enrollment Management Efforts, Faculty and Professional Staff Searches, Campus Initiatives and Campus Updates including the following:
   
   Fall 2016 Student Preview: more than 8,000 total students (undergraduate and graduate); most culturally diverse student population ever: 26%; most culturally diverse first-year class ever: 33.8%; 4,400 students in residence halls (2nd highest ever, only Fall 2014 higher); transfer applications and transfer enrollment up from last year – we began the Start Now program in partnership with Jefferson Community College (JCC) this year to grow our own transfer students, and we hired a Coordinator for this program who splits her time between JCC and SUNY Oswego. We are going to work with other community colleges in SUNY to expand the program.
   
   Our average GPA, SAT and acceptance rates have remained steady: we are bringing in the same level of student, unlike some peer institutions whose acceptance rates have increased. We are continuing to enroll more students from downstate than from Oswego and contiguous counties. As our enrollment goals are met, we remain committed to maintaining our class size ratios. The diversity of our student population continues to increase and we continue to see a rise in the number of enrolled culturally diverse student-scholars. STEM applications and enrollments continue to increase; visits to campus by prospective students are up; undeclared freshman applications and enrollment are slightly down from Fall 2015, a positive change because declared major students are often more successful in college. Transfer applications increased this year; we want to see them continue to increase.
   
   This winter-summer, we will renovate Scales Hall and reopen for Fall 2017, at the college’s own cost, using reserve funds that can be used for residence halls. The Enrollment Management Committee, led by Jerald Woolfolk who works closely with Mehran Nojan (Director of Institutional Research and Assessment) and Dan Griffin (Director of Admissions) regularly meets to refine the college’s approach to recruiting and enrolling students. It was also noted that the School of Education enrollment is starting to level out rather than continue to decline.
   
   Retention and Graduation Rates: our retention rate has increased this year ~1%; our four-year graduation rates have also increased ~ 1%. We implemented the Graduation Return on Investment (ROI) program with the FR Fall 2010 Cohort (2014 graduating year) and we have seen an increase in graduation rates along with the implementation of the ROI.
   
   Faculty and Professional Staff Searches: Successful hiring for 2015-2016; we greatly increased the cultural and ethnic diversity of our faculty and staff through intentional recruiting and focused faculty and staff search committee efforts: 81 new faculty and professional staff hired. 23/81 (28%) = new faculty and staff who are culturally and ethnically diverse, 13/40 (33%) = new faculty who are culturally and ethnically diverse, and 10/41 (24%) = new professional staff who are culturally and ethnically diverse. President Stanley recognized that we want to continue to improve in this area; New York State is 44% culturally and ethnically diverse. It was also mentioned that Howard Gordon runs a vibrant faculty and staff mentoring group that has existed for 18 years to help new hires feel welcomed and a part of Oswego.
   
   $100M Expanded Investment and Performance Fund Grants underway: Start Now with Jefferson Community College launched this fall and SUMS-Oswego launched with a pre-college summer bridge camp with 140 students.
   
   Initiatives Underway: Periodic Review Report draft underway. It will be shared with the campus and College Council in the next month. Shared Governance discussions continue with faculty leadership. Faculty salary study on equity and compression completed and shared with Priorities and Planning. The Budget Advisory Group to begin to meet on financial topics (students, faculty and staff are a part of this group). SUNY Excels/Tomorrow Advisory Group will meet again soon to continue their work together. More Business Intelligence data will be provided to faculty and staff to help them with decision-making. On Nov. 1, 2016, the college’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan is due to SUNY. Searches for a Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, a Graduate Dean and a Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs will begin soon. Mike Goldych asked how many Native American professors are employed currently in SUNY. A SUNY Oswego Computer Science professor created a MOOC on Big Data and biohealth informatics. The course is being offered this fall for the first time.
   
   Financial Plan Update: we are solvent. New 2016-2017 financial plan additions include collective bargaining needs, campus allocations (president’s office and academic affairs), FLSA wage and OTPS increases and additional tuition revenue. Impact on Increase in Minimum Wage 2016-2017: additional expense for state student employment = $68,585 (minimum wage increases to $10.75 on Dec. 31, 2016).
   
   Campus Updates: Tyler Hall Phase 1: Interior Reconstruction nearly complete. SUNY Oswego It’s on Oz is underway. Start Up New York continues with two projects approved and two in progress to date. The Office of Business and Community Relations will move from the campus to downtown Oswego to best serve the community. College has continued to be recognized well in national rankings including U.S. News and World Report Best Value and for serving military and veteran students well.
   
   Looking Ahead: Fall 2016 Meetings with the President continue and include Faculty Drop-In hours, Student Drop-In hours, Town Hall Meetings with students, and new faculty informal discussion meetings. 30th Annual ALANA Student Leadership Conference is taking place September 17-24, 2016. Media Summit is on October 27, 2016.  Homecoming is November 4-5, 2016.
   
   
7. Old Business: Gary Sluzar asked if the Metro Center went through an audit. President Stanley said there was no audit but the college worked with the State University of New York to amass information that provided additional facts on the Metro Center. Jim McMahon said the next College Council meeting will be Nov. 4, 2016.
   
   
8. New Business: Mike Goldych asked if a bubbler or water circulator could be added to the lagoon in front of Culkin Hall or the pond at Rice Creek. President Stanley agreed to take it under consideration.
   
   Mike Goldych asked if the college is engaging with the city regarding the lakefront. He also commented that the city is trying to determine how to best handle on-street parking in winter months and at times when on-street parking is banned. Motion to adjourn made by Gary Sluzar, seconded by Bill Scriber and approved by all at 3:21 p.m.