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This Week At Lehman Graphic
Office of the Provost's email digest: July 2017 edition
We are now in the thick of the “hazy, lazy days of summer” (to lift a turn of phrase from one of those ageless classics). However, as you walk around campus, you quickly recognize that the College is a vibrant, busy place all year round. For those of you who have taken well-deserved time away to pursue scholarly interests, to travel, or to enjoy rest and relaxation, I thought that you might like an update on strategic planning initiatives as well as the professional development activities that keeps Lehman hopping.

Strategic Planning

The Past as Prologue: Prioritization Reports Posted

As you may recall from the last issue of the eDigest May 18, 2017 Marcie Wolfe, former director of the Institute of Literacy Studies, kindly agreed to work with me to do a “deep dive” into prioritization documents. The aim was to provide information to advance President Cruz’s goal of strengthening Lehman’s “institutional effectiveness through the actualization and operationalization of the most promising recommendations and strategies” documented in Program Prioritization, in order to advance Lehman’s future as a model of “transformative, equity-based higher education.”

Her final report is organized into five sections: four theme-based information pages and a final page that collects some of the resource challenges (from Prioritization reports) to be addressed if Lehman is to fulfill its potential as a break-the-mold institution. You can find the report at http://lehman.edu/strategic-planning/. I believe that you will find that many of our ambitious plans have been realized but that there is still more to accomplish.

Middle States Update

A record 45 committed professionals from every division across the College attended the Middle States Steering Committee/ Standards Work Group Chairs meeting on June 21st. The theme of the meeting was “Self-Study, Strategic Planning, and Prioritization Optimization.” In addition to participating in lively discussion on the status of the MSCHE self-study document and next steps in the accreditation process, the participants thought carefully about a new context for moving forward (i.e., using MSCHE to provide a framework for an aspirational strategic plan that incorporates the six priorities identified by President Cruz during his 2016 Convocation Address, the CUNY Master Plan, “90 x 30”, and Lehman’s existing Strategic Goals). A special thank-you to Deirdre Pettipiece and Donald Sutherland for organizing this meeting and moving the agenda forward throughout the 2017-2018 academic year.

The Path Forward: Employing Both Inside-Out and Outside-In Thinking

Formal cross-divisional conversations about 90x30 began with an internal brainstorming session on June 15, followed by a day of consultation provided by Dr. Peter Nwosu (Provost, Clark Atlanta University and former Associate Provost, Cal State Fullerton), and culminating on July 10 with a lively dialogue between a CUNY team headed by John Mogulescu, Senior University Dean for Academic Affairs and Cabinet members. Academic leaders (chairs, associate deans, and deans) will become major actors on September 19 during a retreat (scheduled from 5-9 p.m. in the Student Life Building) entitled “90x30: A Jigsaw.” All faculty will have the opportunity to have their voices heard during the January retreat.

Using Technology to Drive Professional Learning

Three successful professional development initiatives took place this summer and will continue across one or more academic years:

NICE: Esther Wilder hosted a kick-off session for Numeracy Infusion for College Educators (NICE), a NSF-sponsored Quantitative Reasoning (QR) faculty development program, on Thursday, June 8th at Lehman that was attended by more than a dozen faculty. This program represents a collaborative effort between Hostos and Lehman, with involvement of all three of CUNY’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the Bronx, i.e., Lehman, Hostos and BCC. Over the course of the program, faculty learn strategies for effective quantitative reasoning and receive ongoing support as they articulate QR learning goals and develop instructional and assessment materials for their course instruction. With the exception of the face-to-face June 8th orientation, the program is delivered online.

Active Learning Institute: On July 11-12, Pam Mills and Donna McGregor co-facilitated a two-day in-service on active learning strategies with a focus on the use of clickers in the classroom. Over 40 faculty from Lehman and BCC participated. As a follow-up, Violet Fredericks in NSS is building an active teaching/learning web site that will make resources available to all CUNY faculty. Support for the Institute was provided by the USDOE HSI-STEM grant.

Introduction to OER: In collaboration with the CUNY School for Professional Studies, the Office of Online Education offered a fully online course designed to introduce faculty to OER entitled “Enhancing Your Course through the Use of Open Educational Resources Workshop” that ran from June 12-18 with a final project due on June 23. By the end of the workshop, 21 Lehman faculty were able to: 1) Define the various types of OER: 2) Distinguish between the different OER permissions for adoption, attribution, and reuse; 3) Identify collections of resources that provide OER relevant to your own course and discipline; 4) Evaluate OER using appropriate standards and criteria; 5) Select an OER textbook or other OER content for inclusion in a course; and 6) Draft a plan or outline that can be used to implement revisions or integration of the chosen OER within a course. A special thanks goes to Olena Zhadko (Online Education) for her leadership in getting this workshop off the ground and Staci Katz (Library) for lending her expertise to the project.

Important Upcoming Dates

  • Chairs Workshop – August, 25, 2017
  • New Faculty Orientation – August 25, 2017
  • 90x30 Academic Affairs Retreat –September 19, 2017
  • Convocation & Inauguration – September 27, 2017
The Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs is the College's chief academic officer and senior member of the Cabinet. The Provost is responsible for all educational programs, as well as for academic issues that relate to the faculty, including appointments, promotions, and evaluations. She also is responsible for preparing accreditation reviews, strategic planning, and the review of division and departmental budgets. Questions? Email alison.abreu@lehman.cuny.edu or call 718-960-8222.