The Daily Bulletin Archive

The SUNY Association of Chief Academic Officers (CAO) held its fall conference last week. I participated along with most of the provosts and academic vice presidents from the 64 SUNY campuses. Many of the topics discussed require further consideration on campus.

John Reid, executive director of the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education, updated the CAOs on commission progress. He reviewed higher education areas under study by the commission including academic excellence, tuition and financial aid, capital needs, alignment with workforce and economic development, access and K–12 partnerships, transfer and articulation, and higher education financing. A draft of the commission’s report is expected by December 1. CAOs were encouraged to focus on transfer and articulation issues to ensure seamless transition and timely graduation of transfer students.

John Clarke, interim SUNY chancellor, spoke on various issues regarding SUNY. He noted that excellence in public higher education is key to the vitality of New York State, and he characterized SUNY as providing good education with possibilities for greatness through consistent sustained long-term investment. In discussing the next budget, Chancellor Clarke identified the No. 1 priority to be an increase in full-time faculty within SUNY. Facility improvement supported by expanded capital funding is also a priority.

First-year programs were discussed by John N. Gardner, executive director of the Policy Center on the First Year of College. Gardner described the Foundation of Excellence in the First College Year program. This program offers a framework for colleges to audit nine defining characteristics of institutional effectiveness that promote learning and success of first-year students. Participants from SUNY to date are Brockport, Cortland, Fredonia, Stony Brook, and Tompkins Cortland Community College. Buffalo State may find it useful to become a participating campus.

Undergraduate research experiences were discussed by Kathy Whatley, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Whatley spoke of best practices at colleges across the county that influence campus culture so that undergraduate research programs are embraced. Buffalo State’s program and the leadership of Jill Singer were cited a number of times in Whatley’s presentation.

SUNY Provost Risa Palm reviewed priority budget requests such as increase in full-time faculty, increase in stipends for and numbers of graduate assistants, start-up funding for new faculty, and a systemwide student tracking system. Provost Palm introduced recently appointed associate provosts—Pedro Caban, Kavita Pandit, and Harold Silverman. Each described his or her respective areas of responsibility. Caban focuses on educational equity and diversity issues. He provides oversight to the Educational Opportunity Center, the Educational Opportunity Program, the National Association of System Heads, and efforts to instill diversity as a core value at all SUNY campuses. Pandit leads system efforts related to curriculum, program reviews, assessment, international programs, and the new professional science master’s initiative. Enrollment management, the SUNY Learning Network, SUNY Press, and various university-wide programs are Silverman’s responsibility.

Additional sessions during the three-day conference addressed the following:

• Workshops and case studies provided forum for discussion of the SUNY Digital Library proposal, elements of academic planning, and dealing with disruptive students.
• University college provosts held sector meetings to discuss a number of items including transfer student issues, department chair stipends, and starting salaries for new faculty appointments.
• The association’s business meetings resulted in changes in bylaws and established dates and possible topics for discussion at 2008 meetings.