Remarks by President Christoph M. Kimmich at the Stated Meeting of the Faculty

16 September 2008

As you came in, you were greeted by many new faces on the screen behind me. [slide] They are the faces of the members of the faculty that have joined us this fall. You'll find them also in the guide to new faculty handed out at the door.  Look at the photographs; look at the credentials; look at the range of scholarly and artistic expertise. A wealth of talent -- and a happy addition to the campus community. I would like the new faculty to stand, and ask the rest of you please to join me in welcoming them. 

[slide] We also welcome a new Provost, William Tramontano. He regrets that he cannot be here.  He and other senior administrators are spending the day cloistered with University officials discussing priorities for the year ahead. Look for opportunities to get to know him; he is looking for opportunities to get to know you.

[slide] It's been some time since I've spoken to you here about college budget issues. I do so today because there's been much press lately about the State's finances and the steep cuts the governor has proposed. Let me say right at the outset, the reductions imposed by the State are indeed a problem but, rhetoric notwithstanding, not a crisis. 

What happened was that, after the State adopted a budget in April, it reconsidered a few months later and, at the end, reduced the budget of the senior colleges even further -- by $50.6 million. Since the University was able to absorb more than half of that reduction, Brooklyn College's share came to $1.5 million. Add to that the $1.7 million we were asked to cut in April and a few other adjustments, and we're looking at $3.5 million, about 3% of our operating budget. 

Budget reductions are hardly news for us. Some of you, with long memories, will recall reductions a lot worse than these. In recent years, we could draw on reserve funds to deal with such shortfalls and to minimize the impact. Those reserves are virtually gone.  That means we must reduce spending. We do so by balancing academic priorities and fiscal realities, by weighing all possible options. But there are precious few choices. 

[slide] About three quarters of the operating budget is spent on salaries for faculty, staff, and administration. The rest is spent on short-term or part-time staff, whether in the classroom or in offices, and on supplies, equipment, technology, and maintenance. It's in these categories alone that savings can be realized. 

You will see fewer adjunct faculty and fewer temporary clerical help.  You will find that acquisitions may have to be postponed, renovations and repairs deferred, maintenance and upkeep curtailed. That may translate into fewer sections and larger classes -- and may preclude keeping our beautiful campus quite as beautiful as it normally is. Not happy choices.

The impact may be mitigated if we increase revenues by increasing enrollment.  And here, there's good news. Enrollment is up. [slide] As of this morning, our total enrollment, undergraduate and graduate, is 16,339. Compared with a year ago today, the freshman class is up 8%, new transfer students 2%, and entering graduate students 17%.  To see this kind of growth in the graduate division is especially heartening; after three consecutive semesters, it's tempting to call it a trend.

And these students come better prepared. [slide] The mean high school grade average this fall is 86.3.  Compare that with 1999, when it was 80.6.  High school grade averages are still the best predictor of college success.  SAT scores too have gone up over time if not as steadily as high school averages, though of late they have declined. 

All in all, I'm not pessimistic about our prospects. Brooklyn College has in its days weathered severe budgetary storms.  This one is milder and, with good planning and some prudent adjustments, we'll weather it, too.

[slide] The most important issue for us this year is the renewal of the College's accreditation.  Without accreditation, our students are ineligible for federal financial aid and our degree loses its value.  Accreditation is subject to review every ten years and reaccreditation requires that the College satisfy certain criteria of institutional quality and accountability.  These criteria are set by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.  We are expecting a campus visit from a Middle States team of evaluators next spring.

Our preparations for that visit started about two years ago. A number of committees conducted a thorough institutional self study, assessing the developments of the last decade. The committee reports are rich in insight, fair in their judgment of what we have accomplished, and unsparing in observations on where we've fallen short. Many of you served on these committees and I am grateful for the time and thought you devoted to the task. 

We learned a lot about ourselves. We understand much better the directions we need to take to strengthen yet further the quality of education and services we offer students, and the quality of support and guidance we extend to faculty and staff.

I want to tell you what we have learned. I do so because, if we are going to shape our future, we need to understand where we are and how we got there. I do so because we have reason to be satisfied but also because we must be clear and honest with ourselves about things we need to remedy. And I do so because I want to recognize and honor the hard work that has gone into this process.

I will start with what the committees thought we had done well, that is, with the changes that advanced and strengthened the College. This is a long list, and I will touch on only some of it.

Pride of place goes to new faculty; virtually every committee report mentions them. [slide] We have welcomed a record number of new faculty members, in every department and across all disciplines. We have hired more faculty in the last eight years -- 273 all told -- than we have in the last three decades. It is a strong foundation for the future, full of promise.

[slide] Our new colleagues bring new ideas into the classroom, technological savvy, deep knowledge of fields that have experienced changes in perspective and accommodated changed interests. [slide] They energize the campus with their scholarship and creative pursuits to an extent we haven't seen since the last wave of faculty hirings in the 1970s. [slide] They have the wherewithal to transform course offerings and programs and, in some cases, even departments.  And, not least, they further diversify our campus community -- ethnically, culturally, intellectually. 

[slide] To help them become established in their new home and to integrate them into the life of the College and the surrounding community, we've developed a comprehensive faculty orientation process. They are housed in freshly furnished offices with well-equipped work stations, spend a day getting to know the campus, embark on a semester-long series of orientation sessions and workshops, and are taken on what I hear is a rousing bus tour of Brooklyn.  [slide] As a New York Times columnist wrote: "these new Brooklyn professors discover a defining characteristic of this city" -- the ethnic enclaves and neighborhoods where many of our students live.  

The self study committees also speak well of innovations in the College's academic offerings, most prominently, the revamping of the Core Curriculum. [slide] From its inception, the Core has been a critically important part in our students' intellectual development, putting our graduates on a par with those educated at the best universities in the country and uniquely preparing them for the challenges beyond our gates. [slide] Our new Core not only reaffirms that purpose but extends it by introducing new disciplinary approaches and new pedagogies, by responding to changing circumstances and the new global climate.

[slide] There are new advanced programs, such as baccalaureate degrees in communications and in multi-media computing and a B.B.A - a bachelor’s in business administration - which attracts great numbers. But with one or two exceptions, there is little comparable in the graduate division. 

[slide] The self-study reports commend us for what we do to make our commitment to students a reality.

They applaud the many opportunities and services that have been established, often in response to student surveys and student suggestions. It is these that, beyond the classroom, bond students to the College and promote their ambitions for the future.

[slide] The Magner Center for Career Development and Internships has in just a few years become an integral part of campus culture. Last year, nearly 3,000 students had paid internships, using the Center's online databanks that are some of the most comprehensive in CUNY. There are few students interested in careers who don't stop by for tips on interviewing techniques, mentoring by alumni, and referrals to recruiters.

[slide] The Enrollment Services Center, a one stop student service counter, has greatly simplified student business transactions.  A reconceived Center for Academic Advising and Student Success has done much to increase retention through pro active counseling and intervention.  Our Scholarship Office each year awards over a thousand scholarships worth some two million dollars provided by generous alumni through the Brooklyn College Foundation.  It also prepares candidates for prestigious scholarships such as Marshall, Truman, and Rhodes, all of which our students have received.

For gifted students, the Honors Academy has become the destination of choice. [slide] It has grown in number (there are now 340 altogether) and in distinction (the students' academic credentials and their achievements both here and as graduates are prodigious).
 
An endowed chair, the Carol Zicklin Chair in the Honors Academy (the first of by now several) allows us to appoint distinguished scholars to serve as intellectual anchors and inspiration for our honors students.  [slide] You will find these from morning till night in their own quarters in Boylan Hall. Stop by and you'll walk into a room electrified by the energy of lively minds.

[slide] And of course, there is broad consensus about the physical transformation of the campus.  That's as true for major projects -- the new library, the West Quad, our plans for a performing arts center and a new science complex -- as it is for smaller projects, projects that affect the quality of life on campus, whether in the classroom, the student center, in offices, or outside on our landscaped grounds.

In technology, we are clearly in the lead. [slide] Students have access to well over a thousand computers available all day long, and even during the night in the library café. [slide] Our Web Portal has become the main address for information and online services; no other CUNY campus can make that claim. 

Most of you are familiar with the dozens of electronic transactions and workflows that provide services to faculty and students. You are the first at this University to submit grades and attendance reports, publish course materials, requirements, and office hours, access rosters and e mail students, vote in faculty elections, and see students' course evaluation results via the portal any hour, any day. You even get emails at 2 in the morning, reminding you to turn in your grades!

[slide] The campus now boasts 45 smart class rooms and 8 smart lecture halls. Smart because they have video projectors, screens and lecterns wired with sophisticated computer and video capabilities, and because they come with devices that let you use a touch screen to annotate images and write notes through the projection system. 

We clearly have developed momentum.

But the self-study reports also direct our eye to issues that call for attention either because they need fixing or because they're matters of concern.  Again I single out but the most prominent.

Still more needs to be done to help faculty do their job.  We must extend our commitment to supporting faculty research and artistic endeavors to ensure that faculty members reach full potential.  That is central to our mission, and central to our reputation as an institution of quality.  [slide] External funding is often seen as a proxy for the quality of a faculty, and we must work harder to help faculty secure research grants, extending assistance and resources from proposal writing to application procedures to award administration. Too much valuable teaching or research time goes to administrative duties better handled by non teaching staff.  And we are not as clear as we might be about our reward systems: our promotions-and-tenure processes are cumbersome and rather opaque.

[slide] More than one committee report voiced apprehensions about the losses we are likely to face in the near future as members of the faculty take retirement.  Well over a third are at an age when they may start to consider such a step. We have, in our recent hiring, succeeded in narrowing the generation gap, the missing generation we didn't hire in the 1980s and 1990s.  But we now face a different set of challenges: planning for succession, that is, deciding where faculty will be needed, in what disciplines, with what kinds of credentials, and then hiring replacements at a time when every other university and college is engaged in the very same exercise. How can we be competitive in attracting and retaining top faculty talent? 

Students too need additional assistance, and they're not reluctant to tell us that we're not all that good at it.

[slide] They would like more opportunity for direct contact with faculty. We pride ourselves on excellence in teaching, on shaping inquiring young minds, on mentoring. What better way to achieve that than to make sure faculty interact with students at all points in their college careers? Yet we find that, at Brooklyn College, fewer students are taught by full time faculty members than at peer institutions. That's true especially for the first two years of college, when a positive influence by you in the classroom can make all the difference.  [slide] Students like to conduct research with faculty, and they would like to do even more, to absorb first-hand what it means to be a researcher, to be trained and mentored in the discipline. We know that that's probably the most productive way of engaging student interests. 

Transfer students still do not get enough help in mastering the transition to our College, whether in negotiating admissions and registration processes or in getting their transfer credits approved in time for these to be integrated into a plan of study. Transfer students make up a substantial part of our enrollment, and they must not suffer neglect.

And all, whether new or old, undergraduate or graduate, complain about getting the run-around. [movie] How do we ensure that advice is sound, directions are accurate, and contact with students is welcoming, friendly, and supportive?  How do we streamline and coordinate our rules and requirements to make them easier to navigate?  How do we devise more rational processes and sets of planning tools to map out a course of study or a major program? 

Many lament an all-too-frequent lack of civility, of being treated with little courtesy or respect. [slide] The Noel Levitz student survey in 2002 spurred us to action but we have slipped since then and regressed.  Most critical in this respect is our front-line staff, whether in administrative or department offices:  they must be models in extending a welcoming hand to our students. And the rest of us must find ways to do so too.  And not only to students; we all deserve cordial respect.  It means much for the overall atmosphere and health of our community.

We continue to relegate our graduate program to the position of a step child. [slide] Brooklyn College is more than an undergraduate college.  We have 3,492 graduate students in our midst, about 20% of our enrollment, but you would hardly know it.  

We rarely reach out to these students or offer them the kinds of services they routinely get at other institutions. That starts with recruiting and admitting them to the College, extends to counsel and direction while they are here, and ends with the guidance they need to make the transition from classroom to workplace. Students who choose graduate work do so because they want professional training and advancement. To help them, we need to acknowledge that difference -- be mindful of what they cope with in the world of work, and aware of new horizons and career opportunities. 

[slide] And yes, there's still more to be done to ascertain that our students truly learn what we want them to learn and that we truly achieve the outcomes we intend.  This is a key point for Middle States. We have made progress in assessing outcomes but still do not have a firm grasp of strategies that would allow us to change and adapt in response to what we discover.

All that, and more, will be known to the Middle States evaluators when they come here next spring.  It's important that you know it too. The evaluators expect to talk to us not only about what we're good at but also -- and no less important -- what we are doing to address what we're not good at. They will want to meet us in groups or individually and at random.  Don't be surprised if you're approached with a question or two.  And you must have an answer.

With this in mind, we're scheduling a series of town hall meetings this fall to acquaint the college community with our self-study findings, to solicit comment and clarification, and, not least, to talk about the nature of the process, the site visit, and what to expect from the evaluators.  You will hear a lot about it in the months to come. The more informed we are, the more transparent our work and our methods, the better.

I now turn to something more immediate. [slide] Brooklyn College has resided on these campus grounds for over seventy years, [slide] more than doubling its capacity in that period.  [slide] For the last ten years or so, our expansion has been guided by a capital master plan based on our understanding of our needs and priorities. [slide] That plan guided us as we built a new library wing and renovated the library itself, [slide] demolished Plaza building and replaced it with a second quadrangle and a new building, and began design on a new science complex. [slide]

These changes have given us additional space and new configurations, and that requires that we take a fresh look. How will the academic needs of departments be met within our present buildings? What do we need to create to make our campus meet the challenges of the next decade? We are a landlocked campus with little room for expansion:  how do we make most effective use of the space we have to advance our academic agenda? Difficult questions.

We have engaged experienced architects to help us think about these questions. They will be here over the next few months to explore our ideas with us, our needs, and our preferences. A small working committee of faculty and administrators will make sure that they understand us and our interests, but there will also be opportunity for individual faculty and staff input. 

And a second immediate issue. By next fall, students will be able to move into a residence hall two blocks from campus. [slide] For a campus used to commuter students, a student residence raises questions we have not ever had to consider before. What should we expect?  What will be our responsibilities? How do we provide for students outside of class?  What access will they have to campus after dark? The more we can prepare for this change, the smoother and more rewarding will be the experience. I am about to appoint a task force chaired by Dean Jacqueline Williams and charged to explore the challenges as well as the opportunities student housing brings to us.

[slide] And now, for one of the best moments -- time to recognize and acknowledge faculty, students, and staff for the honors and awards they have been accorded since last we met.

First off, Brooklyn College itself. It is once again, and for the 6th year in a row, included among America's best colleges by the Princeton Review. That puts the College among the country's 368 top institutions for undergraduate education. They're in very good company.  We are lauded for our dedicated faculty, a great library, and abundant computer facilities -- and ranked third on the list of those having a diverse campus.  (And seventh for preferring milk to a glass of beer.)

And now, our students.  They received awards in twos:

• Ghulam Dastgir and Alex Pyrroneau each won a Salk Scholarship to medical school.  That's two out of a total of eight for all of CUNY.
• Christopher Browne and Jillian Justh each got the chance to study abroad this year through a Gilman International Scholarship -- Christopher in Switzerland, Jillian in Egypt.
• Marian Malomud and Rosemary Tavares, both sophomores, were named Jeannette K. Watson Fellows, which opens opportunities for professional development in their future careers.

Faculty members are recognized for their achievements by being appointed as distinguished or named professors.  Would you please stand when I call your name and remain standing. And I will ask you all to hold your applause until all the names have been read.

We welcome a new Distinguished Professor to our midst:

• Ursula Oppens (Conservatory of Music) is a virtuoso concert pianist, with an international reputation for her unparalleled understanding of composers' artistic intent.
• Margarite Fernandez Olmos (Modern Language and Literatures) has been named Matthew J. Fantaci Professor, awarded to members of the faculty who excel in Italian or Spanish teaching.
• Jonathan Adler (Philosophy), Julie Agoos (English), and Peter Lipke (Biology) were named Leonard and Claire Tow Professors for outstanding scholarship and creative work.
• Tammy Lewis (Sociology) holds the Carol Zicklin Chair in the Honors Academy.

Let's give them a round of applause.

We proudly recognize members of the faculty who have won outside honors.  Let me ask you again please to hold your applause until I've named them all.

• Tim Gura (Speech Communication Arts and Sciences) received the Wallace A. Bacon Lifetime Teaching Excellence Award by the National Communication Association.
• James Davis (English) was awarded a Writing Fellowship for 2008 2009 by the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the Graduate Center.
• Pat Antoniello (HNS and Anthropology/Archaeology) received the Cornaro Award by the New York State Chapter of the Sons of Italy.
• Dan Eshel (Biology) has been appointed to the editorial board of Biochemistry Insights, a new journal in the field.
• Noel Anderson (Political Science) received the 2008 Vision & Leadership Award from the National Urban League
• Deborah Shanley (Dean, School of Education) was appointed to the National Parks Second Century Commission, where she will represent education.
• Martha Nadell (English) was selected for the Claire Tow Distinguished Teacher Award for excellence in the classroom.

This year's Whiting Fellows count among them two historians: Swapna Banerjee and Christopher Ebert, also Daniel Campos, a philosopher, and Danielle Kellogg, a classicist.  The Whiting Fellowships reward exceptional teaching in the humanities with a year's leave to pursue scholarship.

Congratulations to you all; you do us honor.

We continue to attract major grants for faculty research and for institutional priorities:

• David Bloomfield (Education) has a grant in partnership with the City's Department of Education to develop, implement, and expand innovative leadership programs targeting principals or assistant principals in schools with high needs.
• Jürgen Polle (Biology), whose research focuses on biofuel alternatives to oil and gas, has major support from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. 
• Nancy Romer and Diane Reiser (Brooklyn College Community Partnership for Research and Learning) received a major award from the New York State Education Department for after-school programs for middle school students in high need areas.

From the National Institutes of Health:

• to Stacey Brenner (Chemistry), a grant to support her work on small molecules with the potential to treat illness and disease.
• to Louise Hainline (Dean, Research and Graduate Studies), in association with Peter Lipke (Biology), a five year renewal for the Brooklyn College MARC program.
• to Peter Lipke (Biology), a grant for research on cell adhesion proteins in fungal life cycles and pathogenesis.

From the National Science Foundation:

• to Laurie Rubel (School of Education), a CAREER Award, one of the Foundation's most prestigious awards.  It supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher scholars through their work integrating education and research.
• to Sheila Tejada and Simon Parsons (Computer and Information Sciences) and to John Jannone (Television and Radio), a grant to research the technological frontier of mixed reality applications, where real and virtual worlds interact.
• to Betina Zolkower (School of Education), a grant from the Discovery Research K 12 program to appraise mentoring strategies for beginning math teachers in middle schools.

You deserve our applause.

Finally, I am pleased to recognize members of the staff singled out last year by department chairs and supervisors for their courtesy, dedication, and helpfulness.  They are our employees of the month -- known for going the extra mile.

Would you please stand and remain standing until I have called the entire roll and we can recognize and applaud you.

• September 2007.  Andrew Steketee, Office of the Assistant Vice President for Finance, Budget and Planning
• October 2007. Young Cheong from the Television Center
• November 2007. Claudette Guinn, who directs the Veteran Affairs and Counseling Center
• December 2007.  Yvonne Williams of Facilities
• January 2008.  Gunnar Dessources of the New Media Center in the Library
• February 2008. Hernan R. Sierra of the Admissions Information Center
• March 2008. Denetra Christian, Office of the Registrar
• April 2008. Ruth Weinstein from the music library
• May 2008.  Annsonia Garrick, Department of Speech Communications Arts and Sciences
• June 2008. Ursula Chase, known to us all as the very effective deputy director of the Office of Campus and Community Safety Services

The College would not run as well nor be as hospitable were it not for people like you and we thank you. Congratulations.

This marks the end of my remarks. Are there any questions?  If not, the Stated Meeting of the Faculty stands adjourned.