[Teaching-Faculty] Summer 2021 update to Faculty

[Office of the Provost/VPAA]

Greetings, faculty colleagues.

I hope that you are all feeling a bit more rested and refreshed after such
a difficult 20-21 year.  It is amazing to think about what we have all
lived through.  I am sure this summer has been more significant to you than
ever before, as you prepare yourselves for return to a new academic year.

I want to share with you some important updates as follows:

*Faculty line approvals*
We are still under a hiring freeze from SUNY.  However, I do have the
opportunity to approve a limited number of faculty searches for programs *with
high enrollments and the highest faculty need to meet these enrollments*.
As you will recall from my zoom meetings this spring (with the Chairs
Council and with faculty from all ranks), Academic Affairs is still
expecting to be asked to make additional cuts during budget planning for
22/23.  I cannot exhaust the resources from every open line I have
*because* open lines are the primary way I am able to meet the targets
assigned for reductions in each division.

After fully reviewing the requests and rankings from each dean and
consulting with my Cabinet, I have approved the following eight lines for
tenure-track faculty searches: Biology, Computer Science (2 positions, one
for our main campus and one for the newly approved Computer Security
program at the Queensbury campus), Exercise and Nutrition Sciences,
 Nursing (2 positions), Psychology, and Special Education.

Looking at this list, it’s obvious that these lines are pre-professional
and STEM related.  This is difficult, I know, for our Liberal Arts
Departments and colleagues who also have additional faculty needs in their
departments.  There is no doubt that there are legitimate needs in multiple
other departments, but as of this fall, our focus needs to be stabilizing
enrollments and our budget before we will have the freedom to address
additional areas of disciplinary need.  We will need to think together
about how best to market our Liberal Arts programs—how to best make the
case for lifelong, career value, which is unquestionable.

I am grateful for all of the help our faculty provides in support of
student recruitment.  I am working with VP Wahab to increase stronger
collaboration between Admissions and Academic Affairs (for Open House
events, for example).  It may be an obvious point, but I do want to state
here that anything you can do as individual faculty and departments to
support recruitment efforts moving forward will be essential in speeding up
the pace of the progress we all seek toward better resourced times.

On an optimistic note, I want to share with you that the college’s
enrollment goal for this fall was 1,689 deposited students; as of last
Monday, we have 1,692 deposits.  Our hard-working Admissions team under the
leadership of Executive Director Carrie Woodward and Vice President Wahab
has exceeded their target.  This is an incredible accomplishment at this
particular moment with both the pandemic and regional demographic declines
contributing to extreme recruitment challenges.  Please consider
acknowledging this success when you happen to see any of our admissions and
enrollment focused colleagues on campus.

*Fall Masking Update*
Lastly, I know you are all probably wondering what our fall return to
campus will be like with increasing concerns about the Delta variant and
questions about how much of our campus population will be fully vaccinated
by the fall.  The President’s Cabinet and other campus leadership have been
steadily gathering information to ensure that we open with the best
guidelines in place for protecting our health and safety; as was the case
last year, we will make all decisions consistent with guidelines from the
CDC, our SUNY system, and the Clinton County Health Department.  I had
earlier hoped that we could begin all in-person classes with vaccinated
faculty and students choosing to unmask, if they wished, and unvaccinated
individuals required to continue masking in all indoor spaces.  Yet last
week, the CDC released new recommendations and are now suggesting that
masking inside for *all* may be the better practice with particular
emphasis on the local community’s current infection rates.  *As of today,
the college will be requiring full masking of everyone (vaccinated or not)
when indoors for the first two weeks of classes.  You will see in the Fall
Restart Guidance (released this morning) that mandatory indoor masking will
be effective as of August 23d.   After the first two weeks of classes, our
masking mandate will be reconsidered, as we will have much fuller
information on the vaccination status of all members of our campus
community as well as an updated assessment of our local community’s
infection rates*.

A quick reminder that our opening plans include the Matriculation Ceremony
on August 27 at 4 pm (faculty are encouraged to attend), and departments
are asked to plan a “meet and greet” activity for new students, August 29th
at 1 pm following the new student picnic.

I look forward to seeing you back in just about a month.

My best,

Anne
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