Having trouble reading this? View it in your browser. Dear Colleagues - August 26 marked the beginning of the new academic year. We spent the month finalizing plans to welcome more than 15,000 students for a mostly online fall semester that we’ve never experienced before, thanks to the commitment of administration, faculty, and staff across the college. Our Office also spent the month advancing conversations and initiatives to benefit new and continuing students as well as future students of the College. In this Provost’s Monthly Report for August 2020, we provide highlights of progress on a select number of key initiatives and activities in the Division of Academic Affairs and Student Success that further our mission and strategic priorities. For more updates and announcements from the Office of the Provost, along with past monthly reports, and emails to the campus community, please visit the Provost's Corner. For updates on COVID-19, please visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates and Resources. COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ACADEMIC CONTINUITY Received CUNY approval for Lehman College Fall 2020 Reopening Plan on August 21. Many thanks to all who worked to finalize this plan, especially to Vice President Rotolo, Vice President Ewing Morgan, our school deans, department chairs, and members of the Phases 1 and 2 Reopening Task Forces chaired by Vice President Rotolo and Provost Nwosu, respectively. Continued to provide additional workshops and resources on online teaching and learning to both faculty and students to further enhance their ability to engage in a virtual teaching and learning environment. The professional development opportunities are key objectives of the Guidelines for Preparing for Summer 2020 and AY 2020/2021 developed in spring by the Provost’s and Deans’ Council (PDC) and shared with the campus community. Provided periodic updates on Fall 2020 Reopening Plan, through the President’s Briefing, a campus-wide weekly town hall meeting via Zoom. The briefings held on August 6, 12, 20, and 27, 2020 were moderated by Ms. Joshunda Sanders, Communications Specialist, Office of the President. ACCREDITATION AND INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS-RELATED MATTERS Submitted the College’s MSCHE Annual Institutional Update (AIU), a requirement for all accredited MSCHE institutions. The update provides information on the college’s performance on three key areas: enrollment, finance, and student achievement. CUNY/EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT Presented an invited paper titled: Anchored in your space: Higher Education in the service of place at the 2020 RTM Higher Education Congress held virtually from August 2 – 4, 2020. The presentation focused on Lehman’s role as an anchor institution and a national engine of access and social mobility. Met with Derek Lewis, CEO, Bronx Community Foundation, on August 3 to discuss the formation of the Bronx Education Leadership Council, that will serve as a consortium of the 12 public and private colleges in the Bronx to advance common interests. Participated in a Board meeting of the national Association of Chief Academic Officers (ACAO) held on August 5 as a member of the Board of Directors. Also participated (as a committee member) in a meeting of ACAO’s committee on Academic Innovation and Strategies held on August 12, 2020. Joined President Lemons in a meeting with the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), Vornado Reality, and officials from CUNY to discuss an opportunity for a Real Estate Studies Program at Lehman. NSS Interim Dean, Pam Mills; Economics and Business Chair, Dene Hurley; VP for Institutional Advancement Susan Ebersole; and Associate Provost Victor Brown participated in the meeting. Additional meetings were held on August 11, 2020. Met with University Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs-CUNY Annemarie Nicols-Grinenko on August 5 and 25, 2020 to continue work on the implementation of The CUNY Leadership Institute (TCLI) for Urban-Serving Institutions. TCLI is a five-month initiative funded by both CUNY and the Mellon Foundation to build a pipeline of academic leaders from faculty in the Arts and Humanities for our nation’s urban-serving institutions. Attended the meeting of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Advisory Committee on Academic Innovation and Transformation held on August 7, 2020. Participated in AASCU’s Student Success Academy quarterly meeting on August 18, 2020. Participated in the CUNY Academic Council meeting held on August 12, 2020. Participated in the CUNY President’s Student Success Roundtable held on August 24, 2020. Hosted a meeting with Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison to explore a pipeline opportunity that allows formerly incarcerated men and women to complete undergraduate and graduate education at Lehman. The meeting was attended by Lehman student Gregory Harvey and Anne Rice, Associate Professor of African Studies (both members of the Provost’s Task Force on Re-entry), along with officials from Hudson Link.  Hosted a meeting with Birthright Africa’s Ms. Walla Elsheikh and Mr. Diallo Shabazz on August 19, 2020 to discuss study abroad linkage and opportunities for Lehman students. Ms. Amanda DuBois-Mwake, Director, Office of International Programs & Community Engagement, joined the meeting. Met with Abby Jo Segal, Founding CEO of HERE to HERE on August 13 to continue discussions on a joint proposal to establish the Bronx Recovery Corps, which will provide experiential/applied learning opportunities for Lehman students. Participated in the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI) Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) Virtual Gathering on August 14, 2020. Participated in a meeting with the Teagle Foundation Program Officer, Director, Dr. Loni Bordoloi Pazich on August 25, 2020 on a grant proposal to support ATLAS (Anchored in The Liberal ArtS), a structured program of transformative classes in General Education for transfer students enrolled in the traditional liberal arts and professional programs at Lehman. Held monthly meeting with Bronx Community College Provost Sandres Rápalo on August 25, 2020. SHARED GOVERNANCE Convened Provost’s and Deans’ Council (PDC) meetings on August 5, 20, and 27, 2020. Agenda items included Provost’s updates, jumbo class sizes, Lehman grants, student concerns, among others. Also, held Zoom breakout discussions on Beyond COVID-19 facilitated by Arts & Humanities’ Associate Dean, Karin Beck. Participated in the meeting of the Lehman Vacancy Review Committee held on August 17, 2020 Met with Joseph Fera, Chair, College Senate Governance Committee, on August 26, 2020. Met with Ms. Sumana Ali, new Chair, Student Legislative Assembly and SGA Vice President, on August 26, 2020 to discuss student matters. Attended the first fall 2020 meeting of the Faculty Personnel and Budget (FP&B) Committee on August 18, 2020 and gave updates on AY 20/21 faculty searches and faculty hiring for AY 21/22. Also, spoke about the value of a caring community as we navigate a mostly online fall semester. Updates also included a presentation on the CUNY Vacancy Review Board process by VP Dawn Ewing-Morgan as well as a presentation on grants and contracts by Brandon Begarly, Director, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Participated in the President’s Cabinet meetings held on August 13 and 19, 2020. Hosted multiple meetings to advance conversations on the proposed School of Business on August 17, 2020 with Dene Hurley, Chair, Department of Economics and Business; and on August 19, 2020 with Chair Hurley, VP Ebersole, Associate Provost Brown, Interim Dean Mills, Dean MacKillop, VP Rotolo, and General Counsel Barbera.  Convened meetings of the Academic Affairs and Student Success (A2S2) Executive Leadership Team on August 4, 2020. The team consists of direct reports to the Provost in non-instructional units within the division. MEETINGS AND EVENTS Gave welcome remarks at the New Faculty Orientation (NFO) on August 21, 2020. Attended the synchronous presentations of the Lehman College PTS3 Showcase on August 6, 2020, a symposium highlighting students’ research. Continued regular 1:1 meetings with President Lemons; Deans, and members of the President’s Cabinet. Agenda items included strategic and operational issues regarding the strategic plan, budget, curriculum and pedagogy, student success, technology, COVID-19, external partnerships, fundraising, and personnel, among others. Continued weekly 1:1 meeting with Victor Brown, Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Educational Effectiveness regarding accreditation, assessment, curricular, pedagogy, faculty development, and related matters. Continued weekly 1.1 meetings with Reine Sarmiento, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Associate Provost, to discuss enrollment and related matters. Held 1.1 meeting with José Higuera López, Director, The Mexican Studies Institute at The City University of New York on August 25, 2020. Continued regular 1:1 meetings with Brandon Begarly, Director, Research and Sponsored Programs, to discuss college progress on research and creative activities. Met with Gary Schwartz, Director, Lehman Scholars Program and Macaulay Honors College on August 13, 2020. Met with Wesley Pitts, Chair, Department of Middle and High School Education on August 13, 2020. Met with Elhum Haghighat, Chair, Department of Political Science on August 17, 2020. Met with Danna Ethan, then Chair, Department of Health Sciences on August 19, 2020. Met with Janet DeSimone, Chair, Department of CLLSE on August 14, 2020. Met with Serigne Gningue, Interim Associate Dean, School of Education on August 20, 2020. Met with Nancy Dubetz, Chair, ECCE and co-chair, search committee, SOE Dean on August 27, 2020 to discuss progress of development of leadership profile for SOE Dean. Met with R. Gul Tiryaki Sonmez, newly elected Chair, Department of Health Sciences, on August 28, 2020. Met with Interim Dean Mills and Professor Laura Oliveira on August 19 to discuss the annual report for the LSAMP program. Lehman is the lead institution on the multi-year $4.2 million grant, involving 12 CUNY institutions to increase minority participation in STEM. Provost Nwosu serves as PI on the grant with Professor Gustavo López as co-PI, while Professor Oliveira is program director. Interim Dean Mills manages the budget. ACADEMIC AFFAIRS' SEARCHES AND APPOINTMENTS Kicked off the search for the permanent Dean for the School of Education with the search committee’s first meeting on August 5. The committee’s first task is to develop the leadership profile for the Dean. The search committee co-chairs are Nancy Dubetz, Chair, ECCE and Victor Brown, Associate Provost for Academic Programs & Educational Effectiveness. The members are Janet DeSimone, Chair, CLLSE; Stuart Chen-Hayes, Professor and Program Coordinator, Counselor Education/School Counseling/Bilingual Counseling; Immaculee Harushimana, Associate Professor, MHSE; Yaswantie (Ameeta) Persaud, Academic Assessment Manager—SOE; Joshunda Sanders, Speechwriter and Communications Specialist, Office of the President; Jonathan Berenguer, Alumnus of MSOL, TRIO Project Director; and, Jamel Holmes, EDL Student. VP Dawn Ewing Morgan provided guidelines for the development of leadership profile at the meeting. Twenty-six (26) new faculty joined the College at the beginning of the fall term. I am particularly pleased with the diversity of the new hires. Of the 26 faculty 9 are white, 17 are faculty of color (8 Hispanic/Latinx, 8 Black/ African American, and 1 Asian); 13 women, 13 men. Please join me in welcoming these wonderful colleagues to our institution. I am certain that we all look forward to meeting them in person when the dust settles from the COVID-19 pandemic. I wish everyone continued goodwill and good health for fall semester. Please continue to remain well and be safe. -P Peter O. Nwosu, Ph.D. Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success Lehman College   The Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success is the College's chief academic and student success officer and senior member of the Cabinet. The Provost is responsible for all educational and student support programs, as well as for academic issues that relate to the faculty, including appointments, promotions, and evaluations. He also is responsible for preparing accreditation reviews, program reviews, campus strategic planning and the review of division and departmental budgets. Questions? Email provost.office@lehman.cuny.edu or call 718-960-8222.