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Student Thoughts on In-person Instruction
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| On Nov. 13, SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras announced a system-wide survey of SUNY students to better understand their experiences this semester and learn more about their concerns for next semester. The survey intersects with a conversation that has been central to our spring planning process: finding agreement about how many students should return to campus and to in-person learning.
Most of the dialogue around this question has been thoughtful. However, I learned last week of a petition, evidently launched by some of our colleagues, to pressure me to mandate that SUNY Oneonta remain fully remote in the spring. This contrasts in tone to the open and civil discussion underway and differs in opinion with a significant number of students and parents.
Since arriving at SUNY Oneonta last month, I have heard from a steady stream of parents and students who want us to offer courses in the traditional modality. By the end of last week, responses to SUNY's survey indicated the same.
The question SUNY asked students was, “If health and safety permits, I would prefer the following instruction mode for my spring 2020 classes…” Here is a breakdown of the preferences of the 644 answers we had received as of Nov. 19:
- totally online/remote, 34.8%
- mostly online/remote, 8.5%
- equal mix of online/remote and in-person, 22.5%
- mostly in-person, 16.1%
- totally in-person, 18%
Thanks to the many members of our faculty who’ve decided to come back to the classroom next semester, we are on track to offer 20 percent of our courses in a traditional setting, with masks, cleaning protocols and social distancing. While this is promising, it’s not quite where students hope we’ll be.
Also, it appears that the other SUNY comprehensive campuses plan to offer more — and in some cases, far more — in-person instruction. Earlier this month, Provost Leamor Kahanov canvassed the chief academic officers at sister SUNY institutions to find out what percentage of courses they intend to offer in person in the spring. This is what she heard:
- Brockport, 54%
- Buffalo State, not provided
- Cortland, ~37% offered this fall; spring pending but will increase
- Fredonia, 60%
- Geneseo, 59%
- New Paltz, ~35%
- Old Westbury, ~30%
- Oswego, ~50%
- Plattsburgh, ~50% Final numbers pending
- Potsdam, ~50%
- Purchase, 980 “COVID” beds available; each student must have at least one in-person class and sign up for other in-person experience
Of course, what actually happens around the SUNY system may not be the same as what’s anticipated at the moment. Nevertheless, SUNY's survey and information from other campuses is important to the conversation about what to do here in Oneonta.
Many parents of SUNY Oneonta students have children who attend other SUNY schools or have friends whose children do. They can and do compare campuses.
Granted, we may not always be in a position to fulfill every student’s wish. However, we ought to try to offer them as much as we can. That’s no small part of our job, collectively, as an institution of higher education. This is not to say that fully considering how best to serve our students will ever diminish the value or importance of any other group on our campus. It won’t.
However, any attempt to short circuit this process would be disappointing. The petition at hand also pits students and their parents against our teaching faculty. This is counterproductive and perhaps divisive — at least to a point.
Our reality is that the entire college, the Oneonta community, Otsego County, the surrounding region and the neighborhoods across New York state that most of our students call home will still be confronting COVID-19 well into next year and maybe even longer. As we are all in this fight just the same, I will continue to model collaboration with parents, students, the City of Oneonta and stakeholders near and far as the pandemic wears on. On any scale, coming together, especially when parties may have opposing views, benefits us all.
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Draft Spring Plan Discussed at Town Halls
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| After releasing the college’s Draft Re-opening Plan: Spring 2021 a week ago, the COVID Response Team hosted two virtual town halls Nov. 18 to discuss it. I joined the Team’s subcommittee chairs to answer questions from the more than 750 employees, students and parents who participated in these online events.
Today, the Team has made recordings and transcripts of both town halls publicly available on its website, which can be accessed by clicking the button below.
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| The draft plan also is posted in its entirety on the COVID Response Team website. It is important that college community members read the draft. Once finalized, it will include, among other things, rules for testing, PPE and gatherings, of which we all will need to be aware.
The college has until Dec. 10 to submit it to SUNY, and the Team continues to welcome suggestions and feedback. You can email the Team directly at CRT@oneonta.edu.
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New Position Will Support Off-campus Students
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| I announced last week at the COVID Response Team town halls that Dr. Franklin Chambers was moving into the newly created position of vice president for external affairs. Chambers had served as vice president for student development, a role that Dr. Bernadette Tiapo, the college’s chief diversity officer, has stepped into on an interim basis.
Dr. Chambers will enhance COVID prevention and screening efforts and create structured experiences for students who live in the City of Oneonta. In addition to strengthening the college’s focus on off-campus student life, he will give the college greater presence downtown, liaising with local elected officials and civic and business leaders, who view SUNY Oneonta as a valuable community partner.
I am grateful to Dr. Chambers for accepting this critical assignment to build and attend to the connections that make SUNY Oneonta among our region’s most unique assets. This work will benefit students and bring the college and its constituencies closer.
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College Welcomes New COVID Testing Point Person
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| Another announcement I made at last week’s town hall is a change in the leadership of the college’s COVID testing program. Danielle McMullen, who currently serves as deputy chief of staff at SUNY Empire State College, will oversee SUNY Oneonta’s COVID screening operation. McMullen is an excellent fit for this work. Her experience includes high-level coordination of resources and the creation and implementation of training and education programs. Recently, she supported Governor Cuomo’s Reimagine Education Commission.
This move frees up Counseling, Health and Wellness Center Director Melissa Fallon-Korb to spend more time advancing strategies for addressing the mental health issues that are inherent to the pandemic. I am pleased, and I know Dr. Fallon-Korb is as well, to be able to give this the attention it deserves.
We cannot understate or ignore COVID-19’s toll on our emotional well-being, a theme I hear often in correspondence with parents and in my weekly meetings with students. Bolstering both testing and mental health resources better positions the college for spring.
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Two-Week Telecommuting Request is a Precaution
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| Last Friday, the Office of Human Resources emailed employees to ask all who could work from home through Dec. 6 to do so. This request resulted from the COVID Response Team’s proactive approach to its work: the Team met Nov. 19 to consider the college’s responsibility to respond to the recent increase in infections locally and quickly recommended to me that limiting travel to and from campus would help safeguard employees and their communities against spread of the virus.
Two points about this stand out to me. First, how SUNY Oneonta handles the pandemic can affect surrounding communities. Because of this, we need to be forward looking. The college has a responsibility that extends well beyond campus. Recognizing this, Team members actively assessed the situation in a larger context and recommended a precaution that serves the greater good.
Second, I must echo the acknowledgement of Friday’s HR message that some among us do not have the option of working remotely. These dedicated, loyal employees allow our college to operate continuously, through holidays and this pandemic. We all owe our gratitude to the custodial staff, those in maintenance and facilities, our heating plant personnel, UPD officers, everyone who keeps the Health and Wellness and testing centers up and running, and all others on whom we rely to report to work.
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Jennifer Bueche Joins Honorary Degree Committee
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| Distinguished Service Professor Jennifer Bueche has accepted an invitation to serve on SUNY’s University-Wide Honorary Degree Committee. The committee is composed of representative members of SUNY’s distinguished faculty ranks, Board of Trustees and System Administration. Chaired by SUNY Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Dr. Tod Laursen, it conducts the final review of honorary degree candidates, each of whom has been recommended by a campus president, prior to consideration by the SUNY Chancellor/Board of Trustees.
By joining this committee, Dr. Bueche will play a key role in assuring the rigor of SUNY’s multi-tiered honorary degree process. The honorary doctorate degree is the highest form of recognition offered by the State University of New York to persons of exceptional distinction. The SUNY Trustees’ Honorary Degree policy and related guidelines rely on the University-Wide Honorary Degree Committee in particular to ensure that each candidate meets this requirement of having achieved state, national or international stature.
Being invited to serve on this committee is an honor in and of itself. I offer my congratulations to Dr. Bueche and know she will represent SUNY Oneonta well.
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Pathy Leiva Leads Access and Opportunity Programs
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| Congratulations to Pathy Leiva, who has accepted the position of Director of Access and Opportunity Programs (AOP) and the corresponding responsibility for leading SUNY Oneonta’s three access and educational opportunity programs:
- Access to College Experience (ACE);
- Educational Opportunity Program (EOP); and
- College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP).
Pathy brings to this leadership role significant experience and educational credentials. She has benefitted from working closely with skilled predecessors, Patti Hanley and Lynda Bassette-Farone, and earned a master’s in counseling while serving as a recruiter, advisor and later director of CAMP. Most recently she has served as interim director of the EOP and ACE programs.
Each of the college’s access and opportunity programs has a specific funding source and distinct criteria for student eligibility, as well as dedicated staff who provide programming and support tailored to the students’ needs. The programs share the essential goals of broadening access to quality learning experiences for underserved students and providing individualized academic and social support to AOP students as a means of leveling the higher education playing field.
With a knack for innovation, Pathy transformed Summer Academy into a dynamic bridge program that excites students for their first semester. She also optimized conditions for AOP students’ learning across their college years by establishing—with help from her team—several indispensable programs, including lending programs for textbooks and laptops, and a food pantry.
Pathy also has worked with the College at Oneonta Foundation to create the CAMP Fund and AOP Fund to help AOP students pay for needed supplies (art, software programs, etc.); fees (course fees, add/drop fees, honor society fees); and emergency necessities. This comprehensive support allows students to focus on their studies instead of worrying about their ability to afford their education. Pathy cares deeply about her students and staff, and she will continue to work tirelessly to grow these amazing programs.
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Diana Moller Named CAMP Assistant Director
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| Diana Moller has been promoted to assistant director in the College Assistant Migrant Program (CAMP). In this role, she will assist new Director of Access and Opportunity Programs Pathy Leiva in leading the CAMP team. Diana will work to support the academic and assistive services of CAMP while managing its internships.
Moller, who has worked with CAMP for over four years as the program's academic specialist, has done a fantastic job. She has recently completed her Master of Science in Reading at the University of Albany. Diana has a Bachelor of Science in English Literature. Her office will be in Wilsbach Hall with the rest of the CAMP team.
Please take a moment to congratulate Diana on her promotion.
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Gretchen Sorin Featured on Academic Minute Today
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| A segment featuring Distinguished Service Professor Gretchen Sorin aired today on WAMC’s "Academic Minute." In it, Dr. Sorin draws on content from her book, Driving While Black, which became the basis of a major Ric Burns documentary that debuted on PBS last month.
Dr. Sorin’s book chronicles how the car has held special significance for Black Americans. Beginning in the first half of the last century, driving gave many the ability to avoid oppression in a racist society. In her "Academic Minute" segment, she speaks about how automobiles — along with travel guides, informal networks and welcoming hotels, restaurants and other businesses — gave Black Americans the ability to travel across the country more safely.
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Students Compete Virtually in Biology Competition
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| A team from SUNY Oneonta has won a silver medal in the 2020 iGEM competition, a contest that gives students the opportunity to push the boundaries of synthetic biology by tackling everyday issues facing the world. The students worked together to design, build, test and measure a system of their own design using interchangeable biological parts and standard molecular biology techniques.
Last week, the team was questioned by an international panel of judges from France, Spain, Brazil and the United States about the different aspects of their project, named Ca2LF — Confirming A2 Alleles using Luminescence in the Field. The team learned of its honor yesterday, at the competition’s virtual closing ceremony.
Every year, nearly 6,000 people dedicate their summer to iGEM and then come together in the fall to present their work and compete at the annual jamboree. Read more about the SUNY Oneonta iGem team members and their incredible work on their official competition wiki: https://2020.igem.org/Team:SUNY_Oneonta/Team.
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College Earns Rankings from U.S. News and WSJ
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