Interim Provost Heather Norris' Faculty Senate Comments
December 7, 2020
Greetings from the Provost’s Office. I hope you were all able to take some much-needed time off over the Thanksgiving break and are looking forward to some rest and relaxation over the winter break. It has been a challenging year, to say the least.
Given news of a safe and effective vaccine on the horizon, I am hopeful that we will see a return to greater in-person interactions towards the end of the upcoming spring semester.
From our conversations with faculty, staff, and students alike, the Chancellor and her leadership team continue to hear of the feelings of isolation and loneliness that our community is experiencing. I appreciate all that you have done to consider ways in which to stay meaningfully engaged with your students and colleagues. We have learned much throughout the past weeks and months, and it has informed our move towards more synchronous interactions for the spring.
Please take time to care for yourself, as well, and reach out if you need help:
- Free counseling services are available for faculty and staff through Counseling for Faculty and Staff or the university’s Employee Assistance Program.
- Dr. Tandrea Carter, AppState’s ombudsperson, provides an independent, confidential environment for faculty, staff and students of the Appalachian community to discuss concerns.
Please also take time to celebrate your successes, and the successes of your students. One such opportunity is this Friday’s Virtual Commencement. As the Chancellor shared in her update last week,
We will conclude exams and celebrate the Fall 2020 Commencement of more than 1,700 students — an impressive class of graduates who will forever recall the culmination of their days at App State taking place during a historic pandemic. We are pleased to have alumnus John Carter as our keynote speaker. John is a celebrated WBTV News anchor who earned a Bachelor of Science in communication arts with a concentration in broadcasting from App State in 1979. The ceremony will also feature two stellar student speakers: Walker College of Business undergraduate Wendell Addy and graduate student Jennifer McCracken, who has served as Catawba County’s public health director while pursuing her master's degree in public administration. Vocalist and Hayes School of Music senior Samantha Latino will also perform, with piano accompaniment by Hayes School of Music Dean James Douthit. You can read more about the ceremony and learn how to participate here.
In looking ahead to the coming semester and beyond, I have a few short updates to share with you today:
1. SACS-COC
At this moment, I am attending the SACS-COC Annual Meeting – just like most every other event this year – virtually. In less than 3 years, our Full Decennial Review report (the “Compliance Certification) will be due for off-site review, and in just a little over 3 years, we will have our On-Site Decennial review.
SACSCOC High Level draft schedule for upcoming years:
- Spring 2021 or Fall 2021 identify a faculty lead/director for the review
- 2021-22: Select QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan) topic
- 2022-23: Write Compliance Certification full draft report, and draft QEP proposal, send to external reviewers by summer
- 2023-24: Fall off-site report due, response in winter, spring campus site visit
2. BUDGET
As I shared with the Faculty Senate Budget Committee when we met on November 6, we are fortunate to be in a relatively good position with our budget this year, given strong and continuing enrollments. Many colleges/universities across the country have not fared as well. Some have even shuttered their doors. In light of the deep financial uncertainties that lie ahead for our system, state, and nation, the Chancellor asked Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs Paul Forte and me to create a Cost Savings Task Force, which consists of one representative from each division (Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Business Affairs, Advancement, and Chancellor’s), to collect ideas from divisional constituents.
Talana Bell, our AA Task Force representative, reached out to the Faculty Senate Budget Committee chair (Tanga Mohr) and the Provost Council membership last month for just that purpose. We asked deans to facilitate conversations with the faculty in their colleges and units. Cost savings ideas were then submitted to Talana, through the chair of the FS Budget Committee and the deans and other members of the Provost Council.
We will be forming working groups in the spring to study, quantify, and implement those initiatives reviewed by each Vice Chancellor and approved by the Chancellor. Working groups will include both faculty and staff.
3. BRIDGE STRATEGIC PLAN (led by Lee Ball)
Recognizing our world was disrupted in early 2020 and likely won’t look the same any time soon, Vice Chancellor Paul Forte and I formed a bridge strategic planning group, with membership from the University Planning and Priorities Council (UPPC) and UPPC writing committee. The bridge plan is intended to bridge between our last 5-year plan and the upcoming 5-year plan that so many of our colleagues spent time developing in the weeks and months prior to the pandemic. That work will not be lost; rather, the bridge planning group is drawing from it the most critical aspects for us to move forward with, adapting the plan to all that has transpired this year.
4. GEN ED REVIEW (led by Ted Zerucha)
The Gen Ed Review steering committee, composed of nine faculty colleagues representing each of our colleges and schools, along with representation from the Student Government Association, and the General Education Program, has been gathering input from groups and individuals this fall, and will submit a report from which another representative group can develop recommendations in the spring.
5. UPCOMING INTERACTIONS
The Chancellor and I, along with other members of her leadership team, met with nearly every department over the summer, and we visited with many of them again this fall to continue to listen to and share challenges and successes, and to generate creative ideas and solutions. We have an upcoming meeting later this week with the Faculty Senate Chancellor’s Advisory Committee, intended to do the same.
While this year has certainly brought many challenges, and we likely face continuing turbulence in the weeks and months to come, we have accomplished much, and we have much for which to be proud and thankful.
I wish you all well during the upcoming winter break.