January 12, 2021 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Curtis Bennett, Barbara Taylor, Chris Brazier, Andreas Bill, Babette Benken, Christine Whitcraft, Lisa Martin, Dessie Underwood, Rick Behl, Kris Slowinski, Will Murray, Henry Wu, Allie Puz.

NOTE: THESE MINUTES REFLECT DISCUSSIONS THAT HAPPENED ON THE DATE OF THESE MINUTES.  DUE TO THE COVID-19 SITUATION, THINGS ARE RAPIDLY CHANGING.  FOR OFFICIAL POLICY PLEASE WAIT FOR DOCUMENTS FROM THE APPROPRIATE OFFICES.

  1. Approve agenda (10:00)
  2. Approve minutes from December 15, 2020; Approved
  3. Announcements
    1. ASM
      1. CARES Money Update
        1. We don’t know when the next CARES fund will be distributed.
        2. Whatever we haven’t used may be swept soon; we are unsure what this means for Spring semester spending.
          1. If you have anything you need to buy related to CARES fund, move forward immediately (supplies, equipment, operating expenses, etc.).
        3. State budget messaging was also unclear.
        4. Make sure all Spring hires sign in and give Henry the contracts.
      2. Multi-Factored Authentication
        1. Campus is moving to MFA on everything that is CMS and Microsoft related.
        2. By March 2021, all software and programs will need to go through MFA.
        3. Henry will follow up on with an email summarizing this.
      3. Out of Country Work
        1. Official CSU position is that working from outside of the country is not allowed.
    2. Communications Update
      1. Proposal of a centralized, college-wide events calendar.
        1. Monthly email requests for departmental events by Allie Puz and Genna Beckenhaupt to each department coordinator.
        2. These events will be added to a college-wide calendar in an effort to better support interdepartmental communication and development opportunities.
    3. Development Update
      1. In Physics, Dr. Luke has increased his bequest.
      2. In Math, an alum has decided to leave a $150,000 bequest.
      3. In Math, an alum has funded a $5,000 scholarship.
      4. In Physics, Google has renewed their fellowship.
      5. Fall 2022 the Distinguished alumni award will resume.
    4. Dean’s Report
      1. F2F Courses and Teaching from Offices Delayed Until at Least 2/2/2021
        1. Work with Barbara if you need an approved quiet Wi-Fi room.
      2. Reminder of Low Course Completion Policy
        1. If we don’t solve these problems there may be resource complications.
        2. Discuss at the next Student Success Meeting.
      3. Hacking Risks New Information Security Coming
        1. 1000% increase in costly hack attempts.
      4. Lecturer Range Elevation Information (see next page)
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. Lecturer Review Follow Up
        1. Refer to Kris’ 12/2020 email for all required files and materials.
        2. Lecturers must submit their materials to InterFolio by the deadline.
      2. Updates on Enrollment and Advising
        1. Enrollment Updates
          1. Chem 111A enrollment will be restricted effective thew first day of the semester to accommodate pre-test assessment.
          2. Upper division BIOL courses will be managed by the department office via reserved capacity.
        2. Student Support Coaches for BIOL and CHEM (preliminary assignments, to be finalized by EOD today, please check your courses).
        3. Spring 2021 transfer advising completed.
        4. Preliminary completion data for the new CNSM freshmen and transfer students.
    2. Research
      1. Lab Limits
        1. Occupancy limit for research labs was increased to 4 students over the course of the day; but at any one time, the limit is still 3 students plus the PI per lab and 12 researchers per wing/floor.
      2. Adding Students to LRRAs
        1. The process is easy.
          1. Need the faculty member to send an email with the name of the student, their standing, whether they are graduate or undergraduate, and their project title.
          2. Each master’s student must have a title distinct from other master’s students.
          3. It is helpful to the Safety Office to include the student’s BeachID number in the email.
      3. NIH SCORE Mechanism Update
        1. NIH has decided to discontinue the SCORE mechanism; it’s now going to be called SURE
          1. They have not yet released the RFP, so we don’t know the details.
          2. In March the RFP for the new SURE awards will come out and then the first deadline will be in September 2021.
      4. Student Research Symposium
        1. Email sent to all faculty; chairs can decide if they want to send that email out to graduate/undergraduate listservs if you have them.
      5. Edison STEMNet
        1. We forwarded 5 to the Provost’s Office; all 5 were notified of award this morning.
        2. Stipends go straight toward the student’s tuition
  5. New business
    1. Babette will send an email about the new ethnic studies requirement; please read and send suggestions if you have any.

 

Upcoming Dates:

January19 – March 5: Scholarship Applications will be Open
February 1: Applications due for Student Research Competition
March 19: 9:00 am-1:00 pm ORSP Virtual Student Research Competition
April 5-9: CSULB Week of RSCA
April 5: Nobel Prize Lecture

Meeting Minutes were APPROVED on Tuesday, January 26, 2021

*Note: This reflects discussion on the date of the CDC meeting about policies, not actual policy. Faculty and staff should wait for official communication on each subject before acting.