Cabinet Meeting Minutes August 21, 2023

Cabinet Meeting
Monday, August 21, 2023
10:00 am - Noon

Facilitator: Dean Alex Couzis
Presenter: Dean Susan Perkins, Dean Marta Gutman

1. Vince Boudreau, President
2. Alex Couzis, Dean, Grove School of Engineering
3. Scott Gurba, Chief Operating Officer
4. Marta Gutman, Dean, Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture
5. Ken Ihrer, Chief Information Officer
6. David Jeruzalmi, Chairman, The Faculty Senate
7. Tony Liss, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
8. Celia Lloyd, Vice President, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
9. Juan Carlos Mercado, Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies at CWE & Professional Continuing Studies
10. Renata Miller, Interim Dean, Division of Humanities and the Arts
11. Dee Dee Mozeleski, Senior Advisor to the President and VP & Executive Director, Office of Institutional Advancement, Communications and External Relations and The Foundation for City College
12. Naomi Nwosu-Stewart, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management
13. Paul Occhiogrosso, Executive Counsel to the President
14. Susan Perkins, Dean, Division of Science
15. Andrew Ratner, Interim Deputy Dean, School of Education
16. Andrew Rich, Dean, The Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership
17. Teresa Scala, Chief of Staff, Office of the Provost
18. Ruth Stark, Chairperson, Faculty Committee on Personnel Matters
19. Mary Ruth Strzeszewski, Associate Provost for Academic Programs
20. Anna Marie Villajin, Executive Associate to the President
21. Georgette-Marie Owumi, Special Projects Manager, Office of the President

Absent:

1. Doris Cintron, Senior Associate Provost
2. Carmen Green, Dean, CUNY School of Medicine
3. Edwin Lamboy, Dean, School of Education
4. Vanessa Valdes, Associate Provost for Community Engagement
5. Rosemarie Wesson, Associate Provost for Research

The meeting was called to order at 10am by Dean Couzis.

President Boudreau gave his announcements. He stated that since Summer Fridays are concluded for the year, in-person and remote work will be back to 70%-30% (ceiling). He reminded cabinet members to work with their respective departments regarding this. CUNY will be pivoting from the Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) strategy to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as a means to measure performance. The matrix of KPI indicators will be shared in March 2024. The CCNY PMP deadline for 2023 is October 6. Instead of a one-on-one meeting with the Chancellor, CUNY has opted for meetings with a team of people. Over the coming Cabinet meetings, the structure of the PMP letter will be discussed. He mentioned a targeted focus on retention and proper formulation of student scheduling to ensure students are graduating on schedule.

COO Gurba gave his report on the facilities program. He is in discussions with CUNY regarding the earmarked capital allocation for CCNY for the coming year, and proposed a plan for taking full advantage of the allocation. Details of this plan includes:

1. Starting demolition earlier in the design process to allow for a more efficient construction
2. An acceleration of the bidding process, especially on small and medium projects as they tend to have a higher impact on students and faculty
3. The appointment of a University design engineer to pressure test the designs made before construction begins.

COO Gurba hopes to reprioritize the list of proposed projects which are still in the design phase, with particular focus on items that students see and interact with every day. President Boudreau and COO Gurba recently had a conversation with Mohamed Attalla, the Vice Chancellor of Facilities Planning to discuss DASNY planning and partnership. Also, COO Gurba is in the final stages of interviews for an Assistant Vice President of Facilities after David Robinson’s retirement.

Dean Couzis opened the discussion on retention based on the data that has been shared by Nikisha Williams, the Executive Director of Institutional Research. Dean Perkins expressed her concerns regarding other contributors to students’ decline outside of academic factors, such as mental and financial health. She is hopeful for a greater focus on student life with the hire of the new AVP of Student Affairs. Dean Rich emphasized a focus on the math department and its high DFW rates across the Colin Powell School. Provost Liss discussed a new CUNY policy that involves a proficiency index cut-off for math classes. This policy is slated to go into effect in spring 2024. Dean Miller brought up the topic of the Academic Success Hub (or The Hub), and the degree of participation each division will be providing in order to better prepare students before declaring their majors. With the large number of students in The Hub aiming for an engineering major, other departments have partnered with the School of Engineering to create engineering adjacent courses for students to transition into. Dean Couzis outlined three strategies that would best assist students who enter into The Hub:

1. Proper assessment of students who enter into the Academic Success Hub
2. Provision of resources to convert the students who are in the Hub
3. Partnership with New York City high schools to plan for academic success in college

President Boudreau stipulated that every division look through the Economic Modeling Specialist International (EMSI) data to better guide students into what careers can stem from their chosen majors.

Dean Perkins and Dean Gutman gave divisional presentations on the Division of Science and the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, respectively.

An agenda was set for the September 11 Cabinet meeting, and Dean Couzis selected the facilitator for the next meeting as well. The meeting was adjourned at 12:10pm.

September 11 Cabinet Meeting Agenda

Facilitator - Associate Provost Mary Ruth Strzeszewski
Presentation- Dean Renata Miller

1. President’s Announcements
2. Transfer programs
3. Seat map and registration issues
4. Strategic Priorities
5. The Princeton Review Rankings
6. Presentation (Renata Miller)