Chancellor sets short-term goals for SU

Chancellor sets short-term goals for SUSeptember 28, 2003

Chancellor and President Kenneth A. Shaw will deliver his annual address to the University community on Oct. 8 at 4:15 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The address and question-and-answer period that follows will be open to all Syracuse University students, faculty and staff.

Shaw will discuss and seek input on the challenges and goals facing SU during his final year as Chancellor and over the long term.

Shaw, his Chancellor’s Cabinet and the Academic Deans Cabinet identify the following as issues requiring immediate attention:

1. Decide on the site for the Center of Excellence.It is essential that New York State pick a site for the Center of Excellence (CoE). Until that happens, SU can apply for only $10 million of the $22 million state grant, which is intended for research facilities in Link Hall and research equipment. The lack of an approved site for the new building, which will house a test-bed facility and other economic development activities, is delaying the balance of the funding and significantly slowing our progress toward achieving the full potential of the CoE and supporting the economic development of the region and the state.
2. Ensure that SU’s budget for 2004 and beyond reflects our best understanding of the situation after the fall 2003 revision. The budget recommendations for fiscal 2003 led to a forecast that is balanced over a five-year period. The forecast includes bottom lines that are negative $900,000 in fiscal 2004, negative $1 million in fiscal 2005, balanced in fiscal 2006, negative $1 million in fiscal 2007, and positive $2.9 million in fiscal 2008.

   The fiscal 2004 budget and the five-year forecast will be revised this fall for positive and negative revisions. Positive revisions are expected to include tuition from higher graduate enrollment and lower costs in some centrally-budgeted expense accounts. Negative revisions include a further reduction in the endowment distribution and higher utilities costs than originally projected. It is expected that the positive and negative budget revisions should have no significant effect on the five-year budget forecast.

   Funding challenges for the next five years include the Faculty Development Fund, which provides add-on dollars to address the most acute market pay disparities in selected fields, and return from investments used to support University programs.

3. Support the graduate enrollment management center (GEMC) so that we can improve the recruitment of students in our schools and colleges. The GEMC will work to set and help meet graduate enrollment goals with the schools and colleges by developing an enrollment-related research agenda, recruitment, event planning and communications strategy. They will continue to develop admission and financial awards processing and procedures. They will also propose and implement a stable budgetary basis for continuing operations.
4. Fully install a more holistic orientation program for first-year students.A new orientation will provide us an opportunity to upgrade the quality of intellectual engagement on campus and set the tone for the freshman year when our new students arrive on campus. Students will be aided in their transition to the University, learn about broad educational opportunities at SU and at the end feel more integrated into the life of the institution. The new student orientation will be more holistic and provide not only an introduction to student life, but also academic aspects of SU. There will be structured opportunities for the interaction of new students with continuing students, faculty, and staff. Also, a joint effort of the senior vice president and dean of student affairs, the vice chancellor and provost, the academic deans and the director of orientation services will pilot a summer reading program for all incoming students.
5. Complete a plan to eliminate the deficits in three schools and enact plans to keep them deficit-free.The School of Information Studies, Martin J. Whitman School of Management and L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science have small to substantial deficits. The Information Studies and Whitman School deans will prepare plans to be approved by the vice chancellor to reduce any one-time and structural deficits. For ECS the deficit is more substantial and programs will likely have to be reduced, eliminated or restructured. All faculty at ECS will be involved in the exercise.
6. Continue to fund the SPIRES and other academic plan activities.This year SPIRE activities will be funded. A website will be created to show progress and various vehicles will be used to update the campus on SPIRE activities. As goals are reached, news will be provided to the Board of Trustees and other interested communities.
7. Continue to stress fund raising and public relations activities during the chancellor’s final year-including cultivating and soliciting top leadership donors, participating in Chancellor’s Round Tables and planning for the next campaign. Over the next year the University will continue full speed ahead in preparations for the next fund-raising campaign. It is critical that the Leadership Gifts Office and the senior vice president will work diligently with the Chancellor and Mary Ann Shaw to bring closure to the identified top 25 prospects. In addition, preparations for the next campaign will accelerate over the next year as strategic Chancellor’s Roundtables are held to enable us to identify and recruit key campaign volunteers, future members of the Board of Trustees, and key leadership gifts. The next year is a critical time for making the strategic decisions and preparations that will ensure a successful fund-raising campaign.
8. Make decisions about SU’s athletic program.The departure of Miami and the Virginia Tech from the Big East Conference has caused the need for restructuring. During the coming year, NCAA Division 1A and 1AA colleges must make decisions to ensure the viability of their programs. In particular, the Big East will need to aggressively address the difficult position of Division 1A schools in terms of continuing BCS participation beyond 2005.
9. Approve a new paradigm for class scheduling which allows for more effective use of the available time through the week.We will create and implement a new calendar that will have classes and other academic programming on Fridays. A draft calendar was tested this summer for feasibility and broadly discussed through a variety of forums on campus. Feedback from the fora will be used to produce a schedule can be endorsed by the University Senate. The calendar may not be like the one that is proposed now, but we hope that it will be similar in spirit and acceptable to students, faculty and staff.
10. Complete campus-wide safety and security projects and develop a list of possibilities for future years.Given the continuing focus on terrorism and homeland security, the increase in violence among students and the increasingly important role of safety and security in college selection, we will continue our efforts to improve safety on the campus. This year’s activities will include the completion of amendments to New York State law to permit peace officer status at SU and the development of an implementation plan so that our peace officers can be trained and ready to undertake their new roles by September 2004. The implementation plan will include selection criteria, operating procedures, partnership protocols with Syracuse Police Department, training curriculum and schedule, partnership protocols with Student Affairs departments, and the development of a budget for equipment, training, liability insurance and increased expenses.

    A second initiative will consider an access and surveillance plan for the campus. A University-wide steering committee will be established to work with a consultant to assess existing and planned access and surveillance systems and to develop a coordinated and centralized plan for academic and residential buildings, grounds, campus perimeter, and personal alarm systems for on- and off-campus students. A University-wide steering committee is expected to assist in the development of this plan. It is further expected that the University community will have opportunities to provide input.

11. Continue Work Life improvementsA flexible work policy will be established and implemented this academic year. There will also be discussions of the Work Life Advisory Committee’s recommendations leading to a budget request to the Senate Budget Committee to implement the most needed aspects of those recommendations.
12. Begin the discussion and planning for an improved branding and marketing program for SU.

The University must implement an integrated and highly focused branding initiative to ensure that key audiences know about and understand the accomplishments of the Academic and Space plans and that fund-raising efforts are reinforced. Key elements include forming a marketing team; market research; clear and measurable goals for internal and external audiences; messages that convey a strong and accurate image of the University and its vision, mission and core competencies; and a budget to support these efforts. This program will not be implemented during the next year, but we hope be in a position to give the new chancellor a proposal.

Next week’s issue of the Syracuse Record will feature the Chancellor’s assessment of the long-term challenges facing the University. He will address short-term goals and long-range challenges during his Oct. 8 address.