February 13, 2024 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Curtis Bennett, Krzysztof Slowinski, Barbara Taylor, Jesse Dillon, Lijuan Li (via Zoom), Lora Stevens, Will Murray, Prashanth Jaikumar, Jim Kisiel, Christine Whitcraft, Babette Benken, Henry Wu, Christina Hall, Margaret Karteron, Lindsay Aymar, Tatiana Avila, Tanya Piloyan, Sonia Santos

  1. Approve agenda (10:00) – Approved
  2. Approve minutes from January 30 – Approved as amended
  3. Announcements
    1. ASM
      1. Sick Leave (and other leaves)
      2. Staff must communicate with Henry Wu
      3. Faculty must go through Faculty Affairs (for absences longer than 5 days)
      4. Leave requests for surgery or any absence longer that 5 days needs a doctor's note to return
    2. Operations
      1. Evacuation Drill Friday 2/16 @ 10:30am
        1. Evacuate into the center of campus
        2. Asking anyone who will be there to assist Margaret Karteron in checking alarms and doing building sweeps
        3. Science Learning Center will reschedule Long Beach College Promise visits on that day
      2. Sharks @ the Beach and Science & Math in the Halls
        1. Planning kickoff meeting 2/22
        2. Date is July 20 (to align with Shark Week)
        3. Hourly staff cannot be asked to volunteer outside of regular work hours – they must be paid
      3. Commencement
        1. Students must apply by March 1 to have their name in the program
          1. All Commencement communications to students go through their ºÚÁÏÍø email ONLY
        2. Commencement Awards
          1. Nominations open today
            1. March 1 – nominations to department offices
            2. March 11 – nominations to college office 
          2. 1 nomination from every department for Graduate Dean's List
          3. Outstanding Thesis deadlines should match Library deadlines for submission
          4. Send names to Margaret Karteron
        3. Grand Marshal Invites going out
        4. Staff does NOT have to take a vacation day to attend – Commencement will count as a paid day
      4. Scholarships
        1. March 12 – BeachScholarships closes
        2. Need department committee members to be put in the system by the beginning of March
        3. Also recruiting for College Scholarship committee
        4. Still need committees from Chem/BioChem, Math/Stats, Biology, Science Education, Physics
    3. Dean
      1. Budget update
        1. The College sent Academic Affairs a plan for a preliminary 2% budget cut
          1. 25% cut to departmental operating budgets
          2. Some backfilling from Green Funds might be possible
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. Admissions/SOAR/Enrollment update
        1. Increased enrollment goals will necessitate more sections in Math and Chemistry
        2. Non-local admissions are more competitive (based on GPA)
      2. Completion rates
      3. Lecturer Evaluation
        1. Department reviews to Dr. Slowinski – March 5
        2. Forms and completion rates have been sent
        3. Members of the review committees MUST be tenured faculty
        4. Chairs can delegate parts of the review (only in the case of using subject matter experts) but chairs MUST sign the formal evaluation form
      4. CNSM Showcase + Outreach – Tanya Piloyan (Time Certain 10:45)
        1. Black College Expo
          1. Directed towards high school and middle schoolers
          2. Tanya Piloyan went to share flyers and info on Day at the Beach + met newly admitted students
        2. Showcase – April 13 8:00am-3:00pm
          1. Flyers have been sent to chairs – let Tanya Piloyan know if you have any edits
          2. College showcases/resource fair will be going on throughout the event
          3. Possible BeachXP involvement
          4. Departments will table in the main HSCI hallway
          5. If you want to do an experiment, make sure Safety has approved
          6. Would like as many student groups as possible to table on the lawn
          7. If Chairs know of clubs in their department who would participate, send names to Tanya Piloyan
        3. Lab Tours
          1. March 1 – Santa Monica College
          2. Need to fill 1 more lab spot
          3. March 8 – Golden West College
        4. Future Alumni Survey
          1. Point is to connect with alumni and see what they are doing after graduation
          2. Tanya Piloyan will connect with Christina Hall on alumni communications
        5. 2/16 - Respond to CNSM Outreach FAQ form
      5. Women in Science & Math – Sonia Santos (Time Certain 11:00)
        1. Like a Boss Panel – March 12, 5:00-6:30pm
          1. Food and refreshments provided
          2. Collaboration with Women and Gender Equity Center and Women in Physics
          3. Flyers provided
            1. Please post on your bulletin boards
            2. QR code leads to website with all THRIVE events each semester
          4. Connect with Sonia Santos if you can recommend anyone for the panel
            1. Still need a panelist from Math
            2. WIP requesting panelists for Physics
        2. Graduate Center Event through THRIVE – How to navigate graduate school for underrepresented students
          1. Connect with OURS for promotion
    2. Research
      1. I-Space exhibit "Secret Life of Sand Dollars"
        1. Last showing Today (2/13) until 4:30
    3. Graduate Programs
      1. Remind faculty that we have the call out for Graduate Equity and Green Research Fellowship awards
        1. Due February 26 to college
      2. Margaret to send another reminder out to all faculty
  5. Open Discussion
    1. Open faculty meeting tomorrow (2/14) to discuss the new RTP policy in HSCI 156 at noon
      1. Bring questions
      2. Margaret Karteron to send email to remind faculty
    2. S-factor and Grad programs
      1. Handout on how much graduate programs are saving the university (including S-Factor)
        1. 650k-1 mil/year savings
  6. Adjournment (12:02pm)

Upcoming Dates

  • February 26: CNSM Graduate Fellowship Deadline (GEF/DGGRF) – 5:00pm
  • March 8: ºÚÁÏÍø Student Research Competition
  • March 12: Beach Scholarship Applications Close
  • March 23: Math Day at the Beach
  • March 29: Mini Review Due from Departments
  • April 13: Day at the Beach (for Admitted Students)
  • April 1-7: Spring Recess
  • April 1: Cesar Chavez Day Observed
  • April 2: FAFSA Deadline (Altered timeline this year only due to "late" change of federal process)
  • May 10: Last Day of Classes (FRIDAY)
  • May 23: Graduation @ Angel Stadium 9:00am

Meeting minutes were APPROVED Tuesday, February 27, 2024.

Note: The minutes above reflect 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.