Provost's Update - November 29, 2021

November 29, 2021

Hi Everyone:

I hope you all had a terrific holiday and were able to spend some time with people you care about. I want to share some good news.

Outstanding Faculty Awards

As you saw in the November 29th Sacramento State Briefing, the Faculty Senate announced the recipients of the Outstanding Faculty Awards for 2021, “Recipients of these awards are recognized for having positively affected the life of the University through their teaching, their service, and their scholarly and creative activities – displaying consistent and engaging collegiality and a strong commitment to students throughout their careers at California State University, Sacramento. A virtual award ceremony will be held Thursday, March 10.

• Outstanding Teaching Awards: Patrick Ettinger, History (Arts and Letters); Pooria Assadi, Management and Organizations (College of Business); Sarah Jouganatos, Graduate and Professional Studies (College of Education); Jun Dai, Computer Science (Engineering and Computer Science); Susanna Curry, Social Work (Health and Human Services); Lani Gleason, Biological Sciences (Natural Sciences and Mathematics); Sarah Strand, Psychology (Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies)
• Outstanding University Service Awards: Angela Clark-Oates, English (Arts and Letters); Jai-Joon (Jay) Lee, Strategy and Entrepreneurship (College of Business); Kevin Ferreira van Leer, Undergraduate Studies (College of Education); Abhijeet Shirsat, Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration (Health and Human Services); Amy Wagner, Geology (Natural Sciences and Mathematics)
• Outstanding Scholarly and Creative Activity Awards: Shawna Malvini Redden, Communication Studies (Arts and Letters); Joseph Taylor, Information Systems and Business Analytics (College of Business); Sue Hobbs, Undergraduate Studies (College of Education); Jose Granda, Mechanical Engineering (Engineering and Computer Science); Susanna Curry, Social Work (Health and Human Services); Amelia Vankeuren, Geology (Natural Sciences and Mathematics); Mical Shilts, Family and Consumer Sciences (Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies
• Outstanding Community Service Awards: Summer Ventis, Art (Arts and Letters); Cindy Collado, Teaching Credentials (College of Education); Anna Baynes, Computer Science (Engineering and Computer Science); Bronwyn Fields, Nursing (Health and Human Services); Sayonita Ghosh Hajra, Mathematics and Statistics (Natural Sciences and Mathematics); Catheryn Koss, Gerontology (Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies)

Please join me in congratulating all of these tremendous faculty and thanking them for their continued contributions to our mission.

Curriculum redesign grants

The Office of Undergraduate Studies received 32 curricular redesign proposals requesting over $800,000. Faculty from twenty-seven academic programs, representing all seven colleges, participated. $275,000 will be awarded.

Funding is targeted to support initiatives designed to reduce DFW rates, to reduce equity gaps, to build an anti-racist curriculum and develop anti-racist pedagogy, to foster intercultural competency, and to cultivate inclusivity and belonging in the classroom or in a specific discipline. The goal is to promote significant improvement in academic outcomes for undergraduate students, especially those historically marginalized and/or underrepresented.

An advisory committee reviewed the proposals in three categories—impact, feasibility, and potential for success. Large enrollment courses with high DFW rates and particularly inequitable outcomes rose to the top. Not surprisingly, lower division General Education courses, along with pathway courses, especially those that serve multiple majors, promised to impact the most students.

Proposals presented a variety of strategies for improving student success, reducing equity gaps, and increasing retention and a sense of belonging among students from historically marginalized and underrepresented in a particular field of study. Several proposals promise to create culturally inclusive and anti-racist content and train faculty in inclusive and anti-racist pedagogy for multiple courses in a single discipline. Others seek to increase active learning in the classroom. Some incorporated peer-to-peer learning while others emphasized hands-on learning that illustrates complex theoretical content. Building on what we’ve learned in the pandemic, others promise to create repositories of on-demand learning materials, open-access resources and brief how-to videos, that review difficult concepts.

Successful grant applicants will share their curriculum redesign, along with an initial assessment of its success, at the Center for Teaching and Learning’s Professional Learning Culminating Event in May 2023.

We are pleased at the interest the grants generated and excited by the positive impact they will have on our students. We regret that many fine proposals could not be funded this year, but look forward to putting out an RFP for 2022-2023 in the spring.

These are just some of the great things going on here. Thank you all for what you are doing to support our students, each other, and our region.

Steve Perez
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs

Dr. LeAnn Fong-Batkin, Executive Director for the Education Insights Ctr

November 15, 2021

I am excited to announce that Dr. LeAnn Fong-Batkin will join us as the new Executive Director for the Education Insights Center at Sacramento State.

Dr. Fong-Batkin brings over two decades of K-12 and higher education policy experience from WestEd, the Foundation for California Community Colleges, Sacramento State, the California Department of Education, the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, and the California State Auditor. She has committed her career to social justice and equity for underrepresented students.

Dr. Fong-Batkin’s work with EdInsights will begin on Monday, December 6, 2021. Her research areas of interest include the transition of students from K-12 to postsecondary education, diversity, equity, and inclusion, analyzing legislation and policy efforts to create change, and the need for California’s statewide longitudinal data system.

Her ties to EdInsights are strong, as she has followed its work since its inception as the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy. Dr. Fong-Batkin was a fellow in the organization’s Education Policy Fellowship Program and her cohort studied the need for a statewide longitudinal data system.

Recently, Dr. Fong-Batkin worked with WestEd and the Foundation for California Community Colleges as an instrumental co-lead in the development and design of the plans for the California Cradle-to-Career Data System (data system). This groundbreaking effort for the development of California’s statewide longitudinal data system was created through facilitating over 100 public meetings, researching statewide longitudinal data systems and a variety of complex policy topics, and working closely with stakeholders, partner entities, advocates, the Department of Finance, and the Governor’s Office. The Governor and Legislature funded the data system in fiscal year 2021-22, and provided a $15 million budget.

At the California Department of Education (CDE), she served as a branch administrator and senior higher education advisor to former State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson who served as an ex officio member of the Trustees of the California State University and the University of California Regents. She served as the liaison between the CDE, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, and the Intersegmental Coordinating Committee. Her other work at the CDE focused on designing a racial equity action plan for the department and she was the administrator for the College Readiness Block Grant and Advancement Via Individual Determination grant program.

Dr. Fong-Batkin has a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of California, Davis, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Sacramento State, and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

She is active in her community where she volunteers for the Feria de Educación, the Alzheimer’s Association, and coordinates a career day at a local school. She has mentored many high school and undergraduate students through Upward Bound, Cal-in-Sacramento, and the University of California Center Sacramento’s internship programs.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Fong-Batkin to the Sacramento State family, Steve Perez
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

About EdInsights

The Education Insights Center (EdInsights) is a self-supporting unit of California State University, Sacramento. Established in 2001 as the Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy and renamed in 2015, EdInsights is committed to research, evaluation, and capacity building related to practice and policy with the goal of continually improving student success (defined as student learning, engagement, progression, and completion). The work of the Center focuses on creating equitable opportunities and outcomes for California’s diverse student population as students navigate into and through our systems of higher education in California, with a focus on California community colleges and four-year public universities. The Center houses dedicated staff with diverse expertise across a spectrum of applied policy research and analysis, evaluation, capacity building, writing, and communications. The efforts are proudly partnered with experts, leaders, and practitioners from education, philanthropic organizations, and government. Through a collaborative approach, the work has resulted in: ongoing improvement and evaluation of community college professional development, improved implementation of community college pathways, research that pivotally informed the ongoing development of California’s statewide data system, improved quality of education programs and policies, enhanced decision-making focused on equitable student success, and increased cross-system connections that lead to more inclusive and collaborative policymaking and implementation. The Center’s efforts seek to understand and address the institutional and systemic barriers students experience in their educational trajectories, with a focus on students of color, students experiencing poverty, and students who are first in their families to attend college. EdInsights is committed to transforming education systems and providing diverse student populations with what they need to thrive and succeed.

Associate Vice President Paul Hofmann to Retire

November 3, 2021

After serving Sacramento State for five years as Associate Vice President in the office of International Programs and Global Engagement, Dr. Paul Hofmann has decided to retire. Dr. Hofmann came to the University from Fresno State where he served in a similar capacity from 2012-2016; before that, he directed the Center for International Programs at Bowling Green State University and also held other positions advancing international student and scholar services during his 25+ year career in international education. Two of Dr. Hofmann’s degrees are in Political Science: one from Adrian College (baccalaureate) and one from the University of Toledo (master’s). He also holds a master’s degree in Higher Education from San Jose State and a doctorate in that same discipline from Bowling Green State University.

Dr. Hofmann had a major impact at Sacramento State where he promoted the internationalization of the campus, increasing the number of international students on our campus and the number of students studying abroad, and creating the Passport Place, among other innovations. We are appreciative of his many contributions. I’m sure you join me in thanking Paul for his service to the University, and wishing him the best as he retires. The Administrator-in-Charge of International Programs and Global Engagement is Christine Miller, Interim Vice Provost for Student Academic Success.

Steve Perez
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Planning for spring 2022 schedules and beyond

Course Redesign Grants

September 22, 2021

Hi everyone,

I want to make a very exciting announcement. The University has allocated ongoing funds for regular review of our curriculum to be targeted for specific topics, issues, or challenges. This year (and perhaps for several years) we are going to target these funds to address the following:

• To redesign a course or sequence of courses to reduce high DFW rates;
• To redesign a course or sequence of courses to reduce significant equity gaps in outcomes; and/or
• To improve student retention, time to degree, and sense of belonging, particularly among those historically marginalized and/or underrepresented, in a particular discipline or field.

Improvements in any of the areas above support our priorities of student success as well as inclusion and anti-racism. We intend to have this grant program be an annual call so we can continually review and improve our curriculum as well as student experience and success. Please look at the announcement below from the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

Thank you and take care,
Steve

Course Redesign Grants: Achieving Equitable Outcomes in Undergraduate Programs

The Office of Undergraduate Studies is soliciting requests for funding to support efforts by academic programs to enhance student success and to achieve equitable outcomes. Faculty may request up to $40,000 for curricular redesign. Funds may be used for initiatives designed to reduce DFW rates, to build an anti-racist curriculum, to develop anti-racist pedagogy, to foster intercultural competency, to cultivate inclusivity and belonging in the classroom and/or in a specific discipline, or any other strategy that could to be shown as likely to promote significant improvement in academic outcomes for undergraduate students, especially those historically marginalized and/or underrepresented. Monies could be used for assigned time, summer stipends, faculty development, outside consultants, and the like. Proposals are encouraged to draw from and develop disciplinary knowledge. They may focus on a single course or on a series of courses in a program. They may come from individual faculty, or from teams of faculty in a discipline. As the grants are one-time, they will fund proposals that promise transformational change without continued expense.

Timetable:

• Proposals are due no later than 5:00 PM on October 15, 2021.
• Notification of awards will be made by November 1, 2021.
• Funds become available November 15, 2021 and, except for assessment, must be spent by August 30, 2022.
• Redesigned course(s) must be available for student enrollment in Fall semester 2022.
• Assessment report due to Undergraduate Studies during Spring semester 2023.
• Presentation of implementation and initial data collection/assessment at Center for Teaching and Learning’s Professional Learning Culminating Event in May 2023.

Selection Criteria: Proposals may be made

• To redesign a course or sequence of courses to reduce high DFW rates
• To redesign a course or sequence of courses to reduce significant equity gaps in outcomes
• To improve student retention and sense of belonging, particularly among those historically marginalized and/or underrepresented, in a particular discipline or field.

Both proposals and assessment reports must reference DFW rates and/or equity gaps as published by the Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning. Additional assessments, such as anonymous pre-post intervention surveys, class artifacts that illustrate the impact of the project, and alignment of learning outcomes, learning activities, and programmatic outcomes, are encouraged as appropriate.

Application Materials: Applications must contain the following supporting documentation:

• Project Narrative (2 pages), including
  -A description of the problem to be solved
  -A discussion of the significance of the problem for student success
  -A proposed set of actions with specific expected outcomes
  -A pathway for sustainable implementation
  -A plan for assessment and assessment reporting
• Budget (1 page), including an explanatory narrative. (Assessment and reporting must be included in the budget).
• Statement from the department chair (1 page) that assesses departmental buy-in and estimates impact of proposal, if implemented, on student success in an academic program or programs.

Proposal Submission Process: Find and complete the application here: https://www.csus.edu/undergraduate-studies/. Upload the Application Materials (PDF) and submit by 5:00 PM on Friday, October 15, 2021.

Award Selection: An Advisory Committee consisting of faculty from each of the colleges will review and rank the proposals in three categories--impact, feasibility, and potential for success—and recommend proposals to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies for funding.

Provost's Update: August 31, 2021

August 31, 2021

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the Fall 2021 semester. As I sit in my office and see students, staff, and faculty walk by, I am so excited to kick off this new school year. Preparing for this return-to-campus has been a big effort: Thank you all for the work you have done getting ready and for the many ways you make Sacramento State a caring campus. And thank you to all of our campus partners that have done so much to prepare for the semester.

Working as a team, we continue to transform the lives of our students, their families, and our region. Washington Monthly just published its rankings, and Sacramento State is No. 10 among Master’s Universities “based on [our] contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research, and promoting public service.” You each make a difference and it shows.

If you have not already done so, please take some time to watch the President’s Fall Address to hear directly where we are and where we need to go together.

IRT continues to produce great resources to keep in mind as you think of how to communicate with our students and each other. As we find new and interesting ways to utilize zoom, keep in mind these suggested security tips.

Good news

• Professor Erin Ellison from Psychology has been awarded a grant by the Spencer Foundation to study, "Youth Participatory Action Research and Critical Literacy in the Context of Gentrification"
• Professor Luis Garcia from Art received a Faculty Fellows award from the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education with a “primary goal is to prepare Latina/o/x faculty for successful careers in academia and beyond by increasing the number of tenured and promoted Latina/o/x faculty.”

As a reminder, we are posting Frequently Asked Questions related to COVID and fall 2021 on the Academic Continuity website. Please continue to ask.

Thank you all for your efforts and hard work to support the Hornet family. Previous Provost’s Updates can be found here.

Take care, Steve

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