Events
State of the University
Fall 2007
Faculty Accomplishments
Our faculty continue to be very active in research, in receiving grants, in heading prestigious organizations and in receiving national recognition. The accomplishments are numerous, and what follows are a few examples of this nationally recognized work, beginning with HCLAS. Faculty in HCLAS have received a number of prestigious grants and awards in the past year, including NSF grants to Professor Vincent Brown of Psychology, two separate grants to Professors David Burghardt and Margaret Hunter of Engineering, as well as separate grants to Professors Joanne Willey and Chris Sanford of Biology. In addition, the work of Psychology Professor Kimberly Gilbert and the Diagnostic and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders has received recognition in the form ofa legislative grant. Also noteworthy are Professor Marcus Dressler's award from the National Endowment for the Humanities, allowing him to take a leave to do research at the American Research Institute in Turkey, and Professor Phillis Levin's grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, allowing her to take a leave and devote herself exclusively to writing poetry.
In our Zarb School of Business, Dr. Ahmet Karagozoglu, associate professor of finance and academic director of the Martin B. Greenberg Trading Room, advised and accompanied our students to the April 2007 New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) Open Outcry Trading Competition. Participating students assumed the role of pit traders, buying and selling crude oil futures contracts. Hofstra M.B.A. students won first prize as well as three additional prizes out of a total of 10 prizes awarded. In addition, during May 2007, Dr. David Flynn served as a distinguished visiting scholar at Nippon University in Japan, and Dr. Matthew Sonfield was named the "Outstanding Educator 2006" by the Family Business Division of the U.S. Association for Small Businessand Entrepreneurship.
In our School of Education and Allied Human Services, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Teaching Jackie Grennon-Brooks was elected president of the Board of Trustees of the Children's Maritime Museum. In that capacity, she designed and opened an interactive learning environment this past June 2007 in Port Jefferson, New York, and created fieldwork/research/job opportunities for Hofstra undergraduate students, graduate students and alumni. Presently, U.S. Congressman Tim Bishop is endorsing a large federal earmark appropriation for restoration of the historic Chandlery Building, on the harbor in Port Jefferson, to serve as the permanent home of the museum. Professor of Science Education Janice Koch was elected president of the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE), an organization that promotes excellence in science teacher education worldwide through scholarship and innovation. And Professor of Curriculum and Teaching Alan Singer was special visiting professor for social justice at the University of Missouri, St. Louis.
Noteworthy accomplishments of our School of Communication faculty include Professor of Radio, Television and Film Christine Noschese's recent film, Keep On Steppin', a documentary about The Steppers, a dance group composed of women between the ages of 65 and 85, which won the Best Short Film Award at the Newburyport Documentary Festival in September. In addition, the third edition of Professor of Journalism, Media Studies and Public Relations Bob Papper's book Broadcast News Writing and Stylebook was published in 2006 by Allyn & Bacon. Professor Papper also continues to direct the annual RTNDA Survey of U.S. television and radio stations. And Dr. Lisa Merrill, professor of speech communication, rhetoric and performance studies, presented an invited talk in April 2007 titled "Mirror of Humanity: Women on the 19th Century American Stage" for the British Association of American Studies, Leicester, England. In July 2007, as past president of the Women's Theatre Program of the Association of Theatre in Higher Education, Dr. Merrill also helped plan the national conference on Regeneration in Performance in New Orleans, and chaired and moderated sessions on culture and performance.
In 2006-2007, Library faculty members won three awards (including the University's Stessin Prize) and published five articles in refereed journals: Journal of Academic Librarianship, Ethical Human Psychology & Psychiatry, Libraries and the Academy, Reference Librarian, and Journal of Management Development. They have made seven conference presentations, two at international conferences (in Edinburgh and Montreal) and five at local conferences.
Hofstra Law School faculty again had a very successful year. Faculty continued their outstanding publications record with articles in major law reviews, including Cornell Law Review, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, Hofstra Law Review, Human Rights Quarterly, Tax Notes and Washington University Law Review. Even more impressive is the number of books produced by the law faculty. Furthermore, for his scholarly research and legal advocacy on death penalty issues, Professor Eric M. Freedman was appointed to the Advisory Board for the University of Albany's Capital Punishment Research Initiative. Professor Robert Baruch Bush completed two research projects that had been funded by the Hewlett Foundation. Professor Andrew Schepard was appointed an attorney member of the Judicial Conference of the State of New York. He also serves as the reporter for the National Conference Commissioners on Uniform State Laws' Uniform Collaborative Law Act. Professor I. Bennett Capers received a special honor as the fall 2006 Hofstra University Distinguished Faculty Lecturer and presented his work On Justitia: Race, Gender, and Blindness.
Grant Initiatives
During the 2006-2007 year, a record number of grant proposals, totaling 104, were submitted to federal, state, local and private foundations by Hofstra faculty and administrators. The University hired a consultant to review and evaluate our sponsored research organization and processes and has already implemented a number of the consultant's suggestions for improvement, including the creation of two new positions, one in Finance and one in the Provost's Office, to better support the faculty and ease administrative burdens in the grants process. I have also asked the provost to establish a high-level task force consisting of administrators and faculty to troubleshoot and resolve any infrastructure issues. We are all striving to promote a culture that will encourage grant initiatives in all areas of the University.
Notable faculty highlights during the 2006-2007 year: (1) Dr. Margaret Hunter of Hofstra's Engineering Department has been awarded almost $725,000 over three years by the National Science Foundation to coordinate Project ESTEEM (Equitable Science, Technology, Engineering, Education, and Mathematics) – a collaboration of faculty from Hofstra's Center for Technological Literacy, Nassau Community College and CUNY's Queensborough Community College that is developing a framework for infusing gender-equitable information and materials into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curriculum at community colleges. (2) Dr. Markus Dressler of Hofstra's Department of Religion received an ARIT/NEH Fellowship to support his research project "Turkish Alevism: The Making of a Religion" at the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) during the 2007-2008 academic year. The funding for this fellowship is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through its Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions. (3) Hofstra University's Department of Economics and Geography hosted a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Sercovich Goldman from the University of the Republic in Uruguay, during the 2006-2007 academic year. During his visit, Dr. Goldman taught a new course on the role of science and technology in the process of economic development. And we have just been notified that Dr. William Metlay secured a $400,000 grant from New York state to evaluate a program that trains nurses to deal with Alzheimer's patients.
Physical Facilities
This past year was an extraordinarily active time for new construction and the enhancement of the campus physical facilities. The New Academic Building, including its 230-seat black box theater, faculty offices, and orchestra rehearsal space for the Music Department, was completed in fall 2006. In spring 2007 a large, multiphase modernization project in Emily Lowe Hall was completed and now provides new dance studios, rehearsal space, additional faculty offices, and classrooms updated with SMART technologies.
In academic buildings such as Brower Hall, Roosevelt Hall, Calkins Hall, Monroe Lecture Center and Weed Hall, new, state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories and much needed infrastructure upgrades have been undertaken. In Memorial Hall, classrooms, student tutorial space, and advisement offices on the lower level were redesigned and renovated to enhance the student learning environment. This trend will continue over the upcoming year with classroom renovations and infrastructure upgrades planned for Breslin Hall.
This past summer, several renovations took place at the Mack Student Center, including an updated and attractive dining hall and social space, new food service venues, renovated restrooms, and new student advisement office space. The Hofstra Cultural Center relocated to its newly renovated office space in Gallon Wing. A master plan is being developed to assist in future Mack Student Center renovation projects aimed at enhancing the student experience on campus.
During the summer, the unoccupied space on the lower level of the Netherlands Residential Core Complex was transformed into state-of-the-art seminar rooms and classrooms, equipped with SMART technologies, modular seating, and video capabilities as part of the first phase of the new Nancy and Frederick DeMatteis Living Learning Center. This new facility integrates classrooms, student social and academic support services, and areas for social gatherings into one innovative and attractive space that will be the campus hub for first-year students. In addition, five new offices were constructed this summer on the facility's main level to provide increased support services for first-year students. The project's second phase is scheduled for summer 2008 and will include a complete dining room renovation and lobby extension.
Construction of the third pedestrian bridge was completed over the year. The new bridge is open for our students, faculty and community members to cross Hempstead Turnpike at Oak Street more conveniently and safely. This fall, our athletic teams returned to a completely new field surface at Shuart Stadium and a newly constructed field hockey complex on North Campus. An upcoming major renovation and expansion of the University's Recreation Center will modernize the facility and provide additional exercise class space to better accommodate the physical training needs of today's students.
Construction work on the new graduate residence hall is progressing on schedule for a May 2008 completion. This new residential facility is designed with apartment-style living accommodations and other modern amenities to specifically meet the needs of current and future graduate students who wish to reside on campus.
We have just completed the first major renovation to the University Club, David S. Mack Hall, in more than 40 years. This much anticipated renovation provides updated meeting rooms, a modernized banquet hall for fine dining and hosting University functions, an impressive new entranceway, fully renovated kitchen facilities, and much needed infrastructure improvements, including new restrooms, replacement windows, and central air conditioning.
University Relations
In the past year, the Office of University Relations successfully launched a new marketing brand for the University, and converted most publications to the new style, including a completely redesigned Hofstra Magazine (formerly Hofstra Update). In addition, Interactive Media launched a new version of the Web site, which integrates state-of-the-art technology, search engine optimization, faculty biographies, and video and multimedia slide shows, including a "campus virtual tour" and videos about the campus experience and news. On average during the 2006-07 academic year, unique visitors to hofstra.edu have increased between 5 and 15 percent (monthly), and page views and lengths of visit have increased even more dramatically, by 35-40 percent.
In October 2006 University Relations launched HOFCAST, a closed-circuit television network that broadcasts information on approximately 20-50 events and announcements daily in more than 90 locations on campus. University Relations also fully automated its print and mailing capabilities, adding new color and large format printing to the suite of on-campus services we offer all University departments. The University's Print Shop designs approximately 1,100 publications annually, and in the 2006-07 year, printed approximately 6 million black/white impressions, 360,000 color impressions and 350 color posters.
Successful public relations campaigns in the past year included placements about the Saltzman Community Services Center and its virtual reality technology, Hofstra's application as a host for the 2008 presidential debates, Dr. Chris Matthews' summer course in archaeology and slavery on Long Island, the Guru Nanak call for nominations, "Documenting Diversity," the Center for Civic Engagement's launch of Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace, the Hofstra University Museum's exhibition Twardowicz and Dodson: Artists in Parallel, and WRHU.
University Relations emphasized faculty experts in media placements by distributing a new Experts Guide (twice annually) to hundreds of reporters, and upgrading the news@hofstra Web site. Faculty across all academic disciplines, especially presidential studies, religion, political science, journalism, law and education, were featured in national media such as USA Today, The New York Times, Fox, CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post, NPR, and the Associated Press. Scholar-athletes and the programs they represent, especially softball, volleyball, basketball and soccer, were frequently featured in Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and other national publications. In September 2007 University Relations and the School of Communication successfully connected via cable to a Vyvx (television) hub, allowing the distribution of a broadcast signal from Dempster Hall to media outlets around the world. With its new live television feed, LiveLink will allow Hofstra faculty and administrators to comment as experts on local and national news and talk shows without the need to travel to a network or cable TV studio.
The University recently won a Silver Telly – the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, the finest film and video productions, and groundbreaking Web commercials, videos and films – for a video on New College's block schedule course "The Archaeology of Slavery and Freedom," in which Dr. Chris Matthews and his students participate in an actual archaeological dig at the historic home of Rufus King in Jamaica, Queens. It also received a Bronze Telly for a video outlining the history of Hofstra's presidential conference series. For the series of advertisements that were created for the first year of the brand launch, Hofstra University received a Communicator Award of Distinction.
Fiscal Affairs
For the fourth year in a row, the University achieved strong operating margins, permitting additional investments in the renovation of University facilities, including modernized classrooms, and funds set aside for the renovation of the Recreation Center. Total endowment investments have grown to $228 million, net of trusts and annuities, an increase of $27 million during the past year, and $127 million, or 127 percent, in five years.
Capital Campaign
Having completed the fourth year of the campaign, fund raising continues to operate ahead of schedule, with more than $92 million raised toward the campaign goal of $100 million. This past year, more than $20 million in additional funding has been secured, compared to $13.5 million the preceding year. The campaign has obtained more than 20 commitments at the seven-figure level and four gifts of $5 million or more. The campaign has begun its comprehensive alumni giving phase, reaching out to Hofstra's 109,000 graduates and seeking their participation and investment in Hofstra's future. Although difficult to significantly increase alumni giving in the short-term, this outreach effort and other efforts to involve alumni through meetings, events, reunions, and other communications are extremely important endeavors that, over time, will result in enhanced alumni participation and support.
Technology
The University continues to renovate outdated classrooms; last year, 29 additional classrooms were upgraded to our new classroom technology standards. Our computer labs and classrooms continue to be updated every two years as a normal cycle to provide students and faculty with the most modern equipment. This past year approximately 900 new computers were installed in labs and classrooms. Our digital language lab continues to enable students to practice their language skills from any Internet-connected location.
In an effort to facilitate the use of technology by faculty, we held special programs to intensively train small cohorts of faculty and help them develop ideas for teaching innovation using technology tools. Development projects with faculty have led to students discussing their work online, sharing digital photos, reviewing self-paced learning objects, taking self-paced quizzes, or watching quick digital videos, thus making the most of precious face-to-face class time. We saw a peak usage of 1,042 online courses in Blackboard last year, up from 884 in the prior year. We have prepared a podcasting series plus training library to launch in fall 2007, and introduced iTunes University for the posting and sharing of podcasts. We conducted two successful advertising campaigns to make faculty aware of new teaching methods using technology; we've also held adjunct orientation campaigns and introduced blogs and wikis into Hofstra courses.
We continue to prepare for ubiquitous computing by deploying additional wireless capabilities. All social locations, eateries, residence hall lounges, libraries, sports arenas, etc., are now wireless. Wireless security continues to be improved with devices that ensure that computers connected to the Hofstra network have the latest security software. We continue to provide 24/7 Help Desk services for all constituencies. To prepare for a growing mobile computing population, we have instituted a Computer Repair Center, a summer laptop setup program, and a technology information session for incoming students and their parents.
We have also continued our efforts to enhance administrative technology to improve efficiency and make it easier for students, faculty and staff to navigate the University system. To bolster student retention efforts, a photo roster system was implemented, allowing faculty to view images of students enrolled in their courses. This permits immediate name recognition and builds better bonds between faculty and students in the classroom.
Significant effort was devoted to building an improved version of the First-Year Connections system, which allowed hundreds of incoming first-year students to easily sign up for groups of courses for the fall 2007 semester. In conjunction with Interactive Media, we built a brand-new campus virtual tour system. This allows prospective students to accompany a tour guide through various locations on the Hofstra campus.
The Financial Aid module of Banner was upgraded many times in order to keep up with changes for a new academic year and new compliance regulations. Work continues with the Office for Development and Alumni Affairs to improve the alumni data warehouse created last year to improve the ability to quickly generate ad hoc reports.
We have also begun to implement a document imaging system. Initially, the system will be used to image contracts for Finance as well as applicant information for Undergraduate Admission. The Office of Admission has already begun to use imaging in its admission process, providing a much richer, automated document-handling methodology.
Finally, the University partnered with Google to introduce the Google Apps for Education program to the campus. In addition to Gmail and online calendar services, more than 100,000 students and alumni have access to Google's suite of collaborative applications for document, spreadsheet and presentation purposes. This helped the University discontinue its aging Netmail service, provide a stronger Web-based e-mail interface to students, and lessen the amount of spam impacting the University's networking infrastructure.
Presidential Debates
We continue to aggressively pursue Hofstra's initiative to host one of the presidential debates for the 2008 presidential election. During this past year, we prepared the application to host the debate, and the Presidential Debate Commission staff spent a day visiting Hofstra and reviewing our facilities. The site visit was very successful, and gave us the opportunity to highlight the University's very impressive facilities, technology, infrastructure and staff. We also invited local government leaders to meet the Debate Commission staff, enabling the staff to view first-hand the enthusiastic support by all for Hofstra as a debate site. We have continued to show support through letters and phone calls to the commissioners from New York legislators and other officials. Nineteen institutions completed the formal application process to host the debates, including 15 institutions of higher learning, five of which had previously hosted a presidential or vice presidential debate. We continue to believe that hosting a debate would be an extraordinary experience for our students, faculty and the entire University community, which would energize the campus and permit us to highlight our expertise in presidential studies. We are awaiting a decision from the Presidential Debate Commission and should hear by the end of October.
Editor's note: On Monday, November 19, 2007, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that it had chosen Hofstra University for the site of its final 2008 Presidential Debate, to be held on October 15, 2008.