February 2, 2009

State of the University

Continued...

Academic Initiatives: The academic areas of the University had another very good year. Typically, in talking about academic accomplishments, I focus on individual faculty scholarship and grant productivity as well as program development. But this year, especially, I need to recognize the tremendous efforts and accomplishments of the academic area in both outcomes assessment and national accreditations.

The 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 academic years are defined by the emphasis on outcomes assessment and Hofstra’s national accreditations. Before the 2008-2009 year is over, we will have faced national reviews by the independent accrediting agencies overseeing the following schools: Zarb School of Business, the School of Education, Health and Human Services, and the Law School. Particular programs and areas within the University are also being reviewed, including accounting, journalism, physician assistant studies, psychology doctoral programs, engineering, speech-language-pathology, the Hofstra University Museum, and the Diane Lindner-Goldberg Child Care Institute. Of course, Middle States, which covers all our educational programs, is also ongoing with a site review this spring, culminating a multi-year self-study. All programs are reviewed on a periodic basis, some as frequently as every three years; others are reviewed every 10 years, but rarely do so many reviews coincide within this close a time frame. We have been pleased with the results to date and expect equally positive results in the remaining reviews. Each accreditation is time intensive in terms of the faculty and administrative involvement; overall, there are hundreds of faculty involved in helping to showcase the strength of our academic programs.

I am very appreciative of all the hard work and effort that has gone into making sure we are fully prepared and successful in our outcomes assessment efforts as well as in our accreditation reviews. We are a far stronger university as a result of these efforts, and we can all take pride in the results.

This has also been a very good year in terms of academic programming, not only with the extensive array of courses and programs tied to Educate ’08, but also in terms of new undergraduate majors in Chinese, Chinese studies, health sciences and dance education. We have also been strengthened by reconfiguring a number of our departments including restructuring our Economics/Geography Department into an Economics Department and a Global Studies and Geography Department and reconfiguring our English and Freshman Composition Department into an English Department and a Writing Studies and Composition Department.

Our distance learning offerings have also been expanded through the development of a number of our summer courses in a distance learning format. In this way, as our geographically diverse undergraduate students go home for the summer, they are still able to take Hofstra courses to help facilitate the completion of their degree requirements. I look forward to a continued expansion of these offerings.

Faculty productivity continues to be very impressive, highlighted by four of our faculty receiving Fulbright awards this year: Russell Burke from Biology for research on how Italian wall lizards have changed since they left home; Aashish Kumar from our School of Communication for his work in India on the linking of campus to community; Mario Murillo, also from our School of Communication, for his work on preparing public service broadcasters in a university setting and through indigenous radio in Colombia; and Phyllis Zagano from the Department of Religion for researching Catholic rituals and the question of women deacons. In addition, last summer Marketing and International Business Professor James Neelankavil lectured at the Asian Institute of Management as part of the Fulbright Senior Specialist Program. We have also received a number of major grants, though overall grant activity is disappointing for a university of our quality. David Burghardt from Engineering has received a three-year $1.8 million grant to incorporate simulation and modeling in technology education. Harold Hastings, professor and chair of the Department of Physics, has received a $525,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant in the area of condensed matter. Donald Lubowich in Astronomy has received a $308,000 NSF grant for summer education. Simona Doboli, from Computer Science, has been awarded two grants, one in the area of computer education and the other to examine idea generation in individual and group behavior. And William Metlay from Psychology has been awarded a New York State Department of Health grant to develop training sessions on managing difficult behaviors in residents with dementia.

Michael D’Innocenzo, in his 48th year of distinguished teaching at our University, has been awarded the very prestigious Eugene A. Asher Award for Distinguished Teaching from The American Historical Association. Stephen Caldas, from Foundations, Leadership and Policy Studies, was awarded the Stanford M. Lyman Distinguished Book Award from the American Sociological Association. Our Zarb School of Business faculty won three of the four Best Paper awards at the 2008 Northeast Decision Sciences Institute meeting. And School for University Studies Vice Dean Paula Uruburu’s book American Eve was ranked in the top 10 in both the history and true crime categories on Amazon.com. Laurie Johnson of our CRSR Department has been selected as a Fulbright Senior Specialist candidate in Peace and Conflict Studies, and Debra Goodman was selected to chair the Elementary Section Steering Committee of the National Council of Teachers of English and is also on the Executive Committee of the National Council for Teacher Education. There are many other faculty accomplishments too numerous to mention. Overall, it is clear that our faculty had a very impressive year, and their productivity continues to help propel our University into the ranks of nationally and internationally renowned colleges and universities.

Our students continue to excel both in and outside of the classroom. I am pleased to announce that two of our students received Fulbright scholarships this past year, Joseph Pawlowski ’08 who is conducting bio-mathematical research in Italy this year, and Eric Lopez ‘08 who is studying education in Hungary this year. In addition, David Miller ’08 received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to study environmental engineering and also won a full scholarship to Princeton University for his Ph.D. tract.

The Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency is a tremendous asset to the University and continues to look at the critical issues central to the American presidency. Last April, the center, under the leadership of Meena Bose, presented a conference titled From Votes to Victory: Winning and Governing the White House in the 21st Century. This will be followed, early in the spring semester, with a program looking at the first 100 days of the Obama administration. And in the fall 2009 semester, the center will turn its attention to Expansion of Executive Power From Abraham Lincoln to George W. Bush.

The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University is another academic asset. With a mission to rigorously study suburbia’s opportunities and challenges, the center, under the leadership of Larry Levy and Chris Niedt, has already made an impressive start in its agenda. Especially noteworthy are the recent conference (presented with our Sociology Department) Forging a New Housing Policy: Opportunity in the Wake of Crisis and the upcoming conference The Diverse Suburb: History, Politics and Prospects.

The Center for Civic Engagement continues its important work with students, guided by the principle that “informed and involved students are more likely to participate in the democratic process.” Under the leadership of Cindy Bogard, the center has looked at many of the issues that have shaped and will shape the future of our planet. From the environment to sustainability, to the economy, to Iraq and Iran, to globalization, to discrimination, to perceptions of the United States, the center has helped inform and motivate our students, who hold the promise of helping to shape a better world. I would also like to acknowledge the center, together with the good work of Lisa Merrill, in presenting Democracy in Performance, clearly one of the highlights of Educate ’08.

The Wilbur F. Breslin Center for Real Estate Studies, headed by Vice President Richard Guardino, continues to offer timely and insightful programs on all aspects of real estate, including an April 2008 program on the subprime market and whether it constitutes an opportunity as well as a crisis, and a December 2008 program on these “historic times” and the unprecedented opportunities that exist in real estate.

Finally, several excellent new deans joined the Hofstra community. After a nationwide search, Nora Demleitner was appointed dean of Hofstra University School of Law, the first woman to head the law school. Dean Demleitner, a distinguished legal scholar who clerked for Justice Samuel Alito, when he was sitting on the U.S. Court of Appeals, is a strong academic administrator.

Following a yearlong national search, Dr. David Foulk was named dean of Hofstra’s School of Education, Health and Human Services. Dr. Foulk most recently served as a professor of health education and associate dean for administration and research at Florida State University’s College of Education. Dean Foulk brings strong experience in research and grant generation as well as administrative skills to the University. Shortly after his arrival, Dean Foulk recommended, and I approved, changing the name of the school to reflect the great strength we already have in the area of health and the increasing prominence of this area that will accompany the start of the medical school.

Diversity Initiatives: I am pleased to note that our commitment to and emphasis on enhancing diversity continues. In addition to the faculty exchange with Claflin, we are working on a student exchange, and Claflin President Henry Tisdale will visit Hofstra in May to deliver the Honors Convocation address in connection with commencement. Provost Berliner delivered an address at Claflin’s honors ceremony last April. Through our museum collection, we prepared a diversity poster series highlighting our collection from around the globe in the context of the importance of diversity, and we recently unveiled a statue of Frederick Douglass in front of Monroe Lecture Center. This statue is the result of a student initiative to add diversity to our sculpture collection on campus.

In recognition of our close ties to the neighboring communities, beginning with the start of the 2009-2010 academic year, we will annually be offering the valedictorians of Hempstead High School and Uniondale High School four-year, full-tuition scholarships to Hofstra University. Also, effective next year, we will offer two women from Africa full-tuition, room and board scholarships as part of the Zawadi Africa Education Fund initiative, which provides scholarship support for the best and brightest African women. A third new initiative is the establishment of two $2,500 grants to support faculty research or curricular pedagogy related to diversity. These grants, made possible by a donor, will further diversity initiatives in the curriculum or in faculty research. The first two grants will be awarded to the study “Climate and Culture in Academia and Hiring and Retention of Faculty of Color” submitted by School of Education, Health and Human Services faculty Jonathan Lightfoot, Marlene Munn-Joseph, and Irene Plonczak on behalf of the school’s Affirmative Action Committee and “Racial Segregation and Health Disparities in Hempstead, NY: Exploring Parents’ Perception of the Relationship Between Their Neighborhoods and Healthy Living” submitted by Sociology Department faculty member Johanna Shih.

Fiscal Affairs: For the fifth year in a row, the University achieved strong operating margins for the 2007-2008 fiscal year, permitting additional investments in the renovation of University facilities, and additional funds set aside as a cushion for enrollment contingencies. As reflected in audited financial statements at the end of the University's most recent fiscal year, August 31, 2008, the University’s total long-term investments were $242.4 million, an increase of $2.8 million over the prior year and an increase of $134.5 million, or 125%, over values five years ago. However, as a result of the economic downturn, Hofstra’s endowment has since declined to approximately $177 million as of the end of December 2008. Although all investments are suffering in this market, endowments are invested with a very long-term horizon. Hofstra has a diversified investment strategy with a long-term perspective. We have no current plans to revise our investment strategies, but routinely review and monitor asset allocation, investment manager selection, and the investment performance. Like many universities, Hofstra's endowment spending is based on a three-year moving average of the endowment's market value, effectively smoothing out significant fluctuations. Hofstra's endowment generates funding on an annual basis to support student scholarships, faculty, chairs, lectures, and essential programs. Support from the endowment remains modest, representing 1.8% of the operating budget, and, as a result, the declines are unlikely to affect significantly the University operations in the short run. The University fortunately has not experienced the other difficulties faced by many universities — downgraded bond insurers, significantly higher variable debt rates, the need to pledge investments as collateral, cashflow shortfalls resulting from frozen investments, and losses on credit swap agreements. The University’s recent debt was issued at fixed rates on the basis of the University‘s own A credit rating without the need for bond insurance, lines of credit or significant financial covenant requirements. Thus, Hofstra is well positioned to weather this economic downturn.

However, like all institutions of higher education, Hofstra has suffered a decline in earnings on short-term investments as well as a decline in the value of the endowment. Even more significantly, enrollment in this economic climate remains difficult to predict with any certainty. As a tuition-dependent institution, Hofstra must carefully plan for the possibility of enrollment shortfalls in January and summer programs, in continuing enrollment, and in new freshmen and transfers for this spring semester as well as for fall 2009. We do not know that such shortfalls will actually occur, but we must be prepared for the potential impact of any lower than projected enrollment. In fact, as of this date, applications are up over last year. However, the continuing length and depth of the economic downturn is impossible to predict, and whether students in the same numbers as in past years will be able to afford private college tuition is also impossible to predict. We do know that students will be seeking financial aid in greater numbers, and we are striving to identify additional funds for economic hardship relief grants. We are also carefully planning to increase reserves and contingency funds so that, if necessary, we would be able to accommodate future enrollment shortfalls without undue hardship. To do so, we are, in the short-run, temporarily deferring nonessential capital improvements, slowing down hiring, and filling lines only upon a careful review and showing of need for such a hire in furtherance of the University’s mission. In planning for next year’s budget, we have asked each dean and vice president to carefully review expenditures and to try to reduce spending where possible, as well as to identify opportunities for new revenues. Meanwhile, we are carefully monitoring enrollment, and if it turns out that savings are not needed as a cushion for enrollment fluctuations, we will modify budgets to restore certain of the items cut or deferred.

For the long term, we are continuing to work on the next five-year plan, although implementation of the plan may, depending upon the economic conditions of next year, need to be deferred. As we continue our planning, we will work to carefully assess existing programs and expenditures, to ensure that scarce resources are being used as effectively as possible to enhance the University’s mission and goals, as well as to identify new opportunities for revenue-generating programs.

Capital Campaign: The Capital Campaign was successfully concluded at the end of 2008, having raised more than $110 million, thus exceeding the original $100 million dollar campaign goal. The last University-wide campaign conducted in 1989 raised $30 million. Our recently concluded capital campaign includes more than 20 gifts at the $1 million+ level and two $10 million commitments (the first the University has ever received).

Over the past few months, every effort was made to reach all Hofstra alumni in regional chapters to update them on the University’s successes thus far and give them an opportunity to participate. Regional campaign events took place in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boca Raton, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, West Chester/Connecticut, Nassau County and Northern New Jersey chapters. A medical school fund-raising campaign is planned to kick off in the very near future.

Physical Facilities: It was an extraordinarily busy year on campus for new construction, major renovation projects, and preparing our facilities to host the 2008 presidential debate. Throughout the summer we worked to transform the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex and the adjoining Physical Fitness Center (PFC) to meet the strict specifications set forth by the Commission for Presidential Debates to host the presidential debate. The arena’s  HVAC system was equipped with new variable speed drives to reduce the ambient noise level inside the arena and enhance overall temperature and humidity control. Various infrastructure projects were undertaken to enhance our facilities, including installing a new ADA-compliant elevator at the PFC and a new roof on the Mack Sports Complex, and replacing sidewalks and repaving roads on our north campus.

 

Construction of our New Graduate Residence Hall (80,000 square feet), with its 225-bed apartment-style suites, was completed last summer, on schedule and within budget. This new residential facility is designed with apartment-style living accommodations, including kitchenettes and other modern amenities that specifically meet the needs of current and future graduate students. The new facility is beautifully landscaped and designed with outside patios and exterior seating areas to enhance the student living and learning experience.

We continue our campaign to modernize and renovate all of our academic buildings. Over this past year, Breslin Hall classrooms and lecture halls were fully renovated, building restrooms refurbished, and classrooms upgraded with state-of-the-art technologies. In Calkins Hall, significant enhancements took place last year, with the addition of a new sculpture studio, photo studio, and photography development area. At Weller Hall, new energy efficient windows were installed to replace the building’s original single-pane windows. And we are beginning a much-needed renovation of Gittleson Hall, with a complete transformation of three teaching laboratories. The Chemistry and Physics Building was named Herman A. Berliner Hall to honor Provost Berliner’s many contributions to Hofstra’s development.

Over the summer of 2008, the final phase of the new Nancy and Frederick DeMatteis Living/Learning Center at the Netherlands Residential Core Complex took place with a major renovation and expansion project. The original dining hall was completely renovated with new furniture, new large-screen televisions, and a completely redone food court. The Netherlands entranceway was expanded and renovated to improve pedestrian traffic flow. The two exterior patio wings attached to the main dining hall were fully enclosed, providing an additional 6,000 square feet of new space for student activities. This new space provides a student lounge, community meeting space, and a stage area to host student lectures and social gatherings. In the food court, all new dining venues and serving equipment were added, including student favorites such as Subway and a health food station. This new facility integrates classrooms, student social and academic support services, and areas for social gatherings in one innovative and attractive space that will be the central campus hub for first-year students.

At the University’s Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center, an interior renovation of the Student Center Theater was completed. Additionally, an upgrade to all Mack Student Center restrooms and enhancements to the main dining room were performed.

The Library’s Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater was also fully renovated over the past summer.  A redesigned interior layout utilizes a more functional center aisle theater seating configuration to improve audience viewing of presentations. New theater seating, carpet, lighting, and acoustical fabric wall panels were installed as part of the renovation.

In 2009 the University will renovate the previous home of the New York Jets (Weeb Ewbank Hall) to serve as the temporary home of the new medical school. Additionally, 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.
   
University Relations - 75th Anniversary: Spearheaded by the Office of University Relations, planning is underway for the yearlong 75th anniversary celebration of the founding of Hofstra University. The celebration will begin with a three-day celebration commencing September 23, 2010 (the anniversary of the first day of classes in 1935), and will include a gala in May 2011, as well as yearlong events, conferences, lecture series and other programs culminating in the fall 2011 welcoming of the inaugural medical school class. Since spring 2008, the internal planning committee and 10 subcommittees have begun to plan the timeline of the next three years (two planning years and the yearlong celebration), brainstorm ideas for academic conferences, keynote events, student celebrations, fund-raising, and artistic and historic exhibitions. A Web site has been created to encourage participation among all alumni and input from all members of the Hofstra community, and a student competition for the anniversary theme has been launched. An honorary executive committee has been formed, and subcommittees are hard at work prioritizing various initiatives.
 
In the past year, the Office of University Relations has been primarily occupied by Hofstra's hosting of the October 15, 2008, debate and the yearlong companion program, Educate '08.

In an effort to better serve faculty, University Relations added two members to the communications team, who are designated to work closely with the School of Education, Health and Human Services and with the Frank G. Zarb School of Business. University Relations staff are now closely aligned with each academic unit at the University, and act as liaisons, advocates and communications experts for each dean and department chair.

Finally, University Relations again received several awards for excellence, including a Telly, four Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) accolades, and two Admissions Marketing awards.
 
Technology: Planning and implementation for the technology necessary to support the presidential debate was extensive in the past year. Miles of fiber optic cable and wired and wireless network enhancements were implemented to support the debate hall and hundreds of media personnel. Hofstra’s Information Technology division is also actively engaged in the planning of the new medical school to ensure the technology requirements necessary for this facility are well designed.

Ongoing classroom technology enhancements continued during the course of the year. An additional 30 classrooms were upgraded to our new classroom technology standards, bringing the total number of technology-enhanced classrooms to 149, or roughly 63% of all classrooms on campus.

The computers in campus labs and classrooms continue to be updated every two years as a normal cycle to provide students and faculty with the most modern equipment. Last year, 376 new computers were installed in these locations to replace older devices. The traditional computer lab spaces are being redesigned to facilitate “collaboratories”, a blending of leading-edge virtual and physical workspace intended to promote collective student interaction in a rich technology environment.

We continue to invest in technology for today through network and computer enhancements as well as for tomorrow by preparing for the future of mobile computing on campus. The strategic redesign of the campus network was completed with a $2.8 million upgrade of the network in all academic and administrative buildings on campus. Currently there are three networks on campus for the delivery of data, voice and video services. The upgraded network will serve as the foundation upon which these will be converged into one unified IP network. We continue to build out wireless capabilities for common areas across campus such as social gathering locations, eateries, residence hall lounges, libraries and common outdoor spaces. To prepare for a growing mobile computing population, we are piloting solutions that will allow software to be virtualized and accessible anywhere, anytime via the Internet. Efforts are also underway to develop distributed printing solutions so that students can access printing services from remote common spaces such as residence halls, rather than visiting centralized labs to print documents.

We are implementing redundancy in our database and administrative systems to ensure high availability and business continuity of critical services. To ensure the resiliency of our campus computing environment, we are partnering with NYSERNet to design a disaster recovery site in Syracuse, New York. This will provide the geographic range necessary to recover systems in the event of a local disaster. The initial phase of this project will establish a network presence at the remote site and provide minimal Web capabilities only. Subsequent phases will look to deploy the most critical systems as deemed appropriate by the needs of the University.

The Future: With the presidential debate and the creation of the new School of Medicine, Hofstra has had a phenomenal year, and has clearly made its mark as a university with great momentum and a bright future. Although the economic downturn may slow the pace of progress, it will not alter our forward movement. Working together, we are well situated to continue to enhance our students’ academic credentials, to provide new and innovative academic programs, to hire and retain exceptional faculty, and to enable Hofstra University to take its place among the very best universities in the nation and around the world