December 2022 Academic Affairs Newsletter

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues,

As you know, this semester will be my last as interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. On Jan. 16, I will be taking on a new position in the President’s cabinet as senior associate vice president for Sacramento State Placer Center. President Nelsen has tasked me with leading the strategic direction of the Placer campus, bringing together stakeholders in higher education, industry, and regional government to build an innovative model for equitable education. This is exciting work that promises to provide new pathways to transformative education for families throughout our region and I can’t wait to get started. Serving as provost has been my distinct pleasure. During my time in this position, I have sought to act with intention on the most critical issues facing Sacramento State: supporting faculty, department chairs, and staff; recruiting diverse faculty that better represent our students; supporting innovative teaching and practices; promoting equity and inclusion through thoughtful distribution of resources; and imbuing everything we do with integrity, empathy, and professionalism. I am proud of the work we have done and confident I am handing over our division in great shape to take on all that lies ahead. Stepping into an interim leadership capacity is not for the timid. With limited time to address pressing challenges, interim leaders must be quick learners willing to take bold—and sometimes unpopular—decisions. The faculty, chairs, and administrators that have stepped up over the past year to serve in interim positions have kept the academic mission of this university running smoothly and deserve our recognition and gratitude. Some of the leaders who have taken on interim leadership roles during my tenure as provost:

• Jaydeep Balakrishnan, interim dean, College of Business. Returning to associate dean.
• Robert Pieretti, interim associate dean, Health & Human Services. Appointed associate dean.
• David Gibbs, interim associate dean, Library. Appointed associate dean.
• Benham Arad, interim associate dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science. Continuing.
• Rebecca Cameron, interim associate dean, College of Business. Returning as Psychology chair.
• Ben Fell, interim associate dean, College of Continuing Education. Continuing.
• David Zeigler, interim vice provost for Student Success. Continuing.

I want to thank President Nelsen for this opportunity and for entrusting me with the responsibility as provost this past year. Thank you to my staff for your hard work, for supporting my initiatives, and for providing wise counsel when I needed it most. And thank you to the deans, associate deans, chairs, directors, faculty, and staff who make teaching and learning at Sacramento State possible. I wish you all a happy holiday season and look forward to all we will accomplish together in the New Year.

Sincerely,

Carlos Nevarez
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Jean-Francois Coget Appointed Dean, College of Business

December 6, 2022

After a nationwide search and in concurrence with President Nelsen, I am pleased to announce that Dr. Jean-Francois Coget has been selected as the Dean of the College of Business. Dr. Coget holds a Ph.D. in Management from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, a Master’s in Management from the HEC School of Management in Paris, France, and a B.S. from Lycée Stanislas and IPESUP, also in Paris, France. Dr. Coget has been serving as Dean of the Sonoma State School of Business and Economics. Prior to that position he served at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Orfalea College of Business (OCOB) in the following positions: Associate Dean; Area Chair, Management, Human Resources, and Information Systems; and Coordinator, Management and Human Resources Concentration. Dr. Coget’s academic discipline is Management, where he has held positions at every faculty rank. His most recent faculty role consisted of holding a professorship in Management at Cal Poly SLO-OCOB.

While Dean of Sonoma State’s School of Business and Economics, Dr. Coget oversaw four academic departments and areas, 6 undergraduate concentrations, 4 graduate programs, and the Wine Business Institute, an intellectual and industry center in partnership with the wine industry. Dr Coget also revised the school’s mission and strategic plan, developed a DEI strategy, led a successful 5-year AACSB reaccreditation under the new 2020 standards, launched a new focus on Purpose-Driven Business, and raised millions in scholarships for underrepresented students.

Dr. Coget brings a wealth of budget and fiscal resource management expertise. During his time at Sonoma State, that campus faced a 25% drop in enrollment over five years largely due to COVID-19 and recurrent wildfires. Dr. Coget met that challenge by reorganizing his school to successfully take on a 12% budget cut last year, with more cuts ongoing. He also developed enhanced marketing and recruitment efforts and worked with the provost and other deans to identify new approaches to increase enrollment.

Dr. Coget has shown that he makes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) a top priority with a unique international perspective. He supported initiatives to eliminate equity gaps at Sonoma State, including creating a mentorship program for first-generation students and eliminating the GMAT requirement for MBA programs, replacing it with essays and interviews which increased access for underrepresented groups. At Cal Poly, Dr. Coget helped create a first-year experience for undergraduate students that contributed to Cal Poly OCOB’s record 4-year graduation rate of 74.4%.

Moving forward, Sacramento State’s College of Business is well-positioned to increase its influence and role in the local and global business community. Dr. Coget’s experience and accomplishments make him the perfect choice to lead this successful college into its next exciting era. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Jean-Francois Coget to the Hornet Family.

I would also like to thank Jaydeep Balakrishnan for his service as Interim Dean. Under Dr. Balakrishnan, the College of Business maintained its vitality and regional visibility. His steady guidance and leadership has ensured a smooth transition that will allow Dr. Coget to immediately get to work serving the Sacramento State community.

Sincerely,
Carlos Nevarez
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Piram Prakasam Appointed Assistant Vice President, IPGE

November 28, 2022

Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Dr. Piram Prakasam, who will begin on January 11 as the Assistant Vice President of International Programs and Global Engagement (IPGE). Dr. Prakasam will be the Senior International Officer (SIO) and responsible for sustaining Sac State's growth as a leader in international engagement including development of curricular and co-curricular experiences, recruitment and retention of international students, managing immigration and student support services, development and coordination of Study Abroad programs, development and maintenance of international programs, and administration of the Passport Place.

From 2010 to 2021, Dr. Prakasam served as Executive Director of the Office of International Education at Ferris State University, in Big Rapids, Michigan. Under his leadership, the campus successfully articulated a vision for International Education at Ferris State. A former Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Prakasam has extensive experience developing community partnerships, certificates, and dual degree programs that promote global engagement. Dr. Prakasam was instrumental in developing the BEYOND Globalization initiative, a nationally recognized university-wide interdisciplinary program to engage the campus community on globalization and embrace global opportunities.

Dr. Prakasam was selected from a strong pool of candidates for the position and we are excited to have him join our team and work with us to continue elevating the national profile of this critically important program. Welcome, Piram!

Carlos Nevarez
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

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November 2022 Academic Affairs Newsletter

November 15, 2022

The November 2022 edition of News from the Office of the Provost is now available.

In this issue:

• President Nelsen's legacy
• Professional conduct goals
• A Fall roundup of Sacramento State faculty in the news
• Click HERE to view the November newsletter from Academic Affairs.

If you have information you think should be included in a future newsletter, please email Communications Strategist Cherie Ann Parker at cherie.parker@csus.edu.

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October 2022 Academic Affairs Newsletter

October 19, 2022

The October 2022 edition of News from the Office of the Provost is now available.

In this issue:

• Supporting Students in Crisis
• PIE Ballot Measure Explainer Series
• The Library Opens Sacramento State's Makerspace
• Click HERE to view the October newsletter from Academic Affairs.

If you have information you think should be included in a future newsletter, please email Communications Strategist Cherie Ann Parker at cherie.parker@csus.edu.

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Fall 2022 Faculty Tenure and Promotions

September 20, 2022

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues-

On behalf of the Office of Academic Affairs, I would like to congratulate all the faculty members who were awarded tenure or promoted. I would also like to welcome incoming department chairs.

Your hard work and dedication are key to our core mission of providing transformational education. Thank you for all you do.

Click HERE for the full list. Please email cherie.parker@csus.edu if there are any mistakes or ommissions.

Sincerely,

Carlos Nevarez
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

September 2022 Academic Affairs Newsletter

September 15, 2022

We are happy to share with you the first edition of our new Academic Affairs newsletter. News from the Office of the Provost will be published monthly and will feature important Academic Affairs updates as well as stories of innovative and inspiring educational experiences happening at Sacramento State.

In this issue:

• Office of Academic Affairs Launches Ambitious Program to Improve DFW Rates
• Travel to "Banned" States--What's at Stake
• Academic Affairs Program Takes on Mass Incarceration from the Inside

Click HERE to view the September newsletter from Academic Affairs.

If you have information you think should be included in a future newsletter, please email Communications Strategist Cherie Ann Parker at cherie.parker@csus.edu.

Message from the Provost - Building on Successes, Welcoming Challenges

August 31, 2022

Dear Faculty Colleagues and Staff,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to what will surely be a memorable academic year at Sacramento State. With more students, faculty, and staff on campus this week than any time in the past three years, I hope you are as inspired as I am by the sense of renewal and possibility in the air. Change brings opportunity, and we have before us the opportunity to deepen the impact we have on our students and elevate expectations for what a Sacramento State education can be.

As we embark on this new year, I’d like to share my vision for the Office of Academic Affairs and how we can work together to deliver world class educational experiences to our campus and our region.

Building on Successes, Welcoming Challenges

We have already accomplished notable successes since I accepted the interim appointment to Provost. The key to those successes has been setting ambitious goals consistent with our vision for transformative education and then embracing innovative actions to meet those goals.

Provost’s Grants - One area of success I am most proud of is our Provost’s Grants, the Provost’s Progress to Promotion (P3) Program and the Novel Projects for Professors (NPP) Program, which assist Assistant, Associate, and Full Professors who take on projects which advance campus imperatives that are otherwise unsupported.

Diversifying faculty - Another success we can all take great pride in is our progress toward diversifying our faculty. Although the relative lack of diversity in our faculty compared to our student body has repeatedly been identified as a barrier to student success, meaningful action to address the problem has often proved elusive. That’s why I am so proud to announce that over half of the new faculty this fall are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color). We have a long way to go until our students better see themselves represented in our faculty, but we are very intentionally turning the tide.

As we celebrate these successes, we must also acknowledge—and embrace—our challenges.

Graduation and DFW rates - This year, we will be focusing heavily on improving graduation and DFW rates. Instead of top-down directives which often fail, we will be looking at faculty and departments that have succeeded in improving their rates and bringing those successes to scale campus-wide. We have a plan and funding in place to ensure faculty are supported as we take on DFW rates. I believe it is our mandate as an Anchor University to keep every student engaged and on path to graduation, and I know you will all join me as we redouble our effort to find innovative and creative ways to serve our students and community.

DEI and Anti-racism - Along with diversifying our faculty, we must embed diversity, equity, and inclusion in everything we do. That means creating and using inclusive pedagogy. Please visit the Center for Teaching and Learning for help integrating inclusion in your curriculum. It also means remaining focused on Sacramento State’s Antiracism & Inclusion Campus Action Plan and striving in everything we do to being an inclusive, healing campus community.

COVID-19 and Wellness

If you have not done so already, please review Sacramento State’s Fall 2022 COVID-19 guidelines and the guidelines on academic continuity from the Office of Academic Affairs. The CSU COVID-19 vaccination requirement remains in effect, but masking will be voluntary unless conditions change.

In his Fall Address last week, President Nelsen affirmed that we are elevating wellness as a key imperative in our strategic plan. This focus on promoting health in mind, body, and spirit could not come at a more critical time. Pandemic, social unrest, and climate crisis have brought unprecedented challenges to our well-being, so it is gratifying to know that our university is taking action to care for all of us—students, faculty, and staff alike.

Faculty have an important role in promoting wellness. You can find strategies for promoting wellness from Student Health & Counseling Services, including the Sacramento State’s Wellness in the Classroom Toolkit.

New Academic Affairs Leadership Team

Starting in the Spring Semester, I worked to recruit talented leadership in Academic Affairs that will bring fresh ideas and innovative thinking to our shared goal of student success. While I interviewed many talented candidates, my final decisions were based on bringing on leaders who were aligned with our mission but unafraid to take bold actions when change is necessary. I’m pleased to report that, with the following three hires, we have a full Academic Affairs leadership team in place:

• Dr. Tasha Souza, Vice Provost, Faculty Success
• Dr. David Zeigler, Interim Vice Provost, Student Success
• Cherie Ann Parker, Communications Strategist

Dr. Souza, Dr. Zeigler, and Ms. Parker bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their positions, and they join the seasoned professionals on our existing team for a well-rounded and focused unit ready to deliver measurable results for Sacramento State. Together, our new Academic Affairs leadership team has adopted the following vision statement to guide our work:

Inspiring Transformative Learning and Knowledge Creation at California's Capital University

We believe it expresses our mandate to continue to innovate and transform our practices, while maintaining support so no one is over-burdened by changes and new practices.

But there is a simpler way to express our vision, too. Those of us who speak Spanish know, “Sí se puede” or, in English, “Yes we can”. As we face challenges this year in meeting our goals, we will likely hear things like, “We've never done that before…can we really do that?” I invite you to answer that question with an enthusiastic “Sí se puede!”

Yes we can.

Carlos Nevarez
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs