Case Study: SUNY Geneseo

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Jump down to The Department * Recent Changes * Responding to the Changing Academic Landscape * Looking Forward

Context: The College

The College was founded in 1867, operating on its own until it joined the state university system as a liberal arts college in 1948. It is currently considered to be an honors college in the university system, offering fifty degree-programs. It is located in a rural town with fewer than 10,000 residents. The college has an enrollment of about 5,500 students, 96% of whom are undergraduates.

The state system, and therefore the college, are in the midst of a budget crisis. The SUNY Geneseo budget has been cut substantially and there is currently a hiring freeze. When a faculty member retires, his or her position is not filled for 1-2 years. When the position reopens it may not be in the same department. The administration is emphasizing increasing enrollments and recruiting more majors as well as other potentially financially beneficial endeavors, such as an increase in summer courses and on-line courses. The president is also now emphasizing energy and sustainability and to that end she has joined a coalition of colleges and universities dedicated to that goal.

The Department of Geological Sciences

There are 6 faculty members in the department: 2 full professors and 4 assistant professors, 3 of whom are pre-tenure. They graduate, on average, 8-9 majors per year. The curriculum is traditional "in terms of what we expect and how we order the classes," according to the department chair. While the curriculum includes environmental topics, courses stress rigorous geoscience concepts. It is important to the faculty that their program is of high quality and up to date. The department works with a team approach and professors work together congenially. The faculty deliberately cultivates a sense of community among their students by scheduling activities that allow students to get to know one another outside the classroom. In alternate years the faculty takes all junior and senior majors on a 2-week field trip during the January break, and each fall they take all students (majors and minors) on 2-day field trip as well. As a department they enjoy a positive campus-wide reputation and respect. Their external reviews have always been good.

Recent Changes: New Facilities, Faculty Turnover, New Programs, and Budget Cuts

Geneseo's small Geological Sciences department has experienced big changes in recent years. The department was relocated to a new building with twice the space, along with new analytical capabilities. The well-regarded and beloved chair of 16 years retired three years ago. In addition, three new professors have joined the department in the past 4 years and a fourth joined seven years ago, shifting the balances of professors' ages as well as the numbers with tenure.

Although the current curriculum is fairly traditional, with the influx of the newer professors the department is infusing the topic of climate change into courses. They are also in the process of creating an Environmental Sciences major with a Geological Sciences track. The department has selected courses they consider critical for students going into Environmental Science and will also develop and offer interdisciplinary seminars for juniors and seniors. Winding its way through the approval process, it is not clear if or when the new program will be offered. The first gate-keeping step is approval at the state level. A new 5-year Master's degree program in Education is under discussion and will offer students a traditional geology degree with a Master's in education with the 5^th year of study. The department will develop two new courses for this Master's program: an Earth systems science course and an advanced physical geology course.

Budget cuts to the department were greater than anticipated and the faculty is concerned about the department's future, even though the department is well-respected. They describe the situation as follows:

"The College is brainstorming cost-reducing or revenue-generating initiatives to prevent the elimination of programs. If the College is unsuccessful at bridging the budget deficit, then programmatic cuts will occur in 2-3 years. Although currently the College administration considers the geosciences to be a very strong, well-functioning department committed to serving our majors and the Mission of the College, being a small department makes us an easy target. Assuming that we're safe would be naive."

Responding to the Changing Academic Landscape

The budget cuts present a challenge to the department. The faculty, fearing for the department's future, have been seeking ways to establish its value to the university. In the spring of 2009, the College began to emphasize building enrollments and recruiting majors. Two faculty members from the department attended the June 2009 workshop at the College of William and Mary on Strengthening Your Geoscience Program. They developed an ambitious set of ideas during the workshop, including incorporating a service-learning component into two courses; developing two new courses that tap into the hot topics of sustainability and climate change; increasing the department's outreach and visibility; and improving recruiting efforts. Here's what they've done so far:

• Curricular Changes: Given the fact that the college president signed a climate commitment contract, a college task force highlighted in its report to the administration the need for a course (available to all students) on sustainability and climate change since none existed. Seeing an opportunity to advance their own goals in parallel to those of the institution, faculty members in the Department of Geological Sciences developed such a course. This course was first taught as a class for honors students, and then as a more general 200-level course. After being thoroughly tested, the course was translated into a new 100-level general education course on the geology of energy and sustainability. It will be taught in the fall of 2010 and will enroll 120 students. In addition, another faculty member will incorporate service learning into his hydrology course.
• Developing Connections with the Local Community: Over the course of the 2009-2010 academic year the department carried out several community-related activities:
  • The department co-hosted local teachers to help design enrichment curriculum for teaching about energy.
  • One of those local teachers followed up by bringing his students to the department to use their wave tank and by taking a field trip with one of the faculty members
  • One of the faculty members led a community field trip for the local nature conservancy
• Increasing Department and Faculty Visibility: In the spring of 2010,
  • Two professors were asked to serve on 2 different task forces for the College, one as a co-chair
  • One professor was elected to a Senator-At-Large position within the college senate
  • Two faculty members gave sample lectures to prospective students (students who were undecided whether or not to attend the college). As a result, the admissions office requested a meeting in the summer of 2010 to learn more about the department and its facilities, among other information, in order to help recruit students.
• Preparing for Internal and External Reviews: At the workshop the professors realized that the department should be more proactive in preparing for their reviews than they have been in the past. Through the workshop they identified a potential external reviewer and suggested her/him to the chair. This year they expect to prepare the department's internal review by using the Characteristics of Thriving Departments to provide a focus and organizational framework.
• Addressing Budget Concerns: Departmental faculty members communicated their concerns about the budget to their alumni. Several sent letters to the College President stressing the strength and importance of the geology program. Subsequently, the department received strong and encouraging words from the College President, commenting that he was aware of the strength of the geological sciences program and did not believe it to be at risk of being cut.

Being introduced to and using the SWOT analysis was arguably the most useful aspect of the workshop for the two professors who attended the workshop. They believe that it will help them achieve one of their initial goals of pulling the faculty together:

"The SWOT was really, really helpful. We are usually on the same page and feel free to communicate openly. However, we suggested that we use this approach with more challenging topics as it allows young, untenured faculty an opportunity to voice issues, concerns, or strengths more freely than usual."

Looking Forward

The SUNY Geneseo Department of Geological Sciences faculty are keeping an eye on how they can be of value to the institution while simultaneously advancing the department's mission. The college President's interest in climate change and sustainability makes that a straightforward task. Similarly, the faculty are looking for other ways to incorporate service learning, an important element for the college, into their curriculum. In addition, they are increasing the department's visibility on campus and in the community.