CEAS Goals and Assessments
The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences goals and assessments towards becoming a Top 5 public college of engineering and applied sciences in the nation.
AY 24-25 CEAS Goals and Assessments
In FY 2021-22, the college raised its research expenditures by 40% and has maintained
this level over the past two subsequent years. This has been accompanied by significant
growth in the number of proposals submitted at levels at or above $1M and broader
collaboration with other units. Past strategies to incentivize high-value awards
included creation of the CEAS Millionaire’s Club, competitive seed funding, and college-level
support and organization of large collaborative research efforts. Moving forward,
the college will continue to expand upon these efforts with additional incentives
such as CEAS professorship titles/awards for faculty who accumulate substantial new
awards over a one-year period, individualized faculty development based on proposal
history and success, and additional pre- and post-award support. Initiatives to soft-fund
additional research support staff are also being explored across the college. Success
will be measured by new research awards, research expenditures, percentage of research-active
faculty, and the number of proposals submitted at or above $1M and at or above $2.5M.
Assessment:
We have begun to add pre- and post-award support with the addition of a Research and Grants Specialist to the CEAS Office of Research. We also added human resources support and financial management support in the Dean’s office with a new HR Assistant hire and Assistant Director of Finance and Management for concierge-level support for our most research active faculty.
We continue to support proposal development through incentives and matches, including seed support for ERC and MRSEC proposals in collaboration with the office of the VPR. We grew and nurtured relationships with visits to companies across the state, (NYCREATES, Spellman High Voltage, and many others), and to sponsors in D.C., (ONR, DARPA, DOD, and ARPA-H), building new research opportunities for faculty. We continued to recognize research success with Millionaire’s Club awards and our inaugural Dean’s Excellence Professorships for Research.
FY 2024-25 cumulative research expenditures are up 9% year-over-year. While proposals counts are flat year-over-year, we increased proposals to industry by 26% in response to the evolving funding landscape. New industry awards are up 67%, which includes an $8M award from onsemi. New federal awards received have declined in FY 24-25; however, the number above $2.5M have exceeded the previous two years combined. Proposals counts submitted for funding at or above $1M are up 26% and those at or above $2.5M are up 32%.
Assessment:
We have begun to add pre- and post-award support with the addition of a Research and Grants Specialist to the CEAS Office of Research. We also added human resources support and financial management support in the Dean’s office with a new HR Assistant hire and Assistant Director of Finance and Management for concierge-level support for our most research active faculty.
We continue to support proposal development through incentives and matches, including seed support for ERC and MRSEC proposals in collaboration with the office of the VPR. We grew and nurtured relationships with visits to companies across the state, (NYCREATES, Spellman High Voltage, and many others), and to sponsors in D.C., (ONR, DARPA, DOD, and ARPA-H), building new research opportunities for faculty. We continued to recognize research success with Millionaire’s Club awards and our inaugural Dean’s Excellence Professorships for Research.
FY 2024-25 cumulative research expenditures are up 9% year-over-year. While proposals counts are flat year-over-year, we increased proposals to industry by 26% in response to the evolving funding landscape. New industry awards are up 67%, which includes an $8M award from onsemi. New federal awards received have declined in FY 24-25; however, the number above $2.5M have exceeded the previous two years combined. Proposals counts submitted for funding at or above $1M are up 26% and those at or above $2.5M are up 32%.
CEAS has several undergraduate student populations with unique challenges, including
significant populations of international students and Area-of-Interest students working
towards major entry. Additionally, there are students from underserved demographics
who are missing critical support. The college will provide additional support for
these populations to increase retention rates, with an initial focus on first-year
retention. Strategies will include programming for first-year international students,
development of an academic success course for all CEAS freshmen, additional support
for AOI students, an academic redshirt cohorted admissions track for students from
disadvantaged areas, and conducting an external review of our Undergraduate Student
Office. Success will be measured by student retention rates and undergraduate student
population diversity.
Assessment:
We grew our undergraduate student office from 11 to 13 in FY 24-25 to aid in community building and advising tailored for two at-risk demographics: international and area of interest(AOI) students. First year retention rates (Fall 2023 to Fall 2024) of international and AOI students increased from 76.3% to 83.5% and 81.6% to 82.6%, respectively. These are driving the slight improvement of our overall first-year retention from 88.7% to 89.9%. We have been working with Admissions to replace new AOI students by direct major admits, which are retained at a rate of 92.7%. Over the last three years, AOIs were reduced from over half to about one-third of incoming class. First year retention of underrepresented minority students increased from 88.6% to 92.6%.
We worked on developing an academic success course for CEAS freshman and an academic redshirt cohorted admission track. These were part of a proposal that is currently under review with NSF’s Broadening Participation in Engineering Program. Further efforts are pending assessment of the new economic framework (NEF) and university-wide discussions on AOI students.
Experiential and personalized learning are key to our student success efforts. The Vertically Integrated Project Program has grown to a new high of 32 teams and 329 students, supported by the creation and hiring of a CEAS Manager of Experiential Programs managed jointly with the Career Center. CEAS filled a gap in maker facilities and active learning spaces with the renovation of 105 Engineering into “The Space”, where students can ideate, collaborate, fabricate, build, and in a welcoming, informal setting. These efforts are showing success, as our student survey on inclusivity and general climate showed improvement over previous year’s survey both in participation rate and sense of community.
Assessment:
We grew our undergraduate student office from 11 to 13 in FY 24-25 to aid in community building and advising tailored for two at-risk demographics: international and area of interest(AOI) students. First year retention rates (Fall 2023 to Fall 2024) of international and AOI students increased from 76.3% to 83.5% and 81.6% to 82.6%, respectively. These are driving the slight improvement of our overall first-year retention from 88.7% to 89.9%. We have been working with Admissions to replace new AOI students by direct major admits, which are retained at a rate of 92.7%. Over the last three years, AOIs were reduced from over half to about one-third of incoming class. First year retention of underrepresented minority students increased from 88.6% to 92.6%.
We worked on developing an academic success course for CEAS freshman and an academic redshirt cohorted admission track. These were part of a proposal that is currently under review with NSF’s Broadening Participation in Engineering Program. Further efforts are pending assessment of the new economic framework (NEF) and university-wide discussions on AOI students.
Experiential and personalized learning are key to our student success efforts. The Vertically Integrated Project Program has grown to a new high of 32 teams and 329 students, supported by the creation and hiring of a CEAS Manager of Experiential Programs managed jointly with the Career Center. CEAS filled a gap in maker facilities and active learning spaces with the renovation of 105 Engineering into “The Space”, where students can ideate, collaborate, fabricate, build, and in a welcoming, informal setting. These efforts are showing success, as our student survey on inclusivity and general climate showed improvement over previous year’s survey both in participation rate and sense of community.
In AY 2024-25, marketing and communication strategies built over the last year will
be targeted to prospective students, leaders at peer institutions and to recruiters
of our graduates. Target marketing contacts will be collected from ASEE and collected
through partnership with the Career Center. External opinions of the college are
important for attracting and retaining faculty and students while also factoring strongly
into USNWR rankings - USNWR opinion data provide a good benchmark to assess the effectiveness
of our communication strategies, in addition to social media, newsletter and website
metrics. CEAS will continue the outreach activities with Long Island high schools
in underrepresented districts, and host online outreach events targeting non-local,
out-of-state and international students.
Assessment:
We expanded our marketing and communications capabilities with the hiring of a marketing communications coordinator and an award-winning student writer. Our college website has undergone a complete redesign and some of our department sites are nearly complete. This will better position us for achieving the new standards of ADA compliancy. The prevalence of CEAS stories in SBU News have tripled in one year, helping to promote our successes to external media.
Guided by our principle to market from the inside out, we implemented and distributed a weekly newsletter to all students, faculty, staff and others in the Stony Brook community. We also began a quarterly newsletter sent over the past three quarters to over 400 deans of engineering colleges across the United States. Our social media accounts continue to reach prospective students, recruiters and peer institutions and are growing followers; for example, our CEAS LinkedIn account grew from 2,000 to 5,000 in a year and a half, driven by our post metrics which consistently outrank peer colleges, including Penn State, MIT, UC Berkeley, Texas A&M, Columia, Buffalo, UIUC Grainger, Cornell and Stanford.
To create new pipelines and reach future engineers and applied scientists, we launched the Engineering Gateway Program that promotes our undergraduate majors and programs at local high schools, targeting ones that produce fewer STEM students. Our long-standing STEP and CSTEP programs have been renewed and efforts have been made to elevate them as college-level student success programs reporting into our AD for Outreach, and Engagement.
Assessment:
We expanded our marketing and communications capabilities with the hiring of a marketing communications coordinator and an award-winning student writer. Our college website has undergone a complete redesign and some of our department sites are nearly complete. This will better position us for achieving the new standards of ADA compliancy. The prevalence of CEAS stories in SBU News have tripled in one year, helping to promote our successes to external media.
Guided by our principle to market from the inside out, we implemented and distributed a weekly newsletter to all students, faculty, staff and others in the Stony Brook community. We also began a quarterly newsletter sent over the past three quarters to over 400 deans of engineering colleges across the United States. Our social media accounts continue to reach prospective students, recruiters and peer institutions and are growing followers; for example, our CEAS LinkedIn account grew from 2,000 to 5,000 in a year and a half, driven by our post metrics which consistently outrank peer colleges, including Penn State, MIT, UC Berkeley, Texas A&M, Columia, Buffalo, UIUC Grainger, Cornell and Stanford.
To create new pipelines and reach future engineers and applied scientists, we launched the Engineering Gateway Program that promotes our undergraduate majors and programs at local high schools, targeting ones that produce fewer STEM students. Our long-standing STEP and CSTEP programs have been renewed and efforts have been made to elevate them as college-level student success programs reporting into our AD for Outreach, and Engagement.
Continue to support the design and development phases of the New Multidisciplinary
Engineering/NeuroAI Building, with construction scheduled to start in 2026. Developing
a new model for space utilization that allocates space on demonstrated need, rather
than historical ownership along with metrics for measuring space utilization. Perform
holistic assessment of entire college space allocations to prioritize renovations,
allocation and space use type. Continue renovation of existing spaces to facilitate
state-of-the-art research and to accommodate the need for office space. For the many
spaces that are out of compliance and lack basic requirements for ventilation and
temperature control, find resources for continued improvement of the infrastructure
and facilities.
Assessment:
We created a position of the Associate Dean for Facilities and Security to centralize space and facility matters in CEAS, and support the University’s efforts on the Facilities Master Plan through input on its intermediate and long-term goals for the number of faculty, laboratories, students and programs.
We continue to assess our infrastructural needs and assets to provide resources for our faculty, staff and students through actively soliciting input through the new Associate Dean. Progress is being made on rehabbing laboratories and faculty, staff, and student spaces, while barriers remain in the high cost of renovations, limited real estate inventory, and extensive timelines required.
Major efforts underway include the onsemi crystal growth facility (~$10M renovation of Heavy Engineering and Old Engineering buildings), Institute for Discovery and Innovation in Medicine and Engineering (IDIME) building, Multidisciplinary Engineering (MDE) building, and Neuro-AI (NAI) building which are nearing ground breaking (IDIME in 2025, MDE/NAI in 2026).
With funds set aside for departmental renovation projects, we started the expansion and renovation of the Undergraduate Student Office space to accommodate staff growth for advising and undergraduate program coordination, and started renovations of the dean’s office to accommodate expansion in HR, research, and finance support.
Assessment:
We created a position of the Associate Dean for Facilities and Security to centralize space and facility matters in CEAS, and support the University’s efforts on the Facilities Master Plan through input on its intermediate and long-term goals for the number of faculty, laboratories, students and programs.
We continue to assess our infrastructural needs and assets to provide resources for our faculty, staff and students through actively soliciting input through the new Associate Dean. Progress is being made on rehabbing laboratories and faculty, staff, and student spaces, while barriers remain in the high cost of renovations, limited real estate inventory, and extensive timelines required.
Major efforts underway include the onsemi crystal growth facility (~$10M renovation of Heavy Engineering and Old Engineering buildings), Institute for Discovery and Innovation in Medicine and Engineering (IDIME) building, Multidisciplinary Engineering (MDE) building, and Neuro-AI (NAI) building which are nearing ground breaking (IDIME in 2025, MDE/NAI in 2026).
With funds set aside for departmental renovation projects, we started the expansion and renovation of the Undergraduate Student Office space to accommodate staff growth for advising and undergraduate program coordination, and started renovations of the dean’s office to accommodate expansion in HR, research, and finance support.
Continue the process of equity review and peer comparisons to ensure competitive salaries
in order to recruit, retain, and reward faculty and staff. Enhance connections and
partnerships nationally and globally to facilitate research collaborations and student
recruitment. Communicate regularly and directly with all faculty and staff across
the college to enhance climate and shared governance. Provide additional resources
and guidance for mentorship and faculty development, building on efforts at the campus
level. Launch a comprehensive Working & Learning Environment Survey, for faculty,
staff, and students, to both assess the climate and enhance the sense of belonging
in our college. Retention rates and survey results will inform success.
Assessment:
CEAS successfully recruited two departmental chairs in open national searches and provided leadership for the successful AI3 director search. Pamela Abshire joined from the University of Maryland, College Park to become Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Scott Carney joined from the University of Rochester to become Chair of Mechanical Engineering. These successful external leadership recruits put us on a new trajectory towards becoming a top 5 public engineering college.
To inform recruitment and retention, salary data was collected and assessed. The data was shared with departmental chairs to aid in the identification of faculty retention risks and greater alignment of resources with contributions to the college mission – this tool will be useful for both annual merit and proactive retention of our most valuable faculty. Rather than a historically reactive process, in FY 25, a total of 19 faculty received proactive retention raises. We also initiated successful equity reviews for six staff members.
We held our first annual CEAS awards ceremony to recognize outstanding faculty and staff and instituted new faculty honors, including our TREES award (Teachers Recognized as Excellent Educators by their Students) and Dean’s Excellence Professorships for Research (DEPR) and Teaching (DEPT).
In collaboration with the Division of Educational and Institutional Effectiveness, we conducted our second annual college climate survey to identify strategic areas for improvement. The survey received a participation rate of approximately 10% from students and 22-24% from faculty and staff. Results were presented at our Spring 2025 leadership retreat and informed plans that include greater emphasis on teaching, expanded support for research, and enhanced mentoring.
Assessment:
CEAS successfully recruited two departmental chairs in open national searches and provided leadership for the successful AI3 director search. Pamela Abshire joined from the University of Maryland, College Park to become Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Scott Carney joined from the University of Rochester to become Chair of Mechanical Engineering. These successful external leadership recruits put us on a new trajectory towards becoming a top 5 public engineering college.
To inform recruitment and retention, salary data was collected and assessed. The data was shared with departmental chairs to aid in the identification of faculty retention risks and greater alignment of resources with contributions to the college mission – this tool will be useful for both annual merit and proactive retention of our most valuable faculty. Rather than a historically reactive process, in FY 25, a total of 19 faculty received proactive retention raises. We also initiated successful equity reviews for six staff members.
We held our first annual CEAS awards ceremony to recognize outstanding faculty and staff and instituted new faculty honors, including our TREES award (Teachers Recognized as Excellent Educators by their Students) and Dean’s Excellence Professorships for Research (DEPR) and Teaching (DEPT).
In collaboration with the Division of Educational and Institutional Effectiveness, we conducted our second annual college climate survey to identify strategic areas for improvement. The survey received a participation rate of approximately 10% from students and 22-24% from faculty and staff. Results were presented at our Spring 2025 leadership retreat and informed plans that include greater emphasis on teaching, expanded support for research, and enhanced mentoring.
Informed by two leadership retreats, several focus groups, and college-wide surveys,
the college is completing a revision of its strategic plan. This process was deliberate
to engage the faculty and staff, and enable them to recognize their role in defining
the direction of the college. By the beginning of the Fall term, the draft will be
distributed to the college community for comment, followed by a survey to assess their
level of involvement and agreement with the document. A committee of faculty and staff
will help draft the narratives of our priorities and key objectives, and the full
document will be published by the end of AY 2024-25. This is part of a larger goal
to ensure the community becomes invested in the shared governance of the college.
Additional measures to elevate shared governance will include updating the college
by-laws and writing by-laws for each department in the college
Assessment:
Our strategic plan, “Engineering Our Moment”, was completed and released to campus and our partners with broad input from the college community. More than 75 faculty and staff engaged in shaping this plan through leadership retreats, a college-wide SWOT analysis, multiple climate assessments, and focused conversations across departments. Together, we identified not only who we are—but also who we dare to become. Out of this process emerged a living blueprint with: a clear vision, a unifying mission, and core values that reflect our identity and aspirations. We defined priorities, objectives, and committed to bold initiatives, and will revisit and renew it annually.
We updated our college bylaws, and our faculty are reviewing each department’s bylaws. To build shared governance within the college, we created an elected dean’s faculty advisory committee, comprising one member of each department. We also elected chairs’ faculty advisory committees for each of our nine departments, providing elected representatives of all faculty and staff in the college in matters of governance. We engaged the entire campus community in the process of defining and creating the Department of Technology, AI and Society.
Assessment:
Our strategic plan, “Engineering Our Moment”, was completed and released to campus and our partners with broad input from the college community. More than 75 faculty and staff engaged in shaping this plan through leadership retreats, a college-wide SWOT analysis, multiple climate assessments, and focused conversations across departments. Together, we identified not only who we are—but also who we dare to become. Out of this process emerged a living blueprint with: a clear vision, a unifying mission, and core values that reflect our identity and aspirations. We defined priorities, objectives, and committed to bold initiatives, and will revisit and renew it annually.
We updated our college bylaws, and our faculty are reviewing each department’s bylaws. To build shared governance within the college, we created an elected dean’s faculty advisory committee, comprising one member of each department. We also elected chairs’ faculty advisory committees for each of our nine departments, providing elected representatives of all faculty and staff in the college in matters of governance. We engaged the entire campus community in the process of defining and creating the Department of Technology, AI and Society.
Strategies include cultivating new and existing donors, regional CEAS and SBU alumni
gatherings, and constituting a Board of Visitors to complement the CEAS Alumni Council,
with the Board of Visitors focusing on strategy and the CEAS Council representing
giving circles stewarding relationships with key donors. We will engage department
chairs in the process, helping them to steward their philanthropic goals to further
strengthen their financial positions and increase their agency and autonomy. Success
will be measured by funds raised, and number of new gifts
Assessment:
During the 2024–2025 academic year, CEAS raised over $10 million in philanthropic support—a substantial increase from the previous year’s total of $1.9M. Key engagement efforts included two successful trips to California in November 2024 and March 2025, aimed at strengthening relationships with alumni and industry partners. The college also hosted a well-attended Homecoming event, which featured the naming of the new IoT Lab and a comprehensive State of the College address delivered by the Dean. Two Dean’s Council meetings were held—one in the fall and one in the spring—during which we welcomed three new council members. To enhance collaboration and communication, the advancement team implemented a new departmental liaison model, assigning team members to individual departments and chairs, with monthly meetings now established. Throughout the year, CEAS secured 25 new major and principal gifts. These included 8 gifts supporting scholarships, 11 for faculty research and lab development, 1 for capital projects, 1 for professorships and chairs, 2 for the Dean’s Excellence Fund, and 2 graduate fellowships.
Among the year’s notable highlights: In a major advancement for research and innovation, CEAS partnered with onsemi, NYS, and Empire State Development to establish the new $20M Center for Crystal Carbon and Semiconductor Research, backed by an $8 million commitment from onSemi over 10 years. The IoT Lab in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering was named with a $100,000 matching gift from two alumni based in California.
Assessment:
During the 2024–2025 academic year, CEAS raised over $10 million in philanthropic support—a substantial increase from the previous year’s total of $1.9M. Key engagement efforts included two successful trips to California in November 2024 and March 2025, aimed at strengthening relationships with alumni and industry partners. The college also hosted a well-attended Homecoming event, which featured the naming of the new IoT Lab and a comprehensive State of the College address delivered by the Dean. Two Dean’s Council meetings were held—one in the fall and one in the spring—during which we welcomed three new council members. To enhance collaboration and communication, the advancement team implemented a new departmental liaison model, assigning team members to individual departments and chairs, with monthly meetings now established. Throughout the year, CEAS secured 25 new major and principal gifts. These included 8 gifts supporting scholarships, 11 for faculty research and lab development, 1 for capital projects, 1 for professorships and chairs, 2 for the Dean’s Excellence Fund, and 2 graduate fellowships.
Among the year’s notable highlights: In a major advancement for research and innovation, CEAS partnered with onsemi, NYS, and Empire State Development to establish the new $20M Center for Crystal Carbon and Semiconductor Research, backed by an $8 million commitment from onSemi over 10 years. The IoT Lab in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering was named with a $100,000 matching gift from two alumni based in California.
Integration of the SBU I-Corps into the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem
on campus, through bringing on additional support for faculty and student team recruitment,
SBIR/STTR coaching, and more active engagement with the Dean’s office, including expanding
the direct support for translational research, industry engagement and entrepreneurship.
Work closely with the (Office of the Vice President for Research) OVPR and new chief
innovation officer (CINO) to help re-invigorate the innovation and entrepreneurship
ecosystem, not only to play more of a leadership role in the National Science Foundation
NYC I-Corps Hub, but also to be recognized as an innovation center for Long Island,
the State of New York, and the Nation. Success will be measured by the number of teams
that participate in the I-Corps National TEAMS program and similar translational research
activities
Assessment:
The College has reorganized its efforts toward translational research, innovation and entrepreneurship including a more proactive engagement with the New York I-Corps Hub, including a tripling of the SBU subaward to support I-Corps. The College facilitated I-Corps engagement with the CINO and staff and the ORI, and continues to produce teams that move to the NSF I-Corps Nationals, a key NSF metric.
The inaugural CEAS Manager of Research and Innovation position was filled on September 1 by a new research faculty member who will engage directly with college faculty and serve as a liaison to the CINO on faculty-led and research-driven innovation and entrepreneurship activities.
Recent initiatives are underway to connect our CEAS alumni and the Dean’s council with the CINO office and patent office, engaging in discussions around how they can engage with programs on campus.
We have expanded development efforts to include a focus on industrial partnerships for translational research, building on recent onsemi and Spellman High Voltage successes. We have been working with the office of the CINO to leverage the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program and Wolfie Tank in building the university-wide innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Assessment:
The College has reorganized its efforts toward translational research, innovation and entrepreneurship including a more proactive engagement with the New York I-Corps Hub, including a tripling of the SBU subaward to support I-Corps. The College facilitated I-Corps engagement with the CINO and staff and the ORI, and continues to produce teams that move to the NSF I-Corps Nationals, a key NSF metric.
The inaugural CEAS Manager of Research and Innovation position was filled on September 1 by a new research faculty member who will engage directly with college faculty and serve as a liaison to the CINO on faculty-led and research-driven innovation and entrepreneurship activities.
Recent initiatives are underway to connect our CEAS alumni and the Dean’s council with the CINO office and patent office, engaging in discussions around how they can engage with programs on campus.
We have expanded development efforts to include a focus on industrial partnerships for translational research, building on recent onsemi and Spellman High Voltage successes. We have been working with the office of the CINO to leverage the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program and Wolfie Tank in building the university-wide innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Embrace the new budget model and a philosophy of entrepreneurial growth for the college,
building in areas that shore up the financial position of the college. Cultivate leadership
in the departments to both enable greater autonomy and fiscal responsibility, as well
as to foster a college-wide entrepreneurial culture, where anything can be accomplished.
Success will be measured by the increases in revenue of each of the departments as
well as the number of revenue-positive changes to their operational budgets and that
of the overall college
Assessment:
We hold strong optimism for the university’s new economic framework and anticipate tremendous opportunity for the college. We stress the urgency of planning and positioning for this new environment, accounting for our unique strengths, the strong market for technical degree programs, and the impact of our research on the economy. Entrepreneurship is needed to fund our aspirations of growth. Revenue growth is pointing upward, as CEAS Master’s enrollment grew by 12% year-over-year, reaching a five-year high and returning to pre-COVID levels. Growth was led by the two newest programs, data science and engineering artificial intelligence. Credit hours taught in AY 24-25 also reached a five-year high, exceeding the previous year by 8%. Our recent undergraduate enrollment growth, including a 5% year-over-year growth, is staging the college well for the new economic framework. We grew another 4% in Fall 2025, enrolling 4,089 undergrads, just sky of are Fall 2017 peak of 4,136. We have been working closely with Huron Consulting Group, Budget, Financial Planning and Analysis and the Provost’s office in developing and planning for the NEF, including the Dean’s service on the Steering committee.
Assessment:
We hold strong optimism for the university’s new economic framework and anticipate tremendous opportunity for the college. We stress the urgency of planning and positioning for this new environment, accounting for our unique strengths, the strong market for technical degree programs, and the impact of our research on the economy. Entrepreneurship is needed to fund our aspirations of growth. Revenue growth is pointing upward, as CEAS Master’s enrollment grew by 12% year-over-year, reaching a five-year high and returning to pre-COVID levels. Growth was led by the two newest programs, data science and engineering artificial intelligence. Credit hours taught in AY 24-25 also reached a five-year high, exceeding the previous year by 8%. Our recent undergraduate enrollment growth, including a 5% year-over-year growth, is staging the college well for the new economic framework. We grew another 4% in Fall 2025, enrolling 4,089 undergrads, just sky of are Fall 2017 peak of 4,136. We have been working closely with Huron Consulting Group, Budget, Financial Planning and Analysis and the Provost’s office in developing and planning for the NEF, including the Dean’s service on the Steering committee.
Revise the Blue Book for the tenure review process to align with current campus and
peer institution best practices, and to reflect the campus and college strategic plans
and core values. This includes updated guidance on research (both industry- and government-funded),
teaching, and service expectations. Additionally, create recognition programs that
embody the college’s values, including awards for excellence in teaching, research,
and service.
Assessment:
We assisted the Provost’s Office in developing a revised expedited tenure plan which has been (or is current being) used on several recent senior hires. We launched a mentoring program for junior non-tenure-line faculty across the college. In response to feedback from leadership retreats and college surveys that included an emphasis on teaching, research, and service, we continued and established new college-level awards recognizing excellence equally in each of these areas. We celebrated our faculty and staff in our first annual awards banquet with 63 new TREES and 3 new Deans Excellence Professorships. In light of current challenges, including reductions in federal—and potentially state—funding, we have been working to strengthen industrial outreach and collaboration to expand opportunities for our faculty to secure related funding and support.
Assessment:
We assisted the Provost’s Office in developing a revised expedited tenure plan which has been (or is current being) used on several recent senior hires. We launched a mentoring program for junior non-tenure-line faculty across the college. In response to feedback from leadership retreats and college surveys that included an emphasis on teaching, research, and service, we continued and established new college-level awards recognizing excellence equally in each of these areas. We celebrated our faculty and staff in our first annual awards banquet with 63 new TREES and 3 new Deans Excellence Professorships. In light of current challenges, including reductions in federal—and potentially state—funding, we have been working to strengthen industrial outreach and collaboration to expand opportunities for our faculty to secure related funding and support.
AY 25-26 CEAS Goals and Assessments
We will build upon our work of adding pre- and post-award support, creating strategic
industry partnerships, and modernizing our research infrastructure. Our initial focus
is to fill a key leadership vacancy by recruiting an Associate Dean for Research.
The incumbent must have the vision to elevate the resources and services of the CEAS
Office of Research to the caliber of our public AAU peers, and a plan to diversify
our research portfolio, targeting growth in industry, DoD and other areas. We will
work to build a structured approach to collaborative research with workshops and tiger
teams for large-scale initiatives, and a retreat to define our strategic research
trusts, identify gaps, and paths to strengthen them. To support infrastructure and
operational efficiency, we will establish a college-wide space and facilities committee
to align lab usage with research productivity. We will also develop an initiative
to incentivize/facilitate research reinvigoration of mid-career faculty.
Success will be measured by industry grants submitted/funded, growth of faculty with industry support/funded collaboration, growth of faculty with active grants, number of proposals submitted at or above $1M and at or above $2.5M.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Success will be measured by industry grants submitted/funded, growth of faculty with industry support/funded collaboration, growth of faculty with active grants, number of proposals submitted at or above $1M and at or above $2.5M.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
We will continue to grow as a leader in experiential learning, ensuring every student
has the opportunity to frame their studies in a personalized context, motivating them
to take ownership in their academic success. New opportunities will be created through
partnerships with industry, our Career Center, the Turkana Basin Institute, and the
Office Global Affairs, and will leverage our Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP)
program, senior and masters capstone projects, maker spaces, and Global Innovation
Field School. We will create targeted programs and assess policies and procedures
to improve retention of at-risk populations, including pre-majors, international students,
and first-generation college students. We will celebrate student success through
awards, community-building events, and public recognitions, including our project
and capstone showcase events.
Success will be measured by student retention and graduation rates, students on academic standing, course evaluation metrics, and the number and range of experiential learning opportunities, including VIP teams, projects, and internships.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Success will be measured by student retention and graduation rates, students on academic standing, course evaluation metrics, and the number and range of experiential learning opportunities, including VIP teams, projects, and internships.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Investments will be made to incentivize curricular innovation, modernized teaching
laboratories, and expand student support services. We will draw on the expertise
of our world-class faculty by launching an internal curriculum innovation fund with
tiers for short-term pilot projects and longer term initiatives, informed by the NEF.
We will ensure that excellence in teaching is rewarded and celebrated through continuation
of our TREES awards, Dean’s Excellence Professorships for Teaching, salary equity
reviews for high quality teachers, and parity assessment in promotion/tenure criteria
across research, teaching, and service. We will leverage space improvement efforts
to enhance learning and service environments. We will continue our strong record
of program assessment by planning and working towards a mid-cycle ABET review for
Fall 2026, followed by industry-driven curriculum reviews. We will also assess the
alignment of curricula and student outcomes of programs at SUNY Korea with those on
Stony Brook campus in partnership with the Office of Educational Effectiveness.
Success will be measured using feedback from our Dean’s Council and industry advisors, effectiveness of renovation and teaching laboratory expenditures, and faculty participation in innovation fund projects.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Success will be measured using feedback from our Dean’s Council and industry advisors, effectiveness of renovation and teaching laboratory expenditures, and faculty participation in innovation fund projects.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
We will grow our community of advocates and contributors within the college, the university,
and beyond with our continued strategic communication efforts and external engagement.
Collaborations with the university’s media relations team, graduate school, admissions,
and other service units will benefit our common goals in promoting and recruiting
students and faculty. We will engage alumni in mentoring and outreach and increase
their visibility through enhancement of our alumni section of our website and social
media. We will expand our reach with continued growth of social media, quarterly
newsletters, and high-profile event coverage. We will broaden our visibility beyond
the college by organizing regional/national events (such as ASEE Engineering Dean’s
Institute), workshops, and lectures.
Success will be measured by peer and recruiter perception, news and social-media engagement metrics, website traffic analytics, and publicity.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Success will be measured by peer and recruiter perception, news and social-media engagement metrics, website traffic analytics, and publicity.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
We will strengthen our long-term fiscal sustainability during the current shadow year
of the university’s new economic framework (NEF). In the spirit of shared governance,
we will work with our chairs and faculty advisory committee to build a local budget
model that supports the NEF and acknowledges the unique role of the college and departments
in supporting the mission of the university. We will identify cost effective routes
to grow revenue and enable faculty and staff to contribute to their full potential.
Our key levers will be revenue from research and teaching. Concierge-style support
will be established to serve high-performing research and teaching faculty. We will
continue to work towards increasing revenue-generating master’s and certificate enrollments,
including online and interdisciplinary offerings. We will also continue to pursue
philanthropic support for endowed professorships/chairs, scholarships/fellowships,
and strategic initiatives.
Success will be measured by the perceived transparency and predictability of our local budget model for goal-setting at the department-level, new programs underdevelopment, enrollments and credit hours taught, and philanthropic commitments.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Success will be measured by the perceived transparency and predictability of our local budget model for goal-setting at the department-level, new programs underdevelopment, enrollments and credit hours taught, and philanthropic commitments.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
We will work to ensure our exceptional faculty and staff are recognized by the college
and the broader community, and that they are supported for continued growth and success.
A college committee will be launched to evaluate CEAS teaching/research professorships
and Dean’s Excellence Professorships. A subcommittee will be formed to identify and
nominate faculty for honors and awards and increase national and society-level recognitions.
We will continue our equity reviews and proactive retention efforts for both faculty
and staff, and nurture the success of junior tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty
via mentoring and appointment clarity.
Success will be measured by salary survey data, honor/award nominations, and retention-related data.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Success will be measured by salary survey data, honor/award nominations, and retention-related data.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
We will continue to promote shared governance through regular faculty engagement,
feedback, communication, and reporting. This will include faculty conversations on
our CEAS bylaws revisions, led by departmental representatives of the Dean’s Faculty
Advisory Committee (DFAC), and codification of the revisions. We will regularly engage
the DFAC and Chairs’ Advisory Committees on strategic initiatives and operations,
including the college-level budget framework. Reporting on these goals and their assessments
will be shared college-wide through “CEAS Inside.” The Dean will continue holding
regular meetings with the faculty throughout the college in small groups, as it has
already yielded valuable feedback and opportunities for improving faculty, staff,
and student engagement.
Success will be measured through survey results and completion of the tasks outlined.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Success will be measured through survey results and completion of the tasks outlined.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
To build our position as a leader and innovator in AI, we are working with the Provost
and across the university to re-envision the Department of Technology and Society
as the Department of Technology, AI, and Society. Through the efforts of three working
groups (Governance and Structure, Undergraduate Curriculum, and Graduate Curriculum)
we will continue the development of the organizational structure, and the interdisciplinary
academic and research programming. Efforts will culminate in degree program plans
and recruitment of the department’s inaugural chair.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
We will continue to solicit feedback and develop strategies to improve college-level
operations, streamline internal processes to reduce administrative burden, and create
supportive working and educational environments. This will be done with continuation
of our annual CEAS climates surveys, leadership retreats, and follow-up actions from
those activities. Student feedback will be obtained through surveys and club leadership
meetings. Additionally, we will establish a CEAS Student Advisory Council with direct
access to the Dean. We will continue to conduct exit interviews with departing faculty
in addition to interviews with our most research-active and teaching-engaged faculty
to identify gaps and opportunities to streamline the research operations and teaching
effectiveness of the college. These interviews will continue to inform our investments
in research, teaching, and faculty and staff support.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Striving towards a top 5 public college of engineering and applied sciences, we will
work to build our national reputation through outreach, communications and collaboration.
We will strengthen partnerships with our AAU peers and SUNY R1 institutions with
joint initiatives and visits to share best practices. We will seek to host major conferences
and workshops on campus, while also serving the local community through expansion
of our Gateway to Engineering high school program and showcase events.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.
Assessment: Reviewed Monthly and Due August 2026.