As Hofstra University approaches its centennial year in 2035, we are ready for the future. With a vision that leverages the breadth of academic programs, and a dedicated community of teachers and scholars, we will innovate across academic programs and in the community to guide students toward any future they can imagine.
Hofstra enrolls approximately 6,000 undergraduate students and 4,000 graduate and professional students. It offers a range of academic and professional programs typical of a much larger institution, but in an environment where students are part of a close-knit, supportive community.
Hofstra is in the geographic center of Nassau County, New York, 25 miles from Manhattan and 8 miles from the Atlantic coastline and beaches. The campus, a registered arboretum, boasts 117 buildings on 244 acres, situated in both the Village of Hempstead and the hamlet of Uniondale. This unique location at the nexus of urban, suburban, and coastal communities provides rich opportunities for experiential education in a variety of settings.
Hofstra’s scholarly research productivity has positioned the University to be recognized as a Carnegie R2 University.
Undergraduate students can study and major in almost any field in one of Hofstra’s 40 departments, in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (HCLAS) and the Schools of Business, Communication, Education, Engineering and Applied Science, Health Sciences, and Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. Qualifying undergraduates are invited to join the Honors College, which provides enhanced academic programming in the liberal arts. HCLAS and the schools offer a wide array of graduate programs and, through a partnership with Northwell Health, Hofstra’s nursing, physician assistant studies, and health sciences programs guarantee clinical internships.
Hofstra’s Law School is known for pioneering clinical education, and the recently created School of Medicine boasts an innovative curriculum with early access to clinical experiences.
The low undergraduate student-faculty ratio of 13-to-1 and average undergraduate class size of 21 cultivate an educational environment that promotes learning and builds lifelong bonds between students and faculty.
Hofstra faculty are leading scholars and excellent teachers – including National Endowment for the Humanities fellows, Guggenheim fellows, American Association for the Advancement of Science fellows, Emmy Award winners, and noted authors. These faculty members provide mentoring to students, and often
involve undergraduate students in their research, scholarly, and creative activities, offering what would otherwise be a graduate-level experience.
Hofstra’s scholarly research productivity has positioned the University to be recognized as a Carnegie R2 University. With this designation and our aspirations, Hofstra will expand its scholarly and creative activities across disciplines; enhance graduate education; and increase proposals for external research funding. To achieve these aspirations, we will grow our research infrastructure, including libraries, laboratories, research centers, and research administration.
Alongside this wide array of academic programs, Hofstra University values and promotes diversity and belonging.
Hofstra’s two dozen institutes and centers nurture the intellectual environment and cultivate community engagement. They drive interdisciplinary research by leveraging Hofstra’s academic breadth to address societal challenges. Among the institutes and centers are The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University; Joan and Arnold Saltzman Community Services Center; Center for Civic Engagement; Hofstra Cultural Center; and Center for “Race,” Culture and Social Justice.
Alongside this wide array of academic programs, Hofstra University values and promotes diversity and belonging. The student community is active, with over 200 student clubs and organizations, including student government and pre-professional, politically active, affinity, intramural, and service groups. Identity-based student groups reflect the religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the student body. Hofstra was ahead of its time in attaining accessibility, pioneering efforts in the 1970s to make the campus free of barriers, long before the Americans with Disabilities Act, and has continued this commitment with specialized programs for neurodiverse students.
Athletics contribute to the vibrancy of the Hofstra community, with 21 varsity sports teams that compete at the NCAA Division I level in the Coastal Athletic Association. Club and intramural sports, competitive cheer and dance teams, and recreational facilities enhance student life and foster health and wellness.
Upon these foundational strengths, Hofstra entered a new era with the appointment of its ninth president in 2021 and a new provost in 2022. This new leadership is investing in academic programs while growing the scholarly and research enterprise and student support. The breadth of academic programs, the strength of the faculty, and the University’s size, location, and history present unique opportunities for interdisciplinary learning, research, and community engagement.
STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
This strategic plan began with an examination of Hofstra’s strengths and ambitions, outlined in October 2021 in President Susan Poser’s inauguration speech, in which she advanced a vision to leverage the University’s strong foundation in the liberal arts for career readiness, to promote diversity and inclusion, and to enhance scholarly research. She highlighted the importance of community, adaptability, and strategic risk-taking to strengthen Hofstra’s reputation and achieve long-term prosperity.
During the 2021-2022 academic year, the Vision Project engaged faculty, administrators, students, alumni, and the Board of Trustees to explore how the community perceived Hofstra’s strengths, challenges, and ambitions. Focus groups and a university-wide survey revealed priorities that include increased support for faculty research, student success and wellbeing, a greater national reputation, and increased community partnerships. These findings set the stage for the next phase of the strategic planning process.
The following year, President Poser and the new Provost, Dr. Charlie Riordan, launched the Strategic Directions Request for Proposals (RFP), inviting faculty to propose new academic programs that would expand the curriculum and research, and enhance Hofstra’s reputation. More than 225 members of the faculty, almost all of them in groups, submitted a total of 78 proposals that sought to create new interdisciplinary programs and research, community outreach tied to academic programs and service learning, enhancement of the first-year academic experience, and new structures to support the academic mission, diversity, and inclusion.
In response to the Vision Project and the responses to the Strategic Directions RFP, a new mission statement was drafted by the president’s Cabinet, and the faculty committee that evaluated the Strategic Directions RFP reconvened to develop a set of core values. The mission and core values, reviewed and refined by the academic deans, the Board of Trustees, and the Faculty Senate, embody Hofstra’s institutional culture and ambition and serve as guideposts for decision-making.
MISSION
STATEMENT:
Situated at the nexus of urban, suburban, and coastal communities, Hofstra University prepares students to thrive in the complexity of life and work in our global society by:
• Cultivating an inclusive, diverse, learning-centered scholarly community, where free inquiry can flourish.
• Producing original research, scholarship, knowledge, and creative work.
• Providing excellent teaching in an extensive range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs with unique opportunities for interdisciplinary study.
• Empowering students to use their education to realize their dreams and ambitions and make meaningful contributions to their communities.
CORE VALUES:
• BELONGING:
We build affirming, resilient relationships based on mutual respect and kindness that exemplify our commitment to diversity, equity, and justice.
• COMMUNITY:
We value meaningful, mutually beneficial collaboration with local, regional, national, and global communities.
• CREATIVITY:
We bring a creative growth mindset to everything we do.
• DISCOVERY:
We pursue excellence through the generation, acquisition, and application of knowledge.
• INTEGRITY:
We embrace a culture of mutual respect and ethical behavior and a commitment to civil discourse and the free and open exchange of ideas.
FOUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE
During the spring 2024 semester, four committees of faculty, administrators, and students considered how to leverage Hofstra’s distinctive strengths to advance the mission in four strategic areas:
INTERDISCIPLINARY AND NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
STUDENT SUCCESS
ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY
These areas, which form the overarching goals for the strategic plan, were drawn from the results of the Vision Project, the RFP process, and the updated mission and values.
A committee was assigned to each area and charged with developing recommendations that
• Reflect Hofstra’s mission and core values.
• Will drive student success.
• Support the University’s enhanced focus on scholarly research and creative activities.
The committees’ recommendations were presented to the campus community at the end of the spring 2024 semester.
Following the collaborative and transparent process that took place over the past three years, we have elaborated upon the four goals of this strategic plan in light of the history of Hofstra; its fundamental strengths as a medium-size university with extensive and robust academic programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels; and the need to meet increasing external challenges to higher education.
GOAL #1
Promote a Distinctive Experience for Students and Faculty Through Interdisciplinary Programs
We will leverage the breadth of disciplines and the size of Hofstra to become the national leader in providing compelling, relevant, well-integrated interdisciplinary programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
INTERDISCIPLINARY AND NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
STUDENT SUCCESS
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY
Most problems and virtually all of society’s major challenges are complex and multifaceted, and require diverse perspectives and skills to resolve. Interdisciplinary education increases both job readiness and flexibility for careers of the future. Hofstra’s long history and tradition of providing an excellent liberal arts education, together with the wide variety of disciplines that are focused on careers in business, engineering, communication, and health care, position the University to provide relevant and integrated interdisciplinary programs.
With this goal, we will reinforce the fundamental value of a liberal arts core by providing an opportunity, through interdisciplinary education, to experience how the liberal arts relate to core skills and career readiness. Co-taught courses and integrated interdisciplinary majors will combine faculty expertise in Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with the more specialized focus of the other Hofstra schools. Students will learn how to integrate the foundational skills of critical thinking, persuasive communication, and good writing with their chosen field and career aspirations.
This is a particularly opportune moment to consider how the liberal arts can be integrated with disciplines that are focused on the acquisition of knowledge and skills for a particular career. As artificial intelligence applications are
introduced into all walks of life, there will be increased employer interest in the hallmark skills of critical thinking, communication, and good writing. These fundamentally human skills are unlikely to be replaced by machines. As AI replaces the repetitive, data-driven aspects of certain jobs and even careers, these human skills will be at a premium, but they will be sought in combination with more specific career skills in business, engineering, communication, and health care. Career preparation now involves a strong liberal arts education and a clear-eyed understanding of how traditional careers will be affected by the soon-to-be ubiquity of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
There are two distinct aspects to Goal #1: The first is for faculty to have the freedom to create interdisciplinary courses and programs easily within the guidelines and practices around courseload requirements, and progress toward tenure and promotion. Similarly, students will have the freedom to take advantage of interdisciplinary offerings while satisfying their general education requirements, the requirements of their chosen major or minor, and their progress toward graduation. The second aspect of this goal is that with these new guidelines and processes in place, faculty will be incentivized to create new curricula and programs that combine disciplines in ways that engage and appeal to students, and are of value to the curriculum overall, both in terms of creating new knowledge and expanding students’ future opportunities. A curriculum that includes diverse offerings of interdisciplinary courses will also enhance Hofstra’s ability to attract and retain innovative, research-active faculty.
IMPLEMENTATION STEPS
1A We will create a mechanism to strengthen and facilitate interdisciplinary teaching, program building, and scholarly/creative activities by:
• Making changes to faculty workload that incentivize participation in interdisciplinary teaching, program building, and scholarly/ creative activities.
• Introducing new interdisciplinary majors and programs that students can count toward requirements in their major/minor.
1B We will create a pathway to generate new interdisciplinary academic and research programs, thereby establishing a culture of valuing interdisciplinarity across the University, by:
• Creating, funding, and promoting forums where faculty can meet across disciplines and schools to stimulate interdisciplinary innovation.
• Instituting a proposal/grant-based system with review by a faculty committee for new proposals and an established timeline, budget, and goals to support interdisciplinary programs.
• Creating incentives and opportunities for team teaching.
• Aligning promotion and tenure standards to reflect how faculty perform their work.
1C We will create pathways for learner access to interdisciplinary academic offerings by:
• Reviewing requirements to identify and eliminate barriers and improve time to degree completion.
• Reducing course load complexities that hinder students taking courses and programs outside their primary course of study.
1D We will create a Center for Public Humanities that will:
• Drive interdisciplinary engagement with the humanities, arts, and social sciences for and with diverse public audiences.
• Cultivate a dynamic and welcoming environment where diverse audiences experience and engage with the work of humanities scholars and artists.
• Stimulate interdisciplinary research that involves partnerships with other academic units, community organizations, and cultural institutions.
REPRESENTATIVE ASSESSMENT MEASURES:
• Creation of a Center for Interdisciplinary Programs and appointment of an executive director who will be charged with implementing Goal #1.
• Establishment of pathways for creating interdisciplinary courses and majors.
• Growth of interdisciplinary courses and majors.
• Student enrollment in new interdisciplinary programs.
• Recognition for these programs at the state and national levels.
• Interdisciplinary scholarly publications.
• Interdisciplinary grant applications and awards.
• Partnerships established with industry, community organizations, and cultural institutions.
• Creation of a Institute for Public Humanities and the Arts.
• Promotion and tenure standards that credit interdisciplinary teaching.
Expand Community-Engaged Academic Programs and Elevate This Engagement to a Signature Program at Hofstra
Community engagement is collaboration with external communities and stakeholders for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge, experience, opportunity, and resources. This goal reflects Hofstra’s tradition of creating social change and enhancing democratic practices for an equitable and just world. It gives recognition to the importance of place and the responsibility of the University as a member of a particular local community and fulfills an important aspect of Hofstra’s civic purpose. Effective community partnerships enhance collaboration among students, faculty, administrators, and those outside the University and prepare students for meaningful lives and careers.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
STUDENT SUCCESS
all communities are served and empowered. To that end, we strive to maintain long-lasting relationships with community organizations, leaders, and school districts seeking to build a better Long Island and to engage our neighbors in ongoing conversations about local needs and opportunities. As we renew and deepen our local and regional engagement, we also seek to expand our impact by building relationships with communities on national and global scales.
Long Island is a region of innovation and opportunity, yet also one that has historically experienced political fragmentation, segregation, and inequality. As a major university in this region, Hofstra must play a role in contributing to the region’s dynamism by ensuring that
Community engagement must be grounded in the qualities of reciprocity, respect, shared authority, and cocreation of goals and outcomes. We listen and follow, as much as we speak and lead. We choose our forms of engagement deliberately and flexibly, to align the University’s resources and broader strategic plan with emergent opportunities to create effective partnerships.
IMPLEMENTATION STEPS
2A We will increase the University’s engagement in the community by:
• Incorporating community engagement into courses and offering academic credit for that work.
• Enhancing the depth, quality, and form of that engagement.
• Communicating widely about that engagement.
2B We will grow and monitor community engagement by:
• Creating a centralized portal to facilitate, track, and assess active community engagement programs, courses, and research.
• Appointing a Community Engagement Advisory Board with representation from across campus and the community.
REPRESENTATIVE ASSESSMENT MEASURES:
• Creation of a website and tracking system for Hofstra’s community-engaged initiatives and programs.
• Creation of regular, consultative processes with community partners to identify emergent community needs.
• Growth of the number and type of community-engaged activities.
• Utilization of the knowledge of community needs, particularly in the Village of Hempstead and in Uniondale, to create learning experiences for students for which they can receive academic credit.
• Appointment of a leader of Continuing Education and enrollment.
• Increase in courses that incorporate community engagement.
• Launching interdisciplinary scholarly, creative, and clinical initiatives that respond to the needs of local, national, and global communities.
• Consulting regularly with community partners to understand emergent issues.
2C We will build a Continuing Education program that supports the workforce needs of Long Island and beyond by:
• Developing curricula to assist those looking for new skills or educational enrichment.
• Offering just-in-time credentials to adult learners.
• Marketing the Continuing Education program throughout Long Island.
GOAL #3
Advance Student Success With a Holistic Approach That Addresses the Academic, Social, and Emotional Needs of Students
STUDENT SUCCESS ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY
The core mission of Hofstra University is to provide an education that prepares students to become productive members of society. Therefore, student success is the responsibility of everyone on campus.
We create opportunities at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels for students to acquire the knowledge, skills, and temperament to pursue careers and lead happy and productive lives. We offer an excellent program of education, complemented by and integrated with academic, social, emotional, and wellness support.
This generation of undergraduate and graduate students has encountered multiple societal challenges, including the rise in school shootings, the effects of climate change, the influence of social media, and a global pandemic that interrupted the normal course of their elementary and/or high school experience. Many students understandably arrive at the University with unfinished learning and mental health issues, layered upon the more common challenges of late adolescence and early adulthood. The effects of learning loss from remote learning in 2020 and 2021 will likely continue, particularly for undergraduate
students, throughout most of the 10-year period of this strategic plan.
Hofstra University supports every student’s success in seamlessly navigating their Hofstra experience and reaching a timely graduation. This plan articulates a holistic approach to student success that includes and goes beyond academic achievement to encompass other factors vital to each student’s individual development, including myriad social and cultural offerings that provide outlets for students to build their civic, artistic, athletic, leadership, and social skills.
At the graduate and professional levels, holistic support includes flexible remote and hybrid learning opportunities to accommodate the needs of adult learners, faculty mentoring and advising, and practical experiences that prepare students for successful entry into chosen professions.
We pride ourselves on the community we have created on campus. We seek to grow, strengthen, and integrate these supports and opportunities to further enhance the student experience.
IMPLEMENTATION STEPS
3A We will identify the core skills and understanding that every Hofstra undergraduate should possess upon graduation and focus general education on introducing these skills and understanding by:
• Forming a committee to innovate the general education curriculum and make recommendations for an innovative and visionary redesign.
• Building a common first-year academic experience.
• Creating an ongoing assessment mechanism for the general education co-curricular.
3B We will strengthen the academic support infrastructure by:
• Increasing in-person and online advising resources.
• Investing in AI and other technologies to provide just-in-time academic support for all students.
• Creating a one-stop, seamless experience for all student academic and support services.
• Investing in culturally responsive access to holistic mental health services.
3C We will enhance the focus on connecting high-achieving students to prestigious fellowship opportunities by:
• Supporting the identification, mentoring, application, and preparation of students to prestigious national and international fellowship and award opportunities.
3D We will enhance support for faculty innovation in teaching and learning by:
• Reviving and updating a Center for Teaching and Learning.
3E We will continue to invest in cultivating an environment where students feel they belong by:
• Focusing on student well-being supported by wraparound services.
• Fostering cocurricular and social engagement opportunities among students broadly and through affinity groups.
3F We will continue to invest in physical spaces, on and off campus, to create inclusive environments for student learning and engagement, beginning with:
• Renovating and modernizing the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center and the Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library.
• Investigating opportunities for improved amenities and community spaces near the Hofstra campus.
REPRESENTATIVE ASSESSMENT MEASURES:
• Revive the Center for Teaching and Learning.
• Complete review and revision of the General Education curriculum.
• Increase student retention and graduation rates for undergraduates.
• Increase graduate program enrollment.
• Target growth in the number of doctoral programs offered.
• Increase students receiving prestigious national and international fellowships and awards, including Fulbright, Truman, Goldwater, Watson, Marshall, and Rhodes.
• Increase the percentage of students engaged in cocurricular activities.
• Increase the number of students involved in peer mentor programs and mental and emotional support resources.
GOAL #4
Attain Excellence in Organizational Agility and Innovation
Organizational agility is the efficient and continuous evaluation and improvement of the University through a process of inquiry and iteration that applies and shares knowledge gained from our experience to create and sustain an adaptable and effective institution. We leverage efficient administrative processes, protocols, and organizations to increase efficiency and to support innovation.
Hofstra affirms its commitment to communitycentered, sustainable innovation through the efficient implementation of interdisciplinary relationships and practices, the development and maintenance of streamlined processes, and the use of the latest advancements in technology to optimize resources and improve infrastructure.
Interdisciplinary collaboration enhances creative thinking and innovation, using a broad community knowledge base, dynamic human resource management, and crossfunctional communication to create an empowering and accountable environment. This collaborative approach inspires community engagement and cultivates relationships beyond the campus to enrich research opportunities and foster growth.
The University adopts an ethos that embraces change as an opportunity to promote growth, acknowledging that sustained and transformative excellence in organizational agility at Hofstra University will be applied in everything we do. The whole community — students, faculty, and staff — is part of a collaborative, participatory environment dedicated to positive
societal change and the preparation of Hofstra students to thrive as agents of change. Campus leaders build systems to encourage innovation at all levels and by all members of the Hofstra community.
Everyone is empowered through streamlined and efficient processes, including clearly communicated policies, measurable goals and expectations, cutting-edge technological advancements, and silo-free connections and communication across the campus community.
In keeping with core principles of organizational agility, the University designs its operations, projects, and initiatives around motivated individuals, gives them the support they require, and trusts them to get the job done. Local decision-makers are trusted to make responsible decisions, and administrative controls are trusted to make efficient use of time and resources for the community’s benefit. Hofstra’s lean and nimble administrative structure directs decision-making authority and accountability to those closest to the issue, ultimately minimizing bureaucracy, lead time, cycle time, decision-points, and handoffs.
Hofstra will enhance its mission by strategically identifying and sunsetting activities that no longer align with our core goals, values, or strategic priorities. This collaborative process allows for the reallocation of resources to initiatives that better serve the institution’s mission and future growth. The University employs mechanisms that ensure we remain agile by stopping and asking why before any new or returning levels, controls, or processes are proposed or added.
IMPLEMENTATION STEPS
4A We will foster community-centered, sustainable innovation through the efficient implementation of interdisciplinary relationships and practices by:
• Cultivating an ethos that understands change as opportunity, champions collaboration, and embraces an innovative growth mindset.
• Continually optimizing the University’s website and portal to provide useful, timely information and resources.
• Eliminating data silos and proactively facilitating information-sharing.
• Creating a permanent organizational agility committee to collaboratively review agility goals, measures, and implementation steps and recommend priorities aligned with Hofstra’s strategic goals.
• Establishing a university-wide data governance structure and working group.
4B We will develop and maintain streamlined processes by using established and emerging technologies to optimize resources and build cutting-edge infrastructure by:
• Transforming the University’s business processes and practices to be digitally native and intentionally designed to preserve time, reduce waste and bottlenecks, and increase visibility and tracking.
• Empowering team leaders with localized decision-making authority and decentralized budgets to proactively address matters.
REPRESENTATIVE ASSESSMENT MEASURES:
• Implementation of new data governance system.
• Enhancement of technology infrastructure to support new technologies.
• Development of efficiency metrics to assess progress.
• Increased grant proposal activity and external research grants.
• Establishing an organizational review process to eliminate unnecessary approvals, remove inefficient or redundant systems, and reduce bureaucracy.
4C We will develop a thriving R2 University by:
• Exploring funding opportunities through course/curriculum efficiency and through an increase in sponsored research awards.
• Exploring additional full-time faculty career tracks.
• Expanding undergraduate research opportunities.
• Building the additional research administrative, physical, and electronic infrastructure to support faculty and student research.
• Promoting a culture of recognition and the celebration of research, scholarship, teaching, and community engagement.
4D We will periodically assess and optimize institutional structures, practices, and technologies to encourage innovation and adaptability by:
• Designing and implementing a transparent, objective-based continuous improvement plan for Hofstra.
• Conducting a technology assessment for each unit to identify and prioritize opportunities to eliminate manual and/or paper-based administrative processes; expand the appropriate application of AI; and upgrade, decommission, consolidate, or replace outdated systems.
CONCLUSION Intersection of the Four Goals
There is great synergy among the four goals of this strategic plan. Each reflects a collaborative framework to advance Hofstra’s mission. This is represented in the culture of problem-solving and interdisciplinary programs, expanding engagement in our many communities, creating seamless support for students, and embracing an agile organization where we work across boundaries to optimize creativity, engagement, and learning.
Interdisciplinarity contributes to student success and community engagement by studying complex problems from different perspectives. It informs curricular development around community because community-based experiential learning provides an opportunity for students to develop skills to address these complex problems. Responding to community needs requires various perspectives, resources, and forms of expertise. This process parallels and supports the broader goals of interdisciplinarity in teaching and research. Organizational agility is foundational to the other goals, as the glue that holds this plan together and will make successful implementation possible. It will take agility to create the processes necessary to incentivize and reward the creation of interdisciplinary programs; to adopt the flexibility to modify the curriculum as career paths adapt to the introduction of AI; and to do the hard work necessary to sustain community engagement.
Student success is supported by interdisciplinarity, community engagement, and an agile organization. These set the stage to focus on the core capacities, cutting-edge skills, and experiences necessary to prepare students for success in their careers and in their lives. Students will gain a deeper understanding of problems from varied perspectives, which forms the foundation for critical thinking, information literacy, and civil discourse. Seamless administrative processes reflect respect for students’ need to move efficiently through their degree programs, and this sign of respect and care affects students’ positive sense of belonging.
Reflecting our commitment to organizational agility and the continuous evaluation and improvement of Hofstra University, this plan will be reviewed annually. Progress toward goals, lessons learned, and planned improvements will be shared with the campus community.
Hofstra University looks toward the future, unified by our strategic priorities and fortified by our strengths. We will work together as a community to guide students to thrive in the complexities of life and work in our global society.
Just over 85 years ago, Nassau College –Hofstra Memorial of New York University opened its doors. Nineteen faculty taught several hundred students in the three-story Dutch Colonial mansion left in trust by Kate and William Hofstra to serve the public good. The relationship with New York University lasted only until the first graduating class was faced with a choice of which institution would issue their diplomas – New York University or Hofstra College, and they chose Hofstra College with its already-formed identity as a small, closely knit liberal arts college.
After nearly closing during World War II, Hofstra began a long period of growth and innovation in education that continues today.
In the 1960s, decades before the Americans with Disabilities Act, we pioneered the idea that a campus should be accessible to all. And in the midst of the War on Poverty, Hofstra created the New Opportunities at Hofstra program, known as NOAH, to serve students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
We continued this tradition of innovation in the ‘80s, when a small group of faculty created a conference to begin to write the historical record of presidents from FDR forward. Over the past 40 years, hundreds of former Cabinet members, policymakers, journalists, and several presidents have visited the campus as part of that program. Those conferences grew into Hofstra’s strength in presidential history, and our hosting of three consecutive U.S. presidential debates.
In the new millennium, we partnered with Northwell Health, the largest private healthcare provider in New York state, to create the first new allopathic school of medicine in New York in nearly 50 years. The inaugural leaders of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine created an innovative, experiential program of medical education that is thriving and being studied and imitated by medical schools around the country.
This brief tour through the history of Hofstra provides a flavor of the character of this University and the spirit of innovation and caring that continues to this day. Hence our motto, Pride and Purpose.
It is so heartening to see all of you here today. The
whole Hofstra community is back on campus in what we believe is a very safe manner. This required Herculean efforts by scores of faculty, administrators, and staff, with the expert assistance of our friends at Northwell Health, to ensure universal compliance with our vaccine policy and testing protocols.
We are now enjoying each other’s company and the serendipity of everyday life – what one of my colleagues once referred to as the magic of the peripheral – the things on the periphery that just can’t happen on Zoom.
The chance encounter on the Starbucks line that could lead to a lifelong relationship, a family, and children; glancing by chance at a bulletin board and learning about a student club that is the perfect fit; the impromptu conversation between student and professor after class that could change the course of a student’s career, and life. This is the magic of daily life that we have all grown to appreciate, and now relish as we move about the campus.
What a time we are living in, and what a time for higher education. The pleasure of our renewed togetherness is real, but it cannot mask the challenges ahead. Even before COVID, higher education was facing disruption on many fronts – anticipating fewer high school graduates; the fast growth and prevalence of online education; increasing skepticism about the value of a college education; and the fact that students now coming to college are digital natives, that is, they started playing with an iPad as young children, and have always had any fact they could possibly need literally in their back pocket.
And then came COVID, which accelerated the change we knew was coming, and transformed it at the same time. How we address these changes over the coming years will determine Hofstra’s future, and the futures of our students.
One of the more interesting ways to think about this moment was suggested by the Indian novelist Arundhati Roy, in an article that she published last year in the Financial Times. This is what she said:
Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose
to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or, we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.
This author metaphorically posits the pandemic as a portal, a gateway, between the past and the present, a time when we must choose what we will leave behind, and what we will take through this portal into the future.
Of course, Arundhati Roy was not speaking specifically about higher education, but of India and the world at large, and the transformative effect that pandemics have on civilization.
Even though this pandemic sadly is not over yet, we can already see its transformative effects. So many are out of work, yet employers cannot find employees. Companies are announcing they will be fully remote forever, which is having cascading effects on our cities and towns, transportation, and a host of other things. Individuals are changing their work habits, their careers, their lifestyles, where they live, and how they think about meaning and purpose in their lives.
This struggle with meaning and purpose surely contributed to the broad consensus in 2020, which united people across race, class, age and geography, to take to the streets and the airwaves to condemn the murder of George Floyd and declare that they would no longer stand for all that it represented.
The idea of the pandemic as a portal or gateway serves as a useful metaphor to frame the challenges that we in higher education have before us. If the pandemic is a portal, how will Hofstra walk through it? What will we take, and what will we leave behind? What world are we ready to fight for? What kind of university and community do we want to imagine on the other side?
One thing I know is that at Hofstra, we don’t want to walk through this portal too lightly, carrying too little with us, because there is so much good here, and it is embedded in the history and culture of Hofstra.
This includes a faculty deeply committed to teaching, a bright and talented student body, an outstanding
Division I athletic program, and a shared sense of community that is palpable on the campus. Our students famously call Hofstra “home,” and articulate a feeling that they are cared for here, nurtured and supported throughout their educational journey.
Over the past two months, I have begun to meet with Hofstra alumni individually and in groups. The good feeling, loyalty, and enthusiasm for Hofstra that these alumni express is inspiring. Hofstra is also very connected civically in Hempstead, Long Island, and the state of New York. I have begun to get to know some of the local, county, and state officials, and the business and civic leaders. Our ties to our community are deep and long-standing and will continue to provide opportunities to work together to build prosperity on Long Island and throughout the state of New York.
All of these things are part of our DNA at Hofstra, and they must be continually nurtured to keep them alive. So, we don’t have much to leave behind as we move through this portal and beyond the pandemic, yet there is so much to imagine for our future.
We are embarking upon an initiative at Hofstra that will serve as the foundation for the next decade and will help us identify the priorities to which we will direct our energy and our resources. We will start with the questions: How do we define ourselves as a university now, and what are our ambitions for the future?
These conversations will soon be getting underway in faculty meetings, among our student leaders, and in our administrative units, by our alumni and our Board of Trustees. We must decide together what postpandemic world we want to imagine. What do our students need to learn, and how should they learn it?
How do we provide them with the tools to thrive in the 21st century, including the ability to pivot multiple times among jobs and even careers? What discoveries are our faculty well-positioned to make, and what knowledge will they create? How can we strengthen our relationships and understand our obligations to our immediate community and to the world at large?
How do we educate our students to think about the ever-changing technology that, if directed well, will support our thriving, in a time of climate change
and poisonous political discourse? What is our role in addressing the social and racial justice issues that have impacted our country for so long?
Like a good law professor, I am full of questions, but not of answers.
I know that our University can answer these questions and meet these challenges. Hofstra is so well positioned to prosper in this environment of change, while remaining true to our history and our values. This conviction is based on the past two months as your president, the past year of studying Hofstra from a distance, and my experience of over 25 years in higher education. So, I would like to offer a few thoughts about three areas that I believe are critical to our future.
Hofstra’s official mission and goals statement includes the following:
• First, we are dedicated to providing “a firm foundation in the liberal arts and sciences designed to encourage intellectual curiosity,” and
• Second, that we are “devoted to recruiting and retaining a highly qualified and diverse academic community of students, faculty, staff and administrators respectful of the contributions and dignity of each of its members,” and
• Third, that “Hofstra University’s faculty is committed to excellence in teaching, scholarly research, and service [and] [t]he University emphasizes and supports the creation and synthesis of knowledge as well as its dissemination.”
So first, the firm foundation in the liberal arts. The workforce of today is profoundly influenced by changing technology and the need for new skills.
As a university, we are preparing students for the challenge of jobs and careers that have not yet been invented. The liberal arts provide a robust underpinning to deal with our rapidly changing world because they use subjects such as literature, history, and the arts to teach translational skills that apply, directly or indirectly, to any career, and to a satisfying life of other pursuits.
Studying the liberal arts prepares one to think critically, write well, and consider the universality of the human condition. As James Baldwin said, when you are young, [and I quote] “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.”
As a classics major who continues to find joy as an amateur musician, but never considered a career that draws specifically on either of these disciplines, I can attest to the value of a liberal arts education, which I make use of in one way or another, every single day.
But here’s the issue. This generation of college students is acutely aware of the uncertainty of the world. They were born post-9/11, their families endured the Great Recession and its aftermath, and they are now experiencing firsthand the pandemic, the growing effects of climate change, and a society that continues to wrestle with the consequences of its racist history.
For them, understandably, choosing a liberal arts education might seem to be just another way to subject themselves to more uncertainty, because it is not obvious how that kind of study will lead to a career, or even a job. In current times, many, if not most, students, and their parents, approach higher education looking for a straight path from college to career. We must figure out how to articulate clearly and demonstrably the lifelong value of a liberal arts core and make it relevant to today’s students, and understandable to their parents.
Hofstra is unique, or at least unusual, in that it has sustained its historical liberal arts college tradition for undergraduates, yet added many other programs of study, both undergraduate and graduate. For example, Hofstra is one of only three universities in the New York area that has schools of law, medicine, and engineering, and the other two schools, let’s just say they are big private universities in the City, have enrollments of 51,000 and 31,000. Hofstra’s total student enrollment is about 10,000.
So, we are providing a wide array of opportunities in a small and close-knit community. This means we can create an undergraduate program of study that is based in the liberal arts, but includes continual exposure in multiple ways to the range of professional opportunities.
We can do this through alumni mentoring, broadening the internship programs already in place, and engaging students in career discussions from early in their college experience.
In this way, we can guide students on well-articulated, individualized pathways to the beginning of their next stage, whether that is a job, or graduate study.
Second, diversity and dignity. This year, 46% of entering students at Hofstra self-identify as students of color. Hofstra has a history of being welcoming to people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, and physical abilities.
We are also dedicated to making an inclusive community out of this diversity in the classroom, on the fields, and in our offices.
We must now redouble these efforts. We are already planning an expansion of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and other support structures in a way that will further this priority. Moreover, we must strive to increase the number of faculty of color so that all of our students have the opportunity to learn from professors who have shared, lived experiences and with whom they can identify.
And I am interested in how we might provide the opportunity for every student at Hofstra to learn about and explore the growing multiculturalism of our society in a productive way and in a safe environment.
Our students will be spending their adult lives in a country whose population will not be constituted with a majority race or ethnicity; we will be a nation of multiple minorities. As we are already witnessing in this country, one can choose to consider this a threat, or embrace it with hope and excitement. And that choice, which is made individually and collectively, can be shaped and influenced by education.
Third, and finally, scholarly research and the synthesis and transmission of knowledge. Universities have two fundamental purposes – the education of the next generation, and the creation of knowledge.
Hofstra in its early years was a liberal arts college, but as I described, it has now grown into a substantial university, offering an array of graduate and professional degrees in many fields. There is excellent research and scholarship going on here, from the engineering labs to the health sciences to our experts in presidential history, and our award-winning faculty in the humanities writing books and serving as public intellectuals.
As a university offering master’s, doctorates, law degrees, and medical degrees, we must do even more to support, incentivize, and expect all faculty members to be engaged in research and scholarship
as a critical element of maintaining the vitality of the teaching mission, enhancing our reputation, and remaining relevant.
These are three areas that I believe we must build upon and strengthen to ensure Hofstra’s future, as we move past this pandemic and into the next era.
There is no one program or initiative that will ensure success in helping our students see their pathway through college to career, or in achieving equity and inclusion for everyone at Hofstra, or for growing our scholarly and research productivity and in turn, the reputation of the University. This will take dedication and sustained effort from all parts.
And yet I am so optimistic that if we come together with pride and purpose, we can do these things. Hofstra is beautifully positioned as a university – small enough to offer every student the opportunity to know their professors, participate in a wide variety of activities, and influence their surroundings, and large enough to offer an array of academic and career opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.
We have the ability to be nimble and to take the strategic risks that we must take, and we have the alumni, community, and friends to guide and support us. If we have the commitment, the discipline, and the energy, we will prosper as never before.
So, in closing, I ask you to take my hand, and consider the words of the late Irish poet John O’Donohue:
Though your destination is not yet clear You can trust the promise of this opening; Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning That is at one with your life’s desire. Awaken your spirit to adventure; Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk; Soon you will be home in a new rhythm, For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
(For A New Beginning, John O’Donohue, 1956-2008)
Thank you.
Hofstra Vision Project Summary Report
Office of the Provost, June 2022
The Vision Project was conducted by the Office of the Provost during the 2021-2022 academic year. The primary focus was to identify the most important characteristics of Hofstra University and explore this community’s ambitions for the future. Specifically, focus groups and a University-wide survey were conducted to understand Hofstra’s current strengths and limitations as well as collect information to formulate a vision for Hofstra University over the next 10 years.
Overall, 42 focus groups were conducted, with each focus group composed of approximately 10 participants. An external facilitator and two internal facilitators (Psychology faculty) conducted the focus groups. Twenty-two faculty focus groups were conducted, mostly led by the external facilitator, with each school represented by two faculty groups (HCLAS had 4 groups). Sixteen groups were conducted that included undergraduate and graduate students, the Cabinet, deans, and other administrative units. Advisory board focus groups were also conducted. The 90-minute focus groups were held in conference rooms across campus. Because of privacy concerns, experienced note-takers were used, as the discussions were not recorded. Input provided to the facilitators during the group sessions was aggregated across all the focus groups, and no comments or ideas were attributed to any one individual. Each group was asked the following questions:
1. What are Hofstra’s core strengths?
2. What would you tell someone (prospective student, faculty member, or employee) about Hofstra if you wanted to recruit them to Hofstra?
3. If you were working at a competitor school, what would you tell someone (prospective student, faculty member, or employee) about Hofstra if you wanted to recruit them?
4. Ten years from now, what would you like to be able to say about Hofstra in describing its strengths? What would you like Hofstra to be known for?
Based on a content analysis, the external and internal facilitators initially identified 10 key themes. Next, a doctoral student and a faculty member with expertise on quantitative and qualitative assessment analyzed the data using Voyant Tools. Voyant Tools is an open source, web-based software program that is designed
to analyze text. Particular emphasis was placed on the topic modeling results, frequency of specific words/ phrases, and the context of those frequently used words/phrases. From these results, general themes representing strengths, challenges, and future directions were identified. Key positive and negative issues are listed under each of the 10 themes. It is important to note that this data was collected in fall 2021, and the responses are grounded in experiences with the prior administration.
Identity and Vision
• Hofstra is a small school with big school opportunities – we have a strong community feel and excellence in teaching.
• Lack of national reputation. Hofstra is a hidden gem.
Pedagogy
• We have small class sizes and high-quality teaching.
Research and Scholarship
• High-quality research is being conducted across the University.
• Traditionally, there has been a lack of resources and recognition for research.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Student demographics have rapidly evolved to represent the changing population.
• We have an inclusive community.
• There is a lack of diversity in faculty and lack of DEI across all University units.
Focus on the Student
• Hofstra is a high touch institution – small class sizes with caring faculty and staff.
• There is something for everyone at Hofstra –you can chart your own path.
• Expensive to attend.
• Lack of traditional college culture.
• Hofstra shuffle – bureaucratic obstacles.
• Lack of safety on campus and surrounding areas. In the past, the Department of Public Safety has been less responsive.
• We are tuition dependent.
Focus on the Faculty
• There is a good balance between teaching and research.
• Clear and fair tenure standards in most departments (“They hire you to keep you.”).
• No new faculty lines for many years leads to lack of new ideas and academic programs being underresourced.
• Lack of resources.
• Limited social interaction opportunities between faculty.
Focus on the Employee
• Community and the people – teamwork culture at Hofstra.
• Benefits – tuition remission, tuition exchange, health care – are helpful.
• Cost of living high and compensation not keeping pace.
• Lack of remote work opportunities.
• Limited professional development opportunities are available for staff and administrators.
Resource Allocation
• Financial stewardship of the last decade has helped keep us on strong ground.
• Nimble – we pivot and change and quickly adapt to changing circumstances.
• We don’t put enough resources behind programs/ initiatives (“house of cards,” “scaffolding” were terms that often came up).
Governance Issues
• Good relationships between faculty and individual school administrators (deans/chairs).
• Bureaucracy – We have to jump through many hurdles to enact change (e.g., contracts).
• Top heavy senior administration – Past leadership models were very directive, not necessarily consultative.
Location, Location, Location
• Proximity to NYC.
• Attractive campus.
• High cost of living in Long Island, NY.
• Lack of college town atmosphere.
Focus group participants were excited to share their ambitions for Hofstra. Some key ideas:
• Enhance regional, national, and global reputations with top-tier academic programs.
• Invest in establishing and nurturing the University brand as well as those of the schools. Communicate better all the great things that are being created at the University – we should not be a “hidden gem.”
• Continue to drive for a more diverse and inclusive culture and community that represents the changing demographics.
• Be the university that offers a clear and organic transition from the place of learning to the place of work – continue offering an outstanding liberal arts education while maintaining strong professional programs.
• Become a community-transformation entity that contributes to the development of Hempstead/ Uniondale neighborhoods. Be able to “tear down fences and integrate into the surrounding communities…”
• Obtain the financial resources that we need to move forward – Diversify sources of funding to support tuition help, reduce teaching load, create a center for teaching excellence, enhance research, and community development programs.
• Promote more active and stronger alumni engagement.
• Be more cutting edge and forward-thinking –Strategic university growth that matches need. Leverage our human capital.
• Create global citizens.
• Develop winning sports programs that bring back the Hofstra Spirit! Create a sense of belongingness and ownership of our athletic teams.
Faculty groups also discussed increasing the quantity and quality of scholarly research and the possibilities offered by creating a satellite campus. Students discussed the importance of increasing the reputation of Hofstra University while retaining the intimate feel of a small school. Increased branding and marketing to increase Hofstra’s visibility was also mentioned across groups.
Focus group data were used to generate a survey that was distributed to the Hofstra community during the spring semester of 2022 (February 14-March 7). The survey was created using Baseline, a survey platform supported by the University and composed of items to understand Hofstra’s current strengths/limitations, as well as future ambitions for Hofstra.
The survey yielded a 23% response rate (42% among Hofstra employees and 14% among Hofstra students), with 412 administrators, 444 faculty, 154 staff, and 1322 students responding.
Survey results were analyzed using R as well as jamovi where appropriate. Analyses of variance and chi-square tests were employed to determine if any significant differences occurred between groups. In addition, all open-ended responses were analyzed using Voyant Tools, similar to the focus group analyses.
Overall, the Hofstra community is moderately satisfied with Hofstra (Mean = 3.74, 1-5 scale with 5 indicating highly satisfied).
Administration (M = 3.87, n = 404) provided a significantly higher satisfaction rating compared to students (M = 3.68, n = 1293) (t (2282) = 3.72, p < .01).
Respondents were asked to rate Hofstra’s strength on eight characteristics identified from the focus group data. The eight characteristics were:
• Having faculty and staff who care about student success
• Vibrant team-oriented community
• Small class size
• Strong local and regional community and corporate-based partnerships
• Increased scholarship and research productivity by the faculty
• Desirable geographic location
• Strong alumni relationships
• Diverse and inclusive community of faculty, students, and staff
*Participants were allowed to check an “other” characteristic to provide additional data.
The current top 3 strengths across all groups were small class size, having faculty and staff who care about student success, and diverse/inclusive community. Faculty rated having faculty and staff that care about student success (M = 4.39, n = 438) the highest, whereas every other group rated small class size higher (Staff: M = 4.22, n = 108; Students: M = 4.13, n = 1307; Administration: M = 4.325, n = 317).
Data combined across groups
When asked to pick just one of the eight as Hofstra’s greatest strength, having faculty and staff Presidential care about student success was picked most frequently by Administration (n = 144, 36.29%), Faculty (n = 260, 58.96%), Staff (n = 53, 35.33%), and Students (n = 339, 25.74%).
Data combined across groups
Respondents were asked to rate the same eight characteristics in terms of how important they are for Hofstra to possess over the next decade. Similar to the previous question, having faculty and staff who care about student success was rated the highest. Other highly rated items were diverse/inclusive community and vibrant team-oriented community. When asked to choose the one most important characteristic for the future, the most frequently picked item was having faculty and staff who care about student success. However, when broken down by self-reported race/ethnicity of the participant, underrepresented minority groups chose having a diverse/inclusive community of faculty, students, and staff most often.
Data combined across groups
Data combined across groups
In the next set of questions, respondents were asked to rate eight characteristics on the extent to which they limited Hofstra’s ability to serve students, faculty, and staff. These eight characteristics were:
• Sufficient number of faculty, staff, and administrative hires
• Tuition scholarships/grants that can be offered
• Compensation
• College town experience
• Availability of remote work
• National reputation
• Campus safety
• Athletic programs
Overall, the three factors rated as most limiting were the number of tuition scholarships/grants that can be offered, compensation, and college town experience. However, administration and staff rated compensation as the most limiting factor, whereas students and faculty rated tuition scholarships/grants that can be offered as the most limiting factor.
Data combined across groups
Data combined across groups
Open-ended responses on the survey were examined using Voyant Tools. When asked, “What is Hofstra University best known for right now?” the most common responses were:
• Location of Hofstra
• Debates (i.e., Presidential)
• Medical School/Affiliation with Northwell
• Campus/Community on Campus (Small)
• Caring faculty and staff
• Local reputation on Long Island
When asked to state one reason why respondents joined the Hofstra community, common responses were as follows:
• Small class size
• Location/Campus
• The Hofstra community characterized as welcoming, diverse, and inclusive
• Reputation of the University
• Opportunities (academically, professionally)
• Balance between teaching and research –“Emphasis on teaching while performing research”
• Benefits and job security
When asked about what they would like Hofstra University to be best known for 10 years from now, the most common themes were:
• High quality of education
• Increased Reputation/Prestige (i.e., Rankings)
n International/World Presence and to be known beyond just Long Island
• Hofstra/Hofstra Community to be Successful
n Graduates go on to have successful careers
n Hofstra continues to grow and develop
• Increased Diversity/Diverse Community
• Providing students with a great overall experience –academically and socially
Some Main Takeaways:
Who are we right now?
• We have strong academic programs
• We are a hidden gem
• We have a strong local reputation
• We have caring faculty and community
• We have strong alumni connections
Our ambitions for Hofstra University:
• To have an increased national and global reputation and presence
• To build strong brand recognition for Hofstra University
• To strengthen diversity across faculty and students
• To enhance our connection to our alumni networks
• To strengthen research and scholarship
• To continue to build on our current strengths
n Strong caring community
n Small class sizes
References
Sinclair, S., & Rockwell, G. (2016). Voyant Tools. Web. http://voyant-tools.org/.
RStudio Team (2020). RStudio: Integrated Development for R. RStudio, PBC, Boston, MA
The jamovi project (2021). jamovi (Version 1.6) [Computer Software]. Retrieved from https://www.jamovi.org
Strategic Directions Request for Proposals
In the 2022-2023 academic year, the president and provost launched the Strategic Directions Request for Proposals, or RFP, inviting faculty to recommend programs to differentiate Hofstra University and further enhance our reputation in the national and international community. The faculty Strategic Directions Steering Committee reviewed 78 proposals, with the majority submitted by interdisciplinary teams. 250 faculty members participated by submitting one or more proposals. The selected proposals prioritized student success, interdisciplinary programs, and projects that support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and that will impact student enrollment and retention. Themes that emerged from the funded proposals were interdisciplinary study and research, community outreach tied to academic programs and service learning, enhancing the first-year academic experience, and, in regard to the previous three themes, building an adaptable structure to support the academic mission, diversity, and inclusion.
SELECTED PROPOSALS
Hofstra-Feinstein Cancer Education Program
To forge new inter-institutional bonds between Hofstra and the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, we propose the Hofstra-Feinstein Cancer Education Program — to inspire and educate the greater Hofstra community about the impacts of cancer and highlight cutting-edge advances — led by a cohort of six Feinstein researchers (investigators, postdocs, etc.) during six half-day residencies on the Hofstra campus. Feinstein researchers will engage Hofstra students as guest speakers in a new undergraduate course, Perspectives on Cancer, and the broader community with a series of public talks and panels, Conversations on Cancer.
John F. DeCarlo, Adjunct Associate Professor, Writing Studies and Rhetoric, School of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Scott T. Lefurgy, Professor, Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Yousef Al-Abed, Professor, Molecular Medicine and Medicine, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell; Co-Director and Professor, Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research
Computer Science + Social Science Degree(s)
The continued advancement of digital technologies has transformed the world. But the way these new technologies work and how we use them has created many new societal challenges, some of which we are not very well prepared to address. New CS+Social Science degree program(s) would leverage the existing strengths of Computer Science and the Social Science departments at Hofstra in a focused way that should attract students as well as meaningfully prepare them for future careers and spur new interdisciplinary teaching and research avenues for faculty.
Constantine Alexandrakis, Chair, Associate Professor, Economics, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Amy Baehr, Chair, Professor, Philosophy, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Meena Bose, Professor, Political Science; Executive Dean, Public Policy and Public Service Programs, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Sally Charnow, Professor, History, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Craig Dalton, Associate Professor, Global Studies and Geography, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Anthony Dardis, Professor, Philosophy, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Simona Doboli, Professor, Computer Science, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
Paul Fritz, Associate Professor, Political Science, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Art, Design, and Technology
Hofstra will be poised to become a leader and develop new opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and the broader community to work at the intersection of art, design, and technology, by making strategic investments that leverage existing strengths in our faculty, our staff, and our campus. Proposed activities include:
• An annual maker-in-residence and/or artist-in-residence
• A “campus as gallery” identity to accompany “campus as arboretum” and “campus as lab”
• The makerspace in the new Science & Innovation Center
• Research and design funding in the form of standalone funding and as matching grants for smaller arts, architecture, and design grants. In the long term, we imagine developing courses at the intersection of art, design, and technology that will coordinate with the support received in the short term.
Lynn Albers, Assistant Professor, Engineering, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
Karen Albert, Director, Hofstra University Museum of Art (As Karen Albert has now retired, Alexandra Giordano, Director, Hofstra University Museum of Art, has led the Museum’s role in this effort.)
Jim Lee, Professor, Fine Arts, Design, Art History, School of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Edward Segal, Associate Professor, Engineering, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
A Proposal for Community Engagement and Recruitment at The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication Hofstra University will pilot a cooperative partnership between The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication (LHSC) and Uniondale High School. In cooperation with the Provost’s Office and the faculty of the LHSC, a limited number of LHSC courses will be designated for a cohort of Uniondale High School students to take for college credit. Current students in the LHSC would serve as program mentors for the high school students enrolled in the program. The LHSC classes for Uniondale High School students will be taught between the hours of 3:45 p.m. and 6 p.m., one day per week, to enable full participation. Uniondale will provide bus transportation for its students. In addition, Hofstra University will explore its ability to offer a limited number of scholarships to be awarded among program participants to support their ability to later enroll at Hofstra as undergraduate students.
Deysi Aguilar, Associate Dean, New Opportunities at Hofstra
Cornell Craig, Chief Diversity Officer, Office of Equity and Inclusion
Mark Lukasiewicz, Dean, The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication
Mario Murillo, Vice Dean, The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication; Professor, Radio, Television, Film, The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication
Roosevelt Smith, Dean, New Opportunities at Hofstra
Aisha Wilson-Carter, Associate Director, Office of Equity and Inclusion
BA in Human Factors and Usability Studies
Hofstra has a unique opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary Human Factors and Usability Studies (UX) to serve a growing profession that supports technology innovation and web design. Since the pandemic, more services have moved online and investment in virtual reality and artificial intelligence has increased. Additionally, web accessibility for people with disabilities is one of the major areas of concern for the Department of Justice. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities. To address these concerns, companies require individuals with a unique skill set that combines computer science, engineering, psychology, and design. A unique combination of courses in Computer Science, Engineering, Psychology, Writing Studies, Rhetoric, Sociology, and Fine Arts is proposed to create a degree that combines technical background with knowledge of human behavior and testing methodologies. Currently, no program at Hofstra or at its local competitors combines those elements into a single program of study.
Lisa DeTora, Associate Professor, Writing Studies and Rhetoric, School of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Elisabeth Ploran, Chair, Associate Professor, Psychology, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Salvador Rojas-Murillo, Assistant Professor, Engineering, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
Diverse and Inclusive Learning Community for All: Cluster Hire Initiative Focused on Research and Teaching Pertaining to U.S. Minorities Underrepresented in Higher Education (Black, Latine, Native) To support the core academic mission of teaching and research, and to remain competitive in the landscape of tuition-driven private northeastern universities, Hofstra must transform into a truly diverse and inclusive learning community for all. Student success and faculty excellence both depend on it. To those ends, we propose a cluster hire initiative focused on research and teaching pertaining to U.S. minorities underrepresented in higher education (Black, Latine, Native); a three-year initiative, publicized and coordinated by the Office of the Provost, to hire thematic cohorts of four new faculty members per year. This well-publicized cluster hire initiative itself, as well as the resulting addition of an array of new faculty members across departments, will: (1) signal that Hofstra has a transformative vision for its R2 future, (2) raise the excellence levels of faculty teaching and research, (3) attract demographically diverse students, and (4) enrich all students with resources that help them persist and graduate.
Amy Baehr, Chair, Professor, Philosophy, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Ann Burlein, Professor, Religion; Program Director, Women’s Studies, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Julie Byrne, Chair, Professor, Religion, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Sally Charnow, Chair, Professor, History, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Lisa Dresner, Associate Professor, Writing Studies and Rhetoric; Program Director, LGBTQ Studies, School of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Brenda Elsey, Professor, History; Program Co-Director, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Warren Frisina, Dean, Rabinowitz Honors College
Tammy Gales, Professor, Comparative Literature, Languages, and Linguistics; Director of Research Institute for Forensic Linguistics, School of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Liena Gurevich, Associate Professor, Sociology; Program Director, Criminology, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Veronica Lippencott, Adjunct Associate Professor, Global Studies and Geography; Program Director, Africana Studies, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Zaibis Muñoz-Isme, Assistant Vice President, Student Enrollment, Engagement, and Success
Tomeka Robinson, Associate Dean, Rabinowitz Honors College
Craig Rustici, Professor, English; Program Director, Disability Studies, School of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Benita Sampedro, Professor, Romance Languages and Literatures; Program Co-Director, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, School of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Johanna Shih, Chair, Associate Professor, Sociology, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Santiago Slabodsky, Professor, Religion; Program Director, Jewish Studies, Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Karyn Valerius, Chair, Associate Professor, English, School of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Julie Yindra, Director, Student Access Services
Division of Natural Sciences Cluster Hire for Data Science
As the first theme selected for the cluster hire initiative, the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy within HCLAS will conduct a multidisciplinary cluster hire in the computational and data sciences supported by a new high-performance computer cluster. The hires will expand our research capabilities into new and growing fields that rely on the use of big data and computational approaches to ask relevant questions in the natural sciences. The cluster hires will provide exciting collaborative opportunities for faculty and student research and complement the existing MS in Data Science program. A Natural Sciences cluster hire, with a focus on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion through multidisciplinary computational and big data science, will expand our research capabilities, provide new avenues for research collaborations, and enhance Hofstra’s diversity and ability to serve and enrich students.
Maureen Krause, Chair, Professor, Biology, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Christina Lacey, Chair, Professor, Physics and Astronomy, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
William Nirode, Chair, Professor, Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Sylvia Silberger, Associate Professor, Mathematics, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Renewable Energy Broadcasting (WRHU Goes Green!)
Hofstra University will engage students in designing Hofstra University’s first renewable energy generation complex, proposed to be installed on the roof of Constitution Hall. The green energy produced will power the broadcasts of WRHU, Radio Hofstra University, which operates Hofstra’s FM radio station on 88.7FM out of transmission facilities on the 13th floor. Hofstra will explore the installation of solar panels and wind turbine generators 200 feet above sea level, which may be seen for miles around, creating a visible demonstration of Hofstra’s investment in renewable energy. The electricity generated from this new complex could directly power WRHU’s FM transmission center, making Hofstra’s FM radio station the first solar- and wind-powered college radio station in the USA. This would provide a unique marketing angle for Hofstra, WRHU, and the LHSC and would create advertising, marketing, and fundraising opportunities via WRHU’s strategic partnerships with the New York Islanders, New York State Association of Broadcasters, National Association of Broadcasters, Marconi Foundation, Society of Broadcast Engineers, and
other high-profile broadcasting entities throughout the region. Besides providing engineering and sustainability, students will gain experience with a real-world case study in planning and designing a renewable energy facility.
Lynn Albers, Assistant Professor, Engineering, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
J Bret Bennington, Chair, Professor, Geology, Environment and Sustainability, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
David Burghardt, Professor, Engineering, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
Edward Currie, Associate Professor, Engineering, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
Andrew Gladdening, Chief Engineer, WRHU, Radio Hofstra University, The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication
John Mullen, General Manager, WRHU, Radio Hofstra University, The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication
Mario Murillo, Vice Dean, The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication; Professor, Radio, Television, Film, The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication
Richard Puerzer, Associate Professor, Engineering, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
D. Elliot Williams, Assistant Professor, Engineering, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
4 Credit/4 Course Model: Reigniting the Conversation
Hofstra University will engage in discussion on how to approach and evolve curriculum to include deeper, more engaging courses, improved retention and graduation rates, and increased time for faculty research. With EAB and McKinsey & Company reporting that post-COVID students arrive in college with unfinished learning, heightened anxieties, and underdeveloped social skills, it seems crucial that Hofstra explore whether new strategies will enable us to better enroll and retain these students for the full four years (2022). In a just released report conducted by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation, students cited “emotional stress” as one of the primary barriers to enrolling or continuing in higher education. Hofstra University will appoint a new task force, with representatives from HCLAS, all the professional schools, and senior administrators to be charged with reviewing opportunities and changes with respect to curriculum that may make sense for Hofstra students and faculty.
Daniel Seabold, Chair, Associate Professor, Mathematics, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Warren Frisina, Dean, Rabinowitz Honors College
Faculty-in-Residence Expansion
To extend the impact of Hofstra’s successful Faculty-in-Residence (FiR) program, Hofstra University will explore ways to expand from one FiR in the Netherlands to serve additional students. This is a natural next step based largely on the success of Hofstra’s Netherlands program, but also on an awareness that FiRs are increasingly used by peer and aspirational schools as tools for improving academic success and increasing retention by promoting a greater sense of belonging among residential students.
Warren Frisina, Dean, Rabinowitz Honors College
Beth McGuire, Executive Director of Campus Living, Residence Life
Zaibis Muñoz-Isme, Assistant Vice President, Student Enrollment, Engagement, and Success
Novia Ramsay, Director of Residential Operations, Residence Life
Russ Smith, Director of Residential Education and First-Generation Success Initiatives, Residence Life
Charge to Strategic Planning Committees
Each committee will be asked to examine a strategic area and think in new ways about how to leverage Hofstra’s assets to strengthen the University, its impact, and its reputation. The launch meetings for the committees will occur during the week of 1/22/24.
Committees will describe how their recommendations reflect the mission and core values of Hofstra, will drive enrollment, and support Hofstra University’s enhanced focus on scholarly research and creative activities.
Interdisciplinary and New Academic Programs Committee: Make recommendations for new interdisciplinary curricula and other programs that will distinguish Hofstra and drive enrollment, retention, and graduation. Make recommendations about how to identify and break down barriers to interdisciplinary academic programs and teaching.
Community Engagement Committee: Make recommendations for community engagement that intersects or incorporates academic programs and research, strengthens our connections to the local and regional community, and will be appealing to students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Specific considerations include:
• Hofstra’s place on Long Island
• Benefits of community partnerships for Hofstra and for community members
• Service learning and project-based learning
• Build on current strengths and programs that have existing foundation at Hofstra
Student Success Committee: Make recommendations for innovations that will drive increased retention and graduation rates. Specific considerations include:
• First-year programs
• Belonging and inclusion
• Student engagement
• Mental health and resilience
Organizational Agility Committee: Make recommendations about how to change and/or leverage Hofstra’s adaptability and agility, taking advantage of Hofstra’s size and the scope of its programs to support innovation and efficiency. Specific considerations include:
• Administrative processes, protocols, and organization
• Technology and the role of AI
• Research capacity and growth
• Break down barriers that have the effect of preventing or discouraging innovation in administrative processes
Timeline
• Define what excellence is for committee’s charge (by February 23)
• Set data-driven, measurable goals for 3, 5, and 10 years (by March 15)
• Identify specific implementation steps for each goal (by April 19)
• Present the proposed plan to the campus community at an open forum (April 22-May 1)
