State of the University Fall 2013 Stuart Rabinowitz, President
State of the University
October 2013
I am pleased to summarize the major accomplishments of the 2012-2013 academic year. Despite the challenges of declining numbers of high school graduates and intense competition from other universities, we are pleased to report that we have met our overall enrollment goals and budget numbers. We continued to invest in the sciences and engineering, as well as in other growth areas, while maintaining our support of the liberal arts. We also expanded international recruitment and showed significant gains in these areas. In addition, we continued to enhance our first-class physical facilities to provide the best possible atmosphere in which to learn and live. Among the highpoints of the year was the October 2012 U.S. presidential debate at Hofstra, which attracted worldwide attention and very favorable publicity. Overall, we have recruited strong first-year and graduate classes and are well-positioned for the upcoming year.
DEBATE 2012 Prior to and during debate week, the University hosted its Pride, Politics & Policy series, which included speakers such as Woodward and Bernstein, Cory Booker, Christina Romer, Jeb Bush, Chris Matthews, Karl Rove and Robert Gibbs, Cornel West and Douglas Brinkley. These programs brought thousands of local high school students to campus, while engaging thousands of Hofstra students, faculty, and members of the local community. The October 16, 2012, debate at Hofstra University was a 90-minute, town hall-style debate, moderated by CNN’s Candy Crowley. The Gallup Organization selected 82 undecided voters from the New York area to attend the debate. The debate was viewed by 65.6 million people. Social media became more prominent in the 2012 debates. The October 16 debate generated 12.24 million comments on Twitter and Facebook according to Bluefin Labs, an analytics firm that studies social media’s reaction to televised events. At the time, the debate was the top political event of all time in social media and placed third among the top social media events of any kind, bested only by this year’s Grammy Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. The Hofstra.edu website saw Debate Day 2012 numbers jump to 152,755 visits and 555,804 page views, an increase of 38.9 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively, compared to the 2008 debate metrics. Contrasted with an average mid-October day in 2011, the increases are even more startling: Website visits rose 398.7 percent, while page views jumped 279.2 percent. The University drew a total of 32,591 traditional media mentions between October 1 and November 6, 2012, reaching a potential readership of 21.6 billion, according to a report from Meltwater News Group. Hofstra debate-related broadcast media hits numbered nearly 9,000, reaching a Nielsen audience of more than 750 million. By comparison, traditional media mentions of Hofstra totaled about 19,000 in 2008, while broadcast media hits numbered 5,709. The debate-related media coverage of Hofstra generated a total public relations value of approximately $260 million (as estimated by Meltwater and 360 MediaWatch). Of that, approximately $200 million was the result of print and Internet media coverage, with the remainder coming from TV coverage.
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The Debate Live Blog reported by our students was recognized by CNN, ABC/Yahoo News, Huffington Post and Tumblr. The efforts of our student-run online news service, Long Island Report, were lauded by Mashable, which reported that Hofstra’s student journalists could teach the professionals a thing or two about the use of social media as a reporting tool. Print and Web coverage ranged from the Times, Newsday and the Wall Street Journal to the Irish Central newspaper in Dublin, and Glamour magazine, which profiled three student debate volunteers. Hofstra students also appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal via Skype. Many administrative departments supported the work of the presidential debate, including Athletic Facilities, Physical Plant, Operations, Public Safety, University Relations and Information Technology. For example, the presidential debate required enormous technical resources to provide Internet, telephone, data, Wi-Fi and television connections for more than 1,000 journalists. In preparation for the 2012 presidential debate, the entire Hofstra website was migrated to Amazon Web Services cloud. This was a tremendous success, and allowed for easily scaling up the number of servers to handle the tremendous load caused by the debate. From June through October, administrative departments worked on countless projects to plan transportation and security, build sets and facilities, and accommodate thousands of guests, including opinion leaders, foreign dignitaries, elected leaders and journalists. This shared responsibility resulted in a great success for our University, highlighting our superb faculty and our highly engaged student body.
SUPERSTORM SANDY The Hofstra community, like all communities in the metropolitan New York area, was deeply affected by Superstorm Sandy, with effects lasting into the spring 2013 semester. While we at Hofstra were fortunate that the campus itself was relatively unaffected, losing power for only a few hours, due to the difficulties in transportation and communication, we were closed for a week. Due to our cloud work for the debate, the Hofstra website did not go down for an instant. Faculty and students worked together to make up class time; we adjusted commencement and final exams and were able to finish out the semester with few problems. Faculty, financial aid counselors and student support staff reached out to students affected by the storm, to help them individually. In addition, the Hofstra community responded to the needs of others in many ways. Student groups worked in Long Beach and other communities, helping to clean up and bring in food and water. A Hofstra “Blue Beetle” was filled with supplies that were delivered to Long Beach days after the storm, and the University hosted one of the largest blood drives on the Island, to help make up for lost blood supplies. The proceeds from the Fall Dance Concert went to Island Harvest; students from the Zarb School of Business donated their time to the Nassau County Economic Recovery Task Force, helping local businesses identify resources for recovery; the Maurice A. Deane School of Law assisted residents through its Disaster Recovery Clinic; and faculty from the departments of Rhetoric and Biology, the Sustainability Studies Program, and the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University worked in Long Beach on several ongoing scholarly projects. The Hofstra community also responded to our own people, by providing emergency housing and by raising $103,000 ($53,000 from our community, matched by $50,000 from the University) in relief grants, which went to 103 faculty, staff and students. Although much of Long Island is still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, we at Hofstra can be proud of our efforts to help one another and the community around us. 2
FUNDRAISING The University experienced a very successful fundraising year in 2012-2013. In addition to the continued annual funding priorities, the University embarked upon a multiyear capital and endowment campaign. In terms of overall fundraising for 2012-2013, the University experienced its second most successful year based on cash received. In total, more than $21.3 million was received from new gifts and pledge receipts versus $27.4 million in 2011-2012. The University secured $16.8 million in new documented pledges and commitments in 2012-2013, compared to $11 million in 2011-2012. During the year, Lawrence Herbert ’51 committed to an extremely generous multimillion dollar gift. In recognition of his generosity and Larry’s significant service to Hofstra, The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication was named in his honor. In addition, The DeMatteis Family Charitable Trust made a commitment of $3 million to support initiatives within the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. Fifteen additional new pledges were received at the six-figure plus level. The School of Engineering and Applied Science received three commitments at the six-figure level, with two of those commitments at $500,000 each. We also commenced construction on the second phase of the Medical School building, funded in part by $14.5 million in New York state grants received for this purpose.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN During the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the capital campaign convened its first meeting of the Steering Committee and continued with its goal of soliciting all members of the Board of Trustees. In addition, each Hofstra dean and school has identified its priority needs, and work has begun on a case statement and identification of the appropriate prospects for each area. It is anticipated that the greatest area of need within the case for support will be scholarship endowment. To date, through early activity, $68.3 million has been raised in cash, pledges and commitments. The campaign has set a working goal of $250 million.
ENROLLMENT As has been the case since the economic downturn began, this year continued to pose challenges for enrollment. With the slow economic recovery, families continued to be extremely price sensitive and, for many, net price was the determining factor, trumping “value.” The number of high school graduates is declining, particularly in the Northeast, and the University continued to face particularly aggressive competition from institutions of greater financial wealth that were able to support scholarships from endowment income, as well as from local institutions that heavily discounted their tuition for students at their institution’s highest profile level (which is considerably lower than our highest level). In January Moody’s revised its outlook for the entire U.S. higher education sector to negative. Despite these challenges, we met our goal of approximately 1,620 first-year students (up about 130 students compared to last year), and also had gains in new graduate students and in continuing undergraduate students. Bringing in this year’s entering class was a collaborative effort, and the vice presidents, their staffs, and the faculty worked together to enhance our recruitment and enrollment initiatives. In addition to 3
increases in aid, the University refined its value messaging, making the case for the worth of a Hofstra education by demonstrating positive outcomes at the school and, where feasible, at the department level. University Relations worked with department chairs to enhance the overall website and, in particular, departmental websites, so that each department better conveyed its unique features and highlighted the successes of its graduates. The new entering first-year class has excellent academic credentials. In the entering class are 244 Honors College students, as compared to 231 last year. The average highest converted ACT/SAT score is 1155 for this year’s class, and the average GPA of the class increased from last year’s 3.48 to 3.52 for this year. This year’s entering class is also very diverse, with 40 percent students of color, the highest in our history, compared to 37 percent last year. Approximately 52 percent of the entering first-year class is from in-state, about the same as last year. We continue to see progress regarding our international recruitment efforts. We have 62 enrolled international students in the first-year class, an increase of 17 students over last year (38 percent increase); these students come from a large variety of countries, including China, India, Germany, Spain, Brazil, and Venezuela. We also had seven English Language Program (ELP) students from China and one each from Ethiopia and Japan enroll this summer and/or fall, one of whom transitioned into the first-year class this fall. We expect the remaining ELP students to transition as new first-year students this spring. In order to continue our international recruitment efforts, the provost and the dean of Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences joined the director of our new Asia Center in touring China over the summer and creating relationships with many Chinese universities. Our goal is to establish mutually beneficial relationships with Chinese universities to expand our global reach. While enrollment from Massachusetts and Connecticut declined, we saw an increased number of students from Pennsylvania (up 24) and the non-New York Mid-Atlantic region (also up 24), as well as smaller increases from New England and Virginia. Our strategy this year was also to continue to build our efforts in more distant U.S. markets, and we again see progress in these areas, particularly in California, Texas, and Colorado. We expect that these new markets will continue to grow as we increase our recruitment efforts over the next few years. The importance of outcomes and a clear career path for prospective students is illustrated by the choice of majors of enrolled students: We saw a significant increase in the Zarb School of Business this year, enrolling 63 more first-year students than last year (+32 percent). However, the largest increase was seen in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, with 141 enrolled this year as compared to 70 last year (+101 percent), thereby doubling the size of the entering class. The School of Health Sciences and Human Services also experienced an increase in enrolled students this year, up 39 (+87 percent). Moving forward, the University continues its plan to invest in growth areas that are likely to attract new students and that have the promise of employment after graduation. We continue to enhance the facilities for the School of Engineering and Applied Science, with additional new labs and classrooms, and to add more classrooms for Chemistry and Biology. We also continue to create new dual-degree programs, which reduce the time it would otherwise take to earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree, thus reducing the overall cost as well. We are again reviewing the scholarship/financial aid for the next incoming class with the help of outside consultants, striving to attract a target class that is larger than this year’s, with a discount rate that achieves maximum net tuition revenue, and that is sustainable as that class moves forward. 4
RETENTION The retention of this past year’s first-year class to sophomore year is at 78 percent, the same as last year’s retention rate, but up significantly from the retention rate of 74 percent in 2001. The graduation rate is also improving, with the class that entered in 2007 showing a six-year graduation rate of 62 percent, an all-time high and well above graduation rates in the mid-50th percentile for classes that entered in preceding years. (National data reporting computes graduation rates based on six years from entry, and counts transfers as non-graduates, even if the transferring student graduates from another institution.) Student satisfaction continues to improve at Hofstra University. Based on responses to our annual survey of students, satisfaction is higher than both the benchmark year of 2003-2004 and last year (2011-2012). Undergraduates are more likely to feel that Hofstra is meeting or exceeding their expectations in academic quality, student life and activities, campus atmosphere, and overall value. Students report that they are experiencing personal growth, learning critical skills for academic and career success, learning to appreciate diversity, and learning teamwork. Additionally, current seniors rate their satisfaction with Hofstra more highly than they did when they entered as first-year students in 2009-2010. Our students today are highly engaged, both socially and academically, which should lead to further retention and graduation rate improvements.
ACADEMIC INITIATIVES The past academic year has been defined by academic initiatives designed to better prepare the University for the even more competitive environment in higher education, especially in private higher education. The new School of Engineering and Applied Science welcomed its first class and underwent a major upgrade in space and facilities. In addition to the Bioengineering Lab made possible in part through a $1 million New York state grant, we made significant enhancements to the Materials/Mechanical Lab, the Environment Lab, and the Civil Lab. The AutoCad Lab was also expanded. The engineering building (Weed Hall) emerged from a multimillion-dollar renovation as a modern, first-rate educational space. The new School of Health Sciences and Human Services began operation with four strong departments (Counseling and Mental Health Professions, Health Professions, Physician Assistant Studies and Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences) and a new Master of Public Health program that brings together a strong partnership of Hofstra faculty and faculty from the North Shore-LIJ Health System. The Maurice A. Deane School of Law also helped increase the University’s prominence in the health care field by establishing the Gitenstein Institute for Health Law and Policy. We also instituted a new program in engineering and the sciences that allows students doing research in these areas to stay in the residence halls during the summer at a vastly reduced cost or at no cost. This undergraduate research opportunity greatly enhances a student’s education and future opportunities, and we are committed to doing more to facilitate student research. Our educational initiatives and preparation for the future continued, as demonstrated by newly approved programs in areas where we expect meaningful student demand and solid job opportunities for students upon graduation. The programs include: 5
Newly Registered Single-Degree Programs MA in LOTE (Languages Other than English) and TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) MA in Public Relations BS in Philosophy Newly Registered Dual-Degree Programs BA in English/MA in English & American Literature BA/MA in Elementary Education/STEM BA in Linguistics/MA in Forensic Linguistics BA in Psychology/MA in Secondary SPED Generalist BA in Psychology/MSEd in Rehabilitation Counseling BA in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences/MA in Speech-Language Pathology We continue to develop dual-degree programs; some are already under review at the New York State Education Department, and others are in various stages of internal review and preparation. It is worth noting that we already have approximately 150 dual-degree options available to our students. These programs save students time and money and better position them for success in today’s job market. As a reflection of and also in response to our more interconnected world, we established 10 new study abroad student exchange programs in addition to our existing January and Summer Session study abroad programs. Exchange programs have the benefit of bringing more international students to our campus, which also fosters greater globalization and international understanding. The countries represented in these exchanges include China, England, France, Korea, Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles. More programs are planned in the years ahead. The provost and the dean of HCLAS also visited multiple universities in China to foster and facilitate more exchange programs as well as more opportunities for Chinese students in all areas to study and pursue a degree at Hofstra. Our faculty continue to be outstanding teachers; this year’s winners of the Teacher of the Year Award were: Mary Ann Allison, Journalism, Media Studies and Public Relations Juliana Campagna, Law David E. Elkowitz, Science Education/Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Xiang Fu, Computer Science Robert P. Guttmann, Economics Corinne M. Kyriacou, Health Professions Maureen O. Murphy, Teaching, Literacy and Leadership Glen M. Vogel, Accounting, Taxation and Legal Studies in Business The Lawrence A. Stessin Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Publication, which recognizes noteworthy scholarship of our not-yet-tenured faculty colleagues, demonstrates that future faculty research accomplishments will continue to be impressive. This year’s winners were: Ashira Ostrow, JD, Associate Professor of Law “Land Law Federalism,” Emory Law Journal, Vol. 61 (2012), pp. 1397-1444 Vimala Pasupathi, PhD, Associate Professor of English “Coats and Conduct: The Materials of Military Obligation in Shakespeare’s Henry IV and Henry V,” Modern Philology, Vol. 109 (2012), pp. 1-26 6
The education of our new full-time students begins even before the students begin their formal studies at Hofstra. Our incoming first-year students are assigned a common reading, which they discuss on campus during summer orientation. The common reading for this year was The Good Food Revolution, co-authored by Will Allen, and I am particularly pleased that Mr. Allen was our Welcome Week guest speaker. Our major new grant recipients for 2012-2013 include: Dr. Jacqueline Grennon Brooks from the Department of Teaching, Literacy and Leadership received a Motorola Solutions Foundation grant for $50,000 for the project “STEM Studio: Where Learning Means Innovation.” Dr. Justin DiAngelo from the Department of Biology, serving as co-principal investigator with a colleague at University of Nevada, Reno, on the two-year project titled “Dietary and Endocrine Regulation of Sleep,” received $96,486 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Simona Doboli from the Department of Computer Science, collaborating with colleagues at University of Cincinnati on the three-year project titled “INSPIRE: The Hunting of the Spark: A Systematic Study of Natural Creativity in Human Networks,” received $87,209 from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Mr. Michael Haber from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law received a Robin Hood Foundation grant for $100,000 for the project “Hofstra Law Disaster Recovery Clinic.” Dr. Stephen Hernandez from the Department of Special Education received a five-year U.S. Department of Education grant for $1,246,741 for the project “Hofstra Early Childhood Intervention Specialist Program.” Dr. Jason Williams from the Department of Biology received a two-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant for $499,016 for the project “MRI: Acquisition of an SEM with EDS Elemental Analysis and STEM Detector for Research and Education at Hofstra University and Nassau Community College.” Securing large grants, especially in the sciences, requires more matching resources from the University, and we have that commitment. We continue to work vigorously on accreditation and outcomes assessment and have multiple accreditation reviews scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year, including our Middle States Periodic Review. In all cases, the key preparation for these accreditations was done during the 2012-2013 academic year, and we should be well positioned for continued very positive outcomes from these comprehensive reviews.
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STUDENT AFFAIRS There were many success stories during the 2012-2013 academic year, beginning with a vibrant Fall Festival that welcomed more than 6,000 students, alumni, faculty, staff, and family members to kick off the academic year. One of our main priorities for the year was to provide academic support to students and help to create an exemplary learning community, combining classroom and residential life with experiential learning that prepares students for a lifetime of ethical leadership and active engagement. The Academic Success Program hosted a multitude of in-person and online programs on topics such as working on study/learning teams, how to “do” research, financial literacy, organizational strategies, communication skills, and study skills. Student use of the resources of the Center for University Advisement increased again this year, as it has since advising was restructured in 2007. Students work with their advisement dean regarding non-major requirements, navigating University resources, and coordinating assistance if they are experiencing personal or academic difficulties. We have made great strides in engaging our students in developing their career and professional skills throughout their time at the University. Increasing numbers of students engaged in career and professional development programs during the past year. Both internship and full- and part-time employment opportunities for students expanded with the addition of two new online database resources: Internships.com and Vault.com. Students were introduced to the world of online networking and recruitment strategies at a special LinkedIn program hosted by the New York LinkedIn office this past spring. In collaboration with our alumni affinity groups, students connected with the expansive network of our highly accomplished alumni both through in-person and online programs, services, and events. Members of the Class of 2013 were the first to participate in numerous programs that were part of the first Senior Seminar Series: Backpack to Briefcase, programs designed to help students transition to the world of work in the 21st century. With the increasing number of international students on campus, we have enhanced the programs and services offered to these students. The Office of Multicultural & International Student Programs facilitated a student orientation program for approximately 270 international students at the beginning of the fall semester and is providing a variety of programs to help our international students acclimate to life at Hofstra. These programs provide a support system and teach strategies to help students adapt to academic and social life on campus. Our community service initiatives and our programs and partnerships continue to positively influence the larger Hofstra community, even garnering national recognition. Hofstra once again was named a member of the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities. This award acknowledges our students’ involvement in community-engaged learning, research, and service. A key part of this effort is our Center for Civic Engagement (CCE), which is dedicated to strengthening democratic values by encouraging students to participate actively as knowledgeable citizens in their campus, as well as in their local, state, national and global communities. Major CCE initiatives included an annual Day of Dialogue as well as Civil Rights Day and Earth Day programs. In addition, the Blue and Gold Leadership model was designed to prepare emerging student leaders through a series of leadership topics, with more than 1,000 students 8
participating in 90 different leadership development programs. Moreover, our students consistently reach beyond the walls of the University to engage in public service and outreach. Students completed nearly 125,000 hours of service and raised thousands of dollars for worthy causes, while participating in highly engaging experiential learning opportunities. Programs for the year included the Midnight Run, a biannual tradition that brings together the entire Hofstra community to collect clothing and toiletries for New York City’s homeless population. The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is not only Hofstra’s largest philanthropic event, but also one of its largest overall campus events. Relay For Life is led by a student-run committee that works closely with offices on campus to benefit a single cause that has touched the lives of many in our community. This past year, the Hofstra community raised more than $110,000 and had more than 1,200 participants, including students, staff, and members of the outside community. On a national level, student organizations and volunteers with the Alternative Spring Break and Stay-cation programs traveled across the country and in the local community to complete service activities that improved the health, environment, and quality of life for residents in visited communities. The statistics presented above, however, do not tell the full story of our commitment to public service and outreach. Students and staff led extraordinary service projects that addressed critical needs in the community following the devastation to the area from Superstorm Sandy. Busloads of supplies were collected and delivered to area residents; our students and staff worked side by side with homeowners and businesses to clean up and rebuild; and our students reached out to their fellow classmates to provide a warm place to “charge up,” do laundry, or sleep. Our Parent and Family Programs office continued to engage this constituent group in supporting student success through its programs and outreach initiatives. In a survey of parents, 85 percent indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the communications from this office, an increase of 6 percent from 2011-2012, and 82 percent indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the programs and services sponsored by this office. Family Link, our e-newsletter, was noted as an important or very important source of information by 92 percent of surveyed parents.
HOFSTRA NORTH SHORE-LIJ SCHOOL OF MEDICINE On June 5, 2013, the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine was granted provisional accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). As part of the process, an LCME team completed a survey visit of the school to review progress toward implementation of the educational program leading to the MD and the status of planning for later stages of the program. The school’s final stage of accreditation, full accreditation, will occur in October 2014, before the first class graduates. The School of Medicine continued to attract an even greater number of highly accomplished applicants for its third class of 80 students, who began their studies in July 2013. Thirty-seven women and 43 men, ranging in age from 21 to 36 years old, comprise the Class of 2017. They were selected from 5,585 applicants, 700 of whom were invited to interview at the school. The students come from 17 states and 47 universities. They possess undergraduate degrees in more than 45 major concentrations ranging from neuroscience to religion to business. Fifteen percent speak a second language, and 11 students are first-generation college graduates. The class has an average MCAT score of 33 and average GPA of 3.6. In 2013 the School of Medicine broke ground on the expansion of its medical education center. The new facility will increase the size of the main education site by more than 60,000 square feet.
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INCREASING RECOGNITION The University’s newest schools, the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of Health Sciences and Human Services, were heavily promoted this year, as were several new programs, including the Master of Arts in Public Relations. Internally we produced the new Hofstra campaign, Faces of Pride and Purpose, which highlights members of the Hofstra community on a rotating basis on the Web. The Standout Student website feature was created by PR staff, which also assisted in rebranding the University’s homepage messaging, when we switched from an eventsdriven homepage to a visual presentation of Hofstra’s unique characteristics. In September 2013 we launched a University news site – news.hofstra.edu – that will transform the way news about Hofstra is presented. While maximizing our search engine optimization, this site will present news in a multimedia format. This RSS-friendly website will also enable us to deliver more news electronically and eventually allow recipients of news to choose what they would like to see via email. Major national media hits include an in-depth profile of Robert Leonard, one of the founders of the field of forensic linguistics, in The New Yorker; features on Herbert School of Communication faculty member Mary Anne Trasciatti’s work in Long Beach in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal); CNN.com op-eds about the Catholic church and the pope (Julie Byrne) and Florida sinkholes (Robert Brinkmann), as well as national broadcast interviews on sinkholes (MSNBC and CNN). Several faculty members were featured on Fox and CNN national radio networks on public relations, sustainability, education and mass media issues. Hofstra University continues to be cited on the “Best College” lists of U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review’s Best 378 Colleges, Fiske’s Guide to Colleges, Washington Monthly and Forbes. It has also been ranked by a variety of publications, including Affordable Colleges Online’s (affordablecollegesonline.org) top 25 colleges and universities in New York state for return on investment (2013); the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll (2013); “Great Colleges to Work For” (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2009-2013); Colleges of Distinction (2011); College Success for Students with Physical Disabilities (2012), which recognized Hofstra as a leading institution for students with disabilities; the LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (2008-2012), with 4.5 out of 5 stars for fostering an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender)-friendly campus environment; and The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges (2010-2013). We were also chosen as a “Military-Friendly School” by Victory Media, through a data-driven survey of more than 10,000 schools nationwide approved for Veterans Administration tuition funding. In September 2013 Backstage magazine recognized Hofstra University’s Department of Drama and Dance as one of the top 9 Great New York Acting Schools and Universities, citing it as “a drama program that won’t box you in.” Based on self-reported earnings of our undergraduates, Hofstra was ranked in the top 12 percent nationally in the Payscale.com 2013 College Education ROI Rankings, which ranks colleges and universities by the potential financial return on investment. Additionally, in the 2013-2014 PayScale College Salary Report, Hofstra ranked in the top 7 percent of 1,016 institutions when comparing mid-career salaries of our undergraduates, and 37th of 283 in the Northeast. The Zarb School of Business was also included on a list of “Best Schools for Business Majors,” tied at 19 of 24 ranked schools.
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ENHANCED CAMPUS FACILITIES We remain committed to enhancing our campus by investing in our physical facilities. This year, we completed a major capital renovation project at Davison Hall, including a new roof and windows, as well as full-scale upgrades to the building technology, teaching classrooms, faculty offices, and restrooms. The University renovated the popular Hammer Computer Lab in Axinn Library, which is available to students on a 24/7 basis. The lab renovations included replacing existing computers, installing new printers, purchasing new desktop furniture, and fully modernizing the lounge area. We have also begun the creation of a new student study area/lounge on the lower level of the library, which will be completed shortly. Comprehensive building renovations of Weed Hall (engineering) are complete. We created all new classroom and lab facilities, remodeled faculty offices, updated student and faculty lounge spaces, upgraded restrooms, and equipped classrooms with new technology. In addition, a NYS grant of $1 million helped fund a brand-new Biomedical Engineering Lab equipped with the very latest in research equipment. This year we completed renovations to Gittleson Hall’s biology laboratories, research rooms, and teaching classrooms; constructed two new rooftop greenhouses; and created other enhanced labs for student research. These improvements provide the Biology Department with vastly improved research space and an enhanced learning environment for faculty and students. Academic buildings continue to be renovated to meet the high expectations of our students. Over the past few years, Calkins Hall, Berliner Hall, Breslin Hall, Law School, Heger Hall, and most recently, Davison Hall, have undergone renovations to upgrade building infrastructure and classroom facilities, and/or to provide the latest in available technology. The University is also investing in improving our campus residence halls. This past summer, the University completed a three-year effort to fully renovate all campus high-rise towers. Each summer since 2011, two towers were taken off line and fully renovated. This past summer, we renovated the last of the six towers (Vander Poel and Estabrook Halls). The tower renovations included full window replacement with new energy-efficient windows, a new building entranceway, new furniture and HVAC units in student rooms, new outdoor bike storage, and enhanced student lounge/study spaces. The University completed a comprehensive landscaping improvement and beautification plan for our North Campus grounds. The plan created enhanced landscaped areas that serve as a warm and welcoming environment for members of our community, visitors, and prospective students. At HofstraUSA, a concrete plaza was transformed into a beautiful natural grass area designed with new outdoor seating to promote student gathering. The East Campus gate off Earle Ovington Boulevard was redesigned to provide a new formal entrance for our campus, and the three-bear intersection at the North Campus entranceway was reconfigured to provide a safe and landscaped intersection. Noted earlier, construction of a new 63,000-square-foot Medical School building is underway immediately adjacent to the current Medical School facility. The new building will more than double the current academic space available to the Medical School, and will provide adequate space for the planned growth of the school. Construction of the new building in expected to be completed by the end of 2014. 11
Hofstra continues its efforts to enhance our campus sustainability (green) initiatives. This upcoming year, the University has applied for its first LEED-certified campus building with construction of the new Medical School building. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) consists of a nationally recognized suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. In addition, a full-time campus sustainability officer is leading our efforts to enhance the University’s green commitment and reputation as a school that actively promotes environmental stewardship on campus. Over the past three years, the University increased total campus power purchases generated from renewable off-site energy sources from 3 percent to 10 percent.
INVESTMENT IN ENHANCED SAFETY AND SECURITY Hofstra’s 240-acre campus is very safe. We have benefited greatly from two independent security audits conducted over the past seven years, which have reviewed every part of our security planning, endorsed most of it, and led to security enhancements on campus. We do everything we can to keep our campus safe and secure, and we encourage our students to live on campus and participate in our many on-campus events. We continue to work to make the areas adjacent to our campus safer, since many of our students reside in rental housing nearby, and we have formed a Task Force on Safety and Security Enhancement – with representatives from the student body, faculty, administration, and alumni, as well as from local civic organizations and law enforcement – to aid in this effort. Based on early recommendations from the task force and our own continuing review, we have already added two full-time officers and one new supervisor to the Public Safety staff to enhance patrols, particularly at night, and to provide additional support for other safety initiatives. In addition, “preferred pathways” going north/south and east/west on both North and South campuses have been identified and are being created, with expanded walkways, newly added lights, emergency telephones and video surveillance. The University has worked with LIPA to install new lighting along California Avenue and to have the trees trimmed to further enhance visibility. President Stuart Rabinowitz and Director of Public Safety Karen O’Callaghan have met with representatives from the Nassau County and Village of Hempstead Police Departments and received assurances of enhanced cooperation. The University has also created a nighttime shuttle for students, which operates seven days a week from 10 p.m. until approximately 5 a.m.; the shuttle runs a loop through campus and the neighborhoods adjacent to campus, with designated pickup/drop-off points.
COLLEGE TOWN In an effort to expand the entertainment and retail options available to our students in the immediate area, the University has met with planners and developers who work with universities to create “college towns” on or near their campuses. We believe a development of restaurants, entertainment venues and retail space in the northeast corner of campus, near the Mack Sports Complex, would provide our community with a number of options and provide students with entertainment right here on campus. There is much to work out, and we must also investigate if this development is economically feasible, but I am very hopeful that we will continue the positive transformation of our campus. In the coming months, we will be soliciting input on what “Downtown Hofstra” might look like and what type of development would best enhance our campus. We look forward to hearing the community’s views as the planning process moves forward. 12
FIVE-YEAR PLAN After working with the University community over the last several years, we are presenting our draft five-year plan (2013-2018) to the board for its review, discussion, revision and, ultimately, approval. The five-year plan builds on the prior successful plan, which covered the period from 2005 to 2010 and was extended to 2013 because of the difficult economic conditions. The new plan provides a realistic roadmap to attaining slow but realistic enrollment growth and enhanced retention, and presents metrics that will be used to measure progress toward goals during the course of the plan.
ATHLETICS Hofstra University Athletics enjoyed a very successful year, both in the classroom and on the fields of play in 2012-2013. Joe Burg of the baseball team was a finalist for a 2012 Rhodes Scholarship, just the second Hofstra student to earn that distinction. He also earned first team Academic All-America accolades and was the Colonial Athletic Association Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the CAA Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and the Dr. James M. Shuart Male Scholar-Athlete Award recipient. Softball pitcher Olivia Galati and wrestler Steve Bonanno also were named to the Academic All-America first team and joined Burg, Melissa McCarthy (field hockey) and Jill Maier (women’s lacrosse) as CAA Scholar-Athletes of the Year in their respective sports. In addition, Maier was named the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition to those individual accolades, 13 student-athletes earned 4.0 grade point averages in 2012-2013, 291 compiled at least a 3.0 grade point average, and 174 were recipients of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award. Four teams – women’s soccer, volleyball, wrestling and softball – captured Colonial Athletic Association Championships in 2012-2013 to advance to the NCAA Championships. The men’s soccer and women’s lacrosse teams advanced to the championship game of their respective CAA tournaments as well. During the 2012-2013 year, Hofstra Pride teams were part of 36 individual and 66 combined community service activities totaling more than 1,600 hours of service. Individually, four student-athletes – Olivia Galati (softball), Shante Evans (women’s basketball), Shaun Foster (men’s soccer) and Tyler Botte (men’s soccer) – garnered All-America honors in their sports, while 29 student-athletes were named to All-Colonial Athletic Association teams. Joe Mihalich was introduced as the 12th head coach of the men’s basketball team on April 11. Mihalich, who won 265 games as the head coach at Niagara since 1998, was named the 2013 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year and the 2013 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 1 Coach of the Year, and also received the 2013 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award.
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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The University continues its ongoing investment in classroom technology. During this past year, 67 existing classrooms were upgraded and 15 new technology classrooms were added. Instructional technologists continue to support the ever-growing use of technology for learning. Faculty Computing Services offered its first “Big Ideas” workshop for all faculty, bringing to campus great guest speakers on topics such as massive open online courses (MOOCs), badges, and teaching by having students edit Wikipedia and engaging with other professional and amateur researchers. The use of distance learning (DL) continues to grow, with approximately one-third of summer undergraduate students enrolled in a DL course. Student Computing Services continues its shift to support students on how to effectively use computing in their learning. Learning Support Services partnered with faculty to demonstrate particular software products in the classroom. Also, student assistants have been assigned to serve as liaisons to the student in the class to help complete their software assignments. Following the success of the 106 Calkins and 102 Axinn renovations, Hammer Lab was renovated to provide enhanced computer equipment and, more importantly, group working space, supported with technology, for collaborative projects. Equipment replacement was a major task this year. All 500+ full-time faculty received new computers in spring 2013. More than 800 computers were replaced in labs and classrooms as part of the normal refresh of equipment. Mobile computing is enormously popular with students, with nearly 9,000 simultaneous connections to the network. To support the growing need, more than 350 additional wireless access points were installed, with the majority going to support the residence halls. A version of the Hofstra mobile app was rolled out for the iPad.
ENHANCED FINANCIAL CONDITION For the 10th year in a row, the University is expected to finish the year with positive budget results, providing funding for capital improvements and future operations. As of August 31, 2013, Long Term Investments, which includes the Endowment and Other Investments made in connection with postretirement benefits, were valued at approximately $401 million, an increase of approximately $45 million (13 percent) for the fiscal year and a $300 million increase (300 percent) since 2001. Reflecting the continued improvements in Hofstra’s financial condition, the University’s debt rating was reaffirmed by Moody’s (A3) and Standard & Poor’s (A) in the spring, despite their continued concerns about the larger industry of higher education.
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CONCLUSION This remains a challenging time for private institutions of higher education as the effects of the economic recession continue to linger and families remain price-sensitive and debt-averse. Affordability continues to be a concern for prospective students considering enrollment at a private institution of higher education. Addressing this concern will require increased fundraising for scholarships, and continued efficient management to reduce expenses where feasible. We are well-positioned to address these challenges. We were able this year to achieve budgeted enrollment numbers despite intense competition and declining high school graduates in our primary territory. With the foresight of the Board of Trustees, we have already begun to invest in the sciences, technology, and health care, which are areas that provide expanding career opportunities, and these investments have begun to pay off in enrollment growth. We offer diverse programs, including engineering, business, law and medicine (and are one of only three schools in the metropolitan area to offer all four programs), plus so much more. We have a beautiful campus and an enviable location close to New York City. We also have a national and international student body, with almost 50 percent of the incoming first-year class coming from outside of New York. This geographic diversity differentiates us from many of our local competitors and will help us as the number of high school graduates in New York and the Northeast continues to decline over this decade. While not minimizing the challenges posed by the economic climate, we are confident that we will be able to move forward successfully as we increase fundraising, build enrollment and enhance retention.
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Nondiscrimination Policy Hofstra University is committed to extending equal opportunity to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national or ethnic origin, physical or mental disability, marital or veteran status in employment and in the conduct and operation of Hofstra University’s educational programs and activities, including admissions, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs. This statement of nondiscrimination is in compliance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, the Age Discrimination Act and other applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to nondiscrimination (“Equal Opportunity Laws”). The Equal Rights and Opportunity Officer is the University’s official responsible for coordinating its overall adherence to Equal Opportunity Laws. Questions or concerns regarding any of these laws or other aspects of Hofstra’s Equal Opportunity Statement should be directed to the Equal Rights and Opportunity Officer at EROO@hofstra.edu, 516-463-7310, C/O Office of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, 101 Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549. For additional contacts and related resources, see hofstra.edu/EOE.
Campus Crime Reporting and Fire Safety Statistics In compliance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and other federal law, an annual campus safety report which contains detailed information on campus security and fire safety, including statistics, is available by accessing the Hofstra website at hofstra.edu/campussafetyreport or by contacting the Advisory Committee on Campus Safety. Crime statistics are also available at the U.S. Department of Education website at ope.ed.gov/security. The Advisory Committee on Campus Safety will provide upon request all campus crime and fire safety statistics as reported to the United States Department of Education. For additional information or a paper copy of the report, please call the Department of Public Safety at 516-463-6606.
Hofstra University Harassment Policy Hofstra’s prohibition against discrimination is also addressed in Hofstra’s Harassment Policy. The Harassment Policy prohibits harassment--including sexual harassment and sexual violence--based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national or ethnic origin, physical or mental disability, marital or veteran status. Hofstra University is committed to professional and interpersonal respect ensuring that no individuals are subjected to harassment or discriminated against in any way on the basis of any of these protected characteristics. Harassment based on any of these protected characteristics is a form of discrimination prohibited by law and by Hofstra University’s Harassment Policy. The Harassment Policy, which is available online at the link referenced below, contains complaint procedures for resolving complaints of harassment in violation of Hofstra’s Harassment Policy. Harassment policy link: hofstra.edu/harassment
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