GNU Initiatives

Committee Chair, 2011-2012: Floyd Hammack

The Committee met with Richard Foley and Matthew Santirocco and discussed the evolution of the undergraduate curriculum in the Global Network University. The overall plan is to hire 300-350 new tenure-track faculty, until each school receives its full number of students. With this expansion in the faculty, the Provost’s office will play an increasingly important role. Faculty and students will circulate among the campuses. Each of the portal campuses will have a specific curricular emphasis and connection to a department at the square. Expansion is an opportunity to figure out academic assets.

On April 4 President Sexton announced the appointment of Jeff Lehman, Former President of Cornell, as Vice Chancellor of NYU Shanghai, effective this summer. As vice chancellor, he will be the chief executive of NYU Shanghai, in charge of all academic and administrative operations.

The Committee met with several senior administrators in the fall semester to gather information on the Global Network University Initiatives. At a December meeting, Senior Vice Provost Robin discussed the evolving issues he is addressing, especially at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). He noted that the staffing at NYUAD is about 1/3 rotating, 1/3 standing, and 1/3 visiting. The seven week courses make it possible for rotating faculty to teach at Abu Dhabi. However, along with summer classes, how to serve the Square, NYUAD, study abroad sites, and NYU Shanghai is emerging as an important issue.

As planned, each of the branch campuses, and many of the study away sites will specialize so that there will evolve special links between Square departments/ units and those in Shanghai, NYUAD, and the study away sites. Shanghai will begin as a graduate-program only site with emphasis on business and applied science degrees. With respect to the sciences in particular, Robin noted parallels to the CUSP initiative, with courses and programs emphasizing urban sustainability and communication, and bio-engineering across the whole Global Network.
He noted that an Executive Board of Faculty at NYUAD has been formed and that it consults with administrators on issues.

Robin informed the Committee that Matthew Santirocco has been put in charge of overseeing the development of the undergraduate curriculum at NYU Shanghai and that Richard Foley has been assigned the broad oversight for planning and logistics of the GNU.