To: The NYU Faculty

From: NYU Provost Katherine E. Fleming

Date: Thursday, May 16, 2019

Faculty Issues

Research

I’m proud of our faculty’s research. We’ve had a positive trajectory on key measures: grant submission, grant success, and research activity. In 2019-20, Stacie Bloom, Vice Provost for Research, will be launching new efforts aimed at supporting faculty research development.

Pedagogy

Thanks to an AAU grant, we’re focusing on improving undergraduate STEM education. We’re establishing the Faculty Innovators Network to pilot and evaluate new techniques in STEM teaching, laboratory instruction, and the redesign of our teaching labs.

Honors

Congratulations to all the NYU faculty and scholars who received honors and recognitions during 2018-19, and in particular to Paul Romer, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics; Yann LeCun, winner of the Turing Prize; and Eliza Griswold, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

Professional Development

In 2019-20, the Provost’s office will be investing significant resources in new initiatives to help faculty prepare themselves for academic leadership opportunities. More details will follow in the fall.

More Inclusive Recruitment

How do we recruit faculty well equipped to teach our increasingly diversifying student body? Next fall, the vice provost for faculty engagement and development, the office of Global Inclusion, the Office of Equal Opportunity, and enrollment management, will sponsor a symposium for recruitment committee chairs and participants to address this question.

Work Life

When regular family care falls through, it’s difficult and stressful to find a reputable and trusted alternative. I am pleased to announce that Work Life and University HR have identified a new and better back up adult and child care provider. More details will be available in the fall.

Students

Admissions

We admitted our most diverse, most selective (PDF) freshman class, with the highest average SAT score.

Retention And Graduation

Retention of first year students has risen to 94%, a record, and we’re aiming for 95% for next year—important milestones in achieving a 90% graduation rate by 2026.

NYU Reads

This summer, all entering first-year NYU undergraduates will read a book in common: Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. We will also invite all current students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni to read the memoir, chosen by a University-wide committee, and there will be programming around it in the fall.

All-University Dissertation Award

We sponsored the first University-Wide Dissertation Award program to build a greater sense of community among doctoral students and to make clearer their important role in our academic community.

Please join me in congratulating the four inaugural honorees.

NYU x NYU

We are launching a new effort to connect our undergraduates with NYU graduate and professional schools. NYU x NYU will help students to identify—and afford—graduate and professional degrees that will advance their life and career goals. The first new NYU x NYU program, between CAS and Stern, will make it easier and less expensive for CAS students to go on to an MBA program at Stern.

Academic And Provostial Initiatives

Art In Public Places

The Art in Public Places Committee (PDF) has completed its report and recommendations on the stewardship of public art and how to better integrate audio and visual works into the fabric of the campus.

Academic Leadership

We welcome back two new leaders: Antonio Merlo as Dean of FAS and Mariet Westermann as Vice Chancellor of NYU Abu Dhabi. Both are former NYU colleagues, returning to the university to take up new positions after successful careers elsewhere.

Provost’s Index

The Harper’s Index impresses me with its ability to make a point fast and with few words. So I have started a Provost’s Index to do the same.