CSE faculty began the fall semester with a strategic planning retreat, drafting a new mission, vision, and values statements for the department. Welcome remarks by SECS Dean Louay Chamra were followed by a “state of the department” presentation by new chair Marouane Kessentini. The mission/vision/values brainstorming session, guided by collaborative SWOT analysis, resulted in a collective agreement on the following statements:
Our Mission: Empower everyone to learn cutting edge computing skills through hands-on and foundational education and research to meet real-world challenges in Michigan and beyond.
Our Vision: To be a department of choice for anyone in Michigan and beyond who wants to use computing to positively impact their community.
Our Values:
Transparency | Fairness | Diversity | Equity | Inclusion | Respect | Integrity | Shared governance | Excellence | Responsibility | Flexibility | Freedom | Care
SECS IT staff updated faculty on technology resources to support hyflex teaching. Initiated due to pandemic restrictions in the previous 2 years, hyflex teaching is a strategy that allows students to choose their own learning path, combining in-person and online course availability, on demand access to learning resources and classroom materials, and is assisted by technology supported classrooms that allow for remote attendance for students unable to come in-person. SECS has outfitted classrooms with resources to support hyflex, including zoom boards, quality cameras and microphones, and also provide mobile hyflex kits for faculty teaching in locations without ready tech support.
Kate Bowers led faculty discussion and SWOT analysis on strategies to promote undergraduate student success. Mehdi Bagherzadeh and Hua Ming led a similar discussion on graduate education and research. The day concluded with closing summary of the discussions, as well as departmental initiatives for the 2022-23 academic year and beyond.