MSCHE Self Study April 2021

Conclusions: Strengths, Challenges and Opportunities The College of Optometry operates as an autonomous campus of the State University of New York, one of the nation’s largest university systems. Overall university direction is provided by the Board of Trustees, which appoints a chancellor to provide administrative leadership of the University. The College’s president reports to the chancellor, who is responsible for reviewing the incumbent’s performance. President’s Council, which consists of senior management, provides campus leadership and oversees daily operations. There is a well ‐ defined administrative structure with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. The administration actively seeks input from the College’s various constituencies, including students, faculty, staff and alumni. The senior administration and governance structure of the College has been very stable over the past several year. There are three fairly recent changes that are worth noting: First is the August 2020, appointment of Dr. Malatras as Chancellor of the State University of New York. As with any transition of leadership, there are likely to be changes, but it is too early to assess. The second change was the resignation of Dr. Steven Schwartz as the Director of Institutional Planning and Research. That role has now transitioned to Dr. Suresh Viswanathan, who also serves as the Chair of the Department of Biomedical and Vision Sciences. The third was the securing of full ‐ time legal counsel on campus. One prospective challenge/opportunity may be succession planning as several members of the senior management team are towards the later part of their careers. There has been limited impact on the governance, leadership and administration of the College. While meetings have been occurring using Zoom, they have occurred with the same frequency and the practices described in this standard and have continued uninterrupted. The establishment of the COVID Emergency Response Team (COVIDERT) did supplement existing structures and brought a broader array of individuals and expertise into high ‐ level management decision ‐ making to effectively navigate the COVID ‐ 19 pandemic. COVID ‐ 19 Impact:

Conclusion

Over the past two years, the State University of New York College of Optometry has engaged in the Middles States Commission on Higher Education’s self ‐ study process using four institutional priorities as the framework. Those priorities were selected directly from the College’s 2018 ‐ 2023 Strategic Plan: Care Lead Advance , which was approved just 6 months prior to the start of the MSCHE Self ‐ Study. By doing so, the Self ‐ Study process was linked directly to the College’s Mission and Goals.

100