College of Graduate Studies

Graduate Council Meeting Minutes

January 21, 2025

Present:       Marcelo Alvarado-Vargas, Saad Andalib (GSA), Brian Ashburner, Tomer Avidor-Reiss, Dan Boden, Mai Dao, Jennifer DeVries,
                      Bashar Gammoh, Rafael Garcia-Mata, Dan Hammel, Noela Haughton, Ed Janak, Ahmad Javaid, Andrea Kalinoski,
                      Kristen Keith, John Laux, Patrick Lawrence, Nagalakshmi Nadiminty, Megan Petra, Barbara Saltzman, Youssef Sari,
                      Beth Schlemper, Joseph Schmidt, Connie Schall, Zahoor Shah, Snejana Slantcheva-Durst, Kuo-hui Su, Varun Vaiyda,
                      Jerry Van Hoy, Eileen Walsh, Kandace Williams, Qiuying Zhao.  

Absent:        Qian Chen, Jim Ferris, David Giovannucci, Ling Na, Angela Scardina, Hossein Sojoudi. 

Excused:      Patricia Relue.  

Guests:        Interim Provost Scott Molitor, COGS – Teri Green, Tara Hanna, Yasmeen Hamdah. 

3MT Student Award Recipients:  Umesha Subhani Kumbalathara Arachchige, Azeezat Osikoya, Kesha Dalal, Mrunmayee Kandalgaonkar. 

3MT Advisors:  Dayanidhi Raman, Steve Sucheck, Charles Thodeti, Matam Vijay-Kumar.  

Other:  Venkatesh Katari, Narendra Kondapalli, Dev Nirav Parikh, Sailaja Paruchuri. 

 

Call to Order, Roll Call, and Approval of Minutes 
The meeting was called to order and roll called.  The Minutes of November 26, 2024 and December 10, 2024, meeting were approved. 

Information and Discussion Items  
Discussion with Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs —  Dr. Scott Molitor

• Search Updates l President, Provost, and Vice President for Research
  Searches for president and provost - ads are out and search firms are soliciting candidates. My understanding is that the intent is to have an offer for the president position by early-to-mid-April so that the incoming president can make the decision on a permanent provost with finalists on campus and offer shortly thereafter with a start date for both positions by July 1st. I have been asked to chair the search for the Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs. We are finalizing the committee composition and will work on ad so that Research Council and Graduate Council can provide feedback on draft advertisement. The incoming president will have ability to make decision on finalists selected. While not optimal, we will probably have visits mid-to-late -May including open forums for input. The goal is also for a start date of July 1st but may be extended to the start of Fall 2025. 

• Program Prioritization and Investment and Reallocation
  20+ programs were identified as low enrolled at end of last year’s process for further exploration. We asked the colleges to provide
  proposals that addressed a number of issues such as:  

• • How does this affect workload in terms of low enrolled courses?
  • Are there other opportunities to pursue additional enrollment?
  • Are there requirements to have a program like this in place to help service other programs?  

    The information was submitted at the end of the Fall 2024 semester.   

    The committee will review and make recommendations based on information provided with regard to the viability of programs and
    a priority ranking of most to least viable. The committee is chaired by Thomas Atwood, Dean of the Libraries, and is comprised of
    faculty members and colleagues from different areas on the President Leadership Team that I have asked to serve to provide
    different viewpoints in terms of enrollment, fundraising, finances, etc.:

    Faculty members / academic colleges:

• • Matthew Franchetti, Engineering
  • William Hintz, Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  • Andrew Mattison, Arts and Letters
  • Carol Sullinger, Business and Innovation
  • Christa Turley, Health and Human Services 

    President’s Leadership Team members:

• • Tony Bourne, Enrollment Management
  • Lee Johnson, Chief Financial Officer
  • Terry Romer, Special Advisor to the President
  • Jennifer Schaefer, UToledo Foundation   

    This is the first time we are conducting this process and there is a short-turn-around time. Committee recommendations on the first
    set of reviews of low-enrolled programs is due to the Provost by mid-February. A template will be distributed for programs to
    provide ideas for growth, for new or existing programs, to improve engagement, such as co-curricular and extracurricular activities,
    and non-credit course offerings, or to take existing programs to increase enrollment with marketing and recruitment initiatives. It is
    expected there will be a variety of investment proposals with different information that could be collected. By mid-March the
    committee will have been tasked with provide recommendations on the investment proposals. Colleges will be asked to rank their
    proposals, and both the college and the committee will be providing recommendations. I will make the final decisions while working
    with other members of the leadership team to determine viable investments. In addition to the recommendations on reallocation
    and investment, there will be recommendations on how to institutionalize this process moving forward to maintain a regular review
    of the viability of low-enrolled programs and to maintain a process for looking at areas to potentially invest in that are areas of
    growth, revenue generation, or are essential to supporting the mission of the institution.  

    Administrative Changes: 
    On https://www.utoledo.edu/offices/provost/curriculumtracking/ we added a list of course and program content that can be
    administratively revised in CIM if it does not require full curricular process, such as typos on titles and course descriptions, terms
    offered, learning outcomes, the schedule of topics when things get presented in syllabus, CIP codes and state authorization, which is
    related to tracking and requirements for out-of-state experiential learning opportunities. 

Discussion: 
Tara Hanna noted that graduate admissions follows program information and status in CIM so that inactive programs may be removed from the graduate admissions application in a timely manner. Provost Molitor confirmed that programs that are sunsetting, will go through the CIM process for inactivation of those programs and so that communications are sent to marketing, enrollment and the Registrar’s offices. 

Provost Molitor thanked the Council and expressed appreciation for the opportunity. 

Recognition of Winners of 3MT Competition, Coordinator Teri Green and Finalists and Graduate Advisors 
Ms. Teri Green thanked Council and President Postel. The 3MT has become a signature event of the College of Graduate Studies.  The competition was held on November 21, 2024, at 6:00 pm on Main Campus, in the Field House 2100. COGS is pleased to host this event that: 

• Supports skills development for graduate students in research, scholarship, and creative endeavors.
• Builds a cross-disciplinary research and collaborative culture throughout campus that supports excellence.
• Grows and enhances external relations for the university and graduate studies. supports skills development for graduate students, research scholarship and creative endeavors, as well as creating a collaborative culture throughout campus that supports excellence.  

The 3-Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition that challenges students to communicate the significance of their thesis or dissertation (all 80,000 words) without the use of props or industry jargon, in just three minutes while using one PowerPoint slide.

Ms. Green shared a PowerPoint presentation recognizing the 7th Annual 3MT competition winners and finalists (see attached presentation for full details).  Each recipient was recognized and expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to participate in this process and thanked their advisors. The first place winner has the opportunity to compete Regional Competition at the 81st annual MAGS meeting April 4, 2025, in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

 First Place Winner l $350 
 Kesha K. Dalal, Ph.D. Candidate in Molecular Medicine 
 “Garden Guardians: How TRPV4 and Mitochondria Combat Cancer Shenanigans” 
 Advisor: Dr. Charles Thodeti 

 Runner-Up l $225
 Umesha Subhani Kumbalathara Arachchige, Ph.D. Candidate in Chemistry 
 “Beyond Barriers: Combating Tuberculosis by Sweet Spy” 
 Advisor: Dr. Steve Sucheck 

 Honorable Mention l $75 
 Mrunmayee R. Kandalgaonkar, Ph.D. Candidate in Molecular Medicine 
 “What Causes Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis Associated Inflammatory In Bowel Disease?” 
 Advisor: Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar

 People’s Choice Award Winner l $100
 Azeezat Osikoya, Ph.D. Candidate in Cell & Cancer Biology
 “eIF4A1: The Key to Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Growth, Progression and Resistance” 
 Advisor: Dr. Dayanidhi Raman 

 Chair Saltzman congratulated the recipients stating they should all be proud of their work.  

Executive Reports  
Report of the Executive Committee of the Graduate Council 
On behalf of Graduate Council, Chair, Dr. Barbara Saltzman welcomed Council to spring semester 2025 and reported the following: 

• GC Report to Board of Trustees - December 11, 2024 
  Chair Saltzman presented the Graduate Council Report to the Board of Trustees describing our activities from fall semester 2024. The next report will be March 5, 2025. 

• President Search 
  Dr. Jerry Van Hoy had reported to Faculty Senate that the presidential search committee was expanded by two members over the winter break. They are Dr. Ngalula Mubenga from the College of Engineering and Dr. Rupali Chandar from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The Board of Trustees will keep the search confidential and know public presentations will be given by the candidates. 

• Provost Search 
  Candidates are currently being accepted with a priority deadline of February 10th. Candidate review is expected to begin mid-February with final candidates brought to campus by April. This timeline will allow the permanent president to choose their preferred candidate from the finalists.
  

• Minor Curricular Modifications
  The Provost’s office has finalized a list of minor curricular issues that can be corrected without submitting a proposal to CIM. The list is posted on the curriculum tracking website (https://www.utoledo.edu/offices/provost/curriculumtracking/) under the heading, Course/program content that can be administratively revised in CIM. Faculty concerns were shared with Interim Provost Molitor, and it has been decided that all SLO changes should be submitted to CIM to be sure any necessary changes in course content do not go without faculty review.  

We appreciate the information shared today by Interim Provost Molitor regarding the continued program prioritization efforts and the Vice-President for Research search. 
 
Report of the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs 
Dr. Dan Hammel, Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs provided the following report: 

• Congratulations to 3MT Winners and Participants
  This is a wonderful event for the participants and informative for audience. He encouraged graduate faculty to attend in the future. 

• Program Suspensions 
  CIM system sends notification to MARCOM and Graduate Admissions.   

• New Program Proposals - CCGS 
  Chancellor’s Council on Graduate Schools (CCGS) of the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE), has worked over the past few years to shorten the process. However, ODHE requires university Board of Trustees’ approval before a new program proposal is brought forward to CCGS. Previously, it was permitted to concur simultaneously. Therefore, it is important to be aware of BOT dates.  

• Graduate Fair – January 22, 2025 
  11:00 am – 2:00 pm near Starbucks in the Carlson Library, 2nd floor. 
  Most colleges should be represented and mention to undergraduate students. We are permitted to waive graduate application fee for these participants. 

• Midwest Graduate Research Symposium – Saturday, April 12, 2025 
  Will be held in-person for the first time since 2019. Historically, the In-person symposium garnered a large turnout of participants from across the Midwest. It may take a while to rebuild. It is a great opportunity for graduate students to present their research to a wider audience. Please encourage your students to participate. 

• Annual Meeting of the Graduate Faculty – January 30, 2025 
  3:00 pm, online via Webex. Presentation on the state of graduate education at UToledo and the College of Graduate Studies. Dr. Hammel encouraged Council to send him topics they would like addressed.  

Report of the Vice President for Research 
Dr. Connie Schall, Interim Vice President for Research reported the following:

• Research Administrative Mixer 
  “Meet the Team” Grants Coordinators, Grants Accounting, Post Awards, Grants Development, Research Compliance, Tech Transfer,
   Information Systems 
  January 23, 2025 l 2:00-4:00 pm 
  Research and Technology Complex R1
  

• Research Mixer l UToledo Foundation  
  January 27, 2025 l 11:00 am – 12:30 pm 
  HSC, Center for Creative Education, Theater 1200
  

• Scholar Institute Program (SIP) 
  March 3-7, 2025
  Registration is required as space is limited to 20-25
  Learning Objectives:
  • Preparing Grant Submissions
  • Identifying Funding
  • Proposal Writing
  • Budget
  • Submission Process 

Report of the Graduate Student Association 
Saad Andalib, Vice President of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) reported: 

• Midwest Graduate Research Symposium 
  Requested Council encourage students to register and participate. 
  The Midwest Graduate Research Symposium Call for Abstracts/Proposals will be sent out this week with a priority deadline of February 14th and a final deadline of Friday, February 28th.
  • Seminar sessions: 15 or 30 minutes (ideal for research)
  • Lightning sessions: 5-minute talks (ideal for non-research, brief discussions of field work)
  • Poster sessions
    -   Schedule for 2025 MGRS has been established with seminar and lightning talks in the morning and poster and professional
         development sessions in the afternoon.
    -   A call for judges and volunteers is forthcoming.  

• General Assembly Meetings l Spring Semester 2025
  General Assembly meetings are again planned for Wednesdays at 5:30 once a month. An official schedule will be finalized this week through Invonet. The first General Assembly of spring semester is January 22nd at 05:30 pm via Teams. 

• Graduate Research Awards
  • Deadline approaching on Friday, January 24, 2025
  • Will likely extend deadline to January 31, 2025 

Standing Committees 
GC Vice Chair, Dr. Dan Boden had no new updates to report. 
 
Standing Committee Reports 
Report of the Curriculum Committee 
None. 
 
Report of the Membership Committee 
None. 
 
Old Business 
None. 
 
New Business 
None. 

Adjournment 
There being no further business, the Council adjourned at 1:28 pm.