SUNY Fredonia General Campus Meeting
Good morning, and welcome back for the start of the spring semester. I hope the break gave all of you a chance to visit with family and friends. Jan and I were very excited to have our grandchildren visit us. Our granddaughter, Jillian, who you first met as an infant at the Fall 1999 all-campus meeting when I carried her onto the stage, is now 6 Ω years old and was visiting Fredonia for the third time, while her brother, 2-year-old Callahan, was visiting for the first time. Jillian was very excited about snow country, while Callahan just wanted to climb up and down the stairs, over and over again.
Several of you were kind enough to lend me snow tubes for sledding. Jillian and I had also planned to build a snowman, and, of course, have a snowball fight. Unfortunately, the weather didnít cooperate, and the snow melted. However, I got up my courage and took my granddaughter to open ice-skating sessions on three consecutive days. Now you have to realize, I grew up in California, and didnít skate as a child, but itís not skating that worries me, itís the falling. A surface composed of 16 layers of ice on top of a 6-inch concrete slab just doesnít have a lot of give. Nevertheless, despite my trepidation, and one fairly dramatic fall, I managed to avoid visiting the emergency room, which is my definition of successful ice-skating.
The intersession was busy with another successful J-Term. Enrollments were lower than last January, but the offerings included a better array of courses specifically designed to take advantage of the shorter, more concentrated, format. And once again, study abroad courses led the way. Congratulations and thanks to everyone involved in designing innovative courses for the J-Term. These specialty courses are a wonderful augment to our regular offerings.
Also during the break, the SUNY Board of Trustees appointed John Ryan, who had been doing an outstanding job as Interim Chancellor, as our permanent Chancellor. What has impressed me about Chancellor Ryan is his willingness to seek advice and counsel prior to making final decisions. For example, while preparing for this yearís budget request, Chancellor Ryan asked every campus to identify critical needs, and then considered the input he received prior to completing the final request. Heís off to a great start in leading the SUNY system.
And just last week, Kiplingerís magazine released its list of "Best Buys" in higher education, and SUNY Fredonia was ranked among the "30 Best Public College Values in the Nation."
Spring semester is the time for new student leadership. I would ask that our newly elected Student Association President Matt Brysinski, a junior English Adolescence Education major, and SA Vice President Dan Scherer, a senior with a double major in Economics and Political Science, to stand and be recognized. Both have served in numerous student leadership positions and will do a great job leading SA over the next 12 months.
Spring is also the time for state budget news. One week ago, Governor Pataki gave his final State of the State address, and mentioned the need for more research faculty at the University and Medical Centers to help spur economic growth, and suggested he favors an incentive to encourage high school students to major in mathematics and science education. However, the more significant information becomes available later today when the Administrative Budget is released and we learn how much of the SUNY request is endorsed by the Governor.
The SUNY system formally requested funding for several basics: inflationary dollars to cover contractual salary increases, energy costs, and other non-personnel inflation; mandatory dollars to cover geographic differences, Equal Opportunity Program expenses, and tuition rate-sensitive student aid; and enrollment growth dollars to cover increasing numbers of freshmen and transfers, improved student retention, and existing unsupported enrollment. The system also requested a mid-year adjustment to help pay for skyrocketing utility costs, and again asked the state to adopt a tuition policy.
In addition to these basics, SUNY proposed five new initiatives: (1) funding to implement a performance plan as part of the new BAP II funding formula, (2) dollars to support high need economic development projects, (3) a small amount to initiate an Honors College initiative, (4) additional research faculty positions to support university and medical centers, and (5) funds to expand the system-wide distance learning capabilities. The exact use for the economic development and Honors College dollars has not been defined, so our campus will be closely monitoring the development of these emerging initiatives.
The budget request also included a rolling provision for the five-year capital construction plan. We would still have a 5-year plan, but after each year, a new fifth year would be automatically added to the base. This provision allows for a smoother flow in the planning, design, and construction of major projects. If such a provision is implemented, our campus has formally requested a new $49 million science/technology building. Jewett Hall has been unchanged for nearly half a century, and just doesnít provide the state-of-the-art facilities required to teach todayís science curriculum. Letís keep our fingers crossed!
Having the SUNY system fully and effectively advocating for our needs represents a most positive and welcome change. I am cautiously optimistic, and expect that at a minimum, our inflationary costs will be covered. Additionally, implementation of the new system funding formula, called "BAP II," BAP stands for Budget Allocation Process, should help Fredoniaís budget. The Chancellor has scheduled a phone call with all SUNY campus presidents for early tomorrow morning, so you will receive a written campus-wide budget update from me either late Wednesday or Thursday.
Over the break, the University Senate held two sets of meetings to discuss the Fredonia Plan. I want to thank outgoing Senate Chair Jackie Swansinger for coordinating and overseeing these sessions. Iím told the presentations and subsequent discussions led to lively debates and considerable interaction. Based upon conversations with a few participants, it seems fair to say that there was near unanimous support for improving student learning through enhanced teaching.
Additionally, although included as part of the plan, many felt the role of scholarship should be more fully emphasized. This suggestion makes good sense, as teaching excellence and faculty scholarship are mutually-reinforcing activities that help define the academe. Fredonia has a long tradition of outstanding teaching, combined with excellence in faculty scholarship. Just this past fall, 11 faculty scholars were honored at the annual campus book launching celebrating recent publications. And a new exhibit in the display case on the first floor of Fenton, just across from my office, is another impressive reminder. The case is filled with books written by members of the English faculty. If you havenít seen the display, please take a minute and walk by. Itís an impressive collection of scholarly works.
Now that the Fredonia Plan meetings are concluded, itís time to sort through the ideas and decide on the final components that will be submitted to the University Senate. We need to begin the important task of turning the plan into a reality.
Accreditation activities were a significant part of this past fall. Thanks to the leadership of Peter Sinden, SUNY Fredonia received an unconditional 5-year renewal of its Middle States accreditation without even needing a campus visit. The Speech Pathology and Audiology Program received a full 8-year renewal of its accreditation, and the College of Education completed the Electronic Data Management "assessment" system that will be available for review by the NCATE accreditors when they visit later this spring.
This past fall Reed Library added special late night study hours on a pilot basis. Based upon a recent report, a total of 10,423 student visits occurred during the late night hours. As a result, these temporary hours will now become permanent hours.
For this yearís convocation theme, entitled "Leaving Global Footprints," Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. gave the Maytum Convocation Lecture to a capacity crowd at King Concert Hall, plus to 600 others packed into overflow rooms in McEwen Hall. That day was filled with mixed emotion, excitement over Mr. Kennedyís visit, and sadness because earlier that day we lost Robert Maytum, Sr., at age 94. Mr. Maytum cared deeply about this campus. In addition to the Maytum Convocation Lecture, he established more endowed scholarships than anyone in our history. Thanks to his generosity, nearly 200 Maytum Scholars have graduated from SUNY Fredonia, and Mr. Maytumís legacy will continue to assist future generations of students.
A few of the fall Athletic highlights include the Menís Soccer team reaching the "Elite Eight" in the NCAA tournament, the Womenís Soccer team reaching the post-season ECAC tournamentís semifinals, and 34 student athletes from six fall sports (Men & Womenís Cross Country, M&W Soccer, W Tennis, and W Volleyball) earning SUNYAC All-Academic status with grade point averages of 3.3 or higher. Additionally, the new Sports Management and Exercise Science degree enrolled 23 majors in just its first semester.
Thanks to all of you, the campus again stepped forward to help others who are less fortunate. The campaign to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina raised $11,400 in just 10 days, and this yearís SEFA campaign raised $43,073óan all-time high.
The wireless network was recently expanded with the addition of McEwen Hall, the Rockefeller Arts Center, and Houghton Hall, plus the first wireless classroom, complete with laptops, was created in Reed Library.
A very significant international initiative involved the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Ege University, a highly regarded university located in Izmir, Turkey. Turkish students, majoring in either computer science or international studies, will spend their freshman and junior years at Ege, and their sophomore and senior years studying at Fredonia. The first cohort of Turkish students will arrive here for fall semester, 2007, and over the next several years will grow to 60 students annually.
Twenty student designers and actors involved with two fall productions, Elephant Man and Fernwood, received invitations last month and are performing today in New Paltz at the regional competition for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. These invitations are a major honor for our Department of Theatre and Dance.
The last phase of completing University Commons this spring involves a reconfiguration of Residence Row, which means closing a major roadway after spring break. The reward for this inconvenience is the upcoming opening of a Starbucks on the first floor of University Commons. It will have a fireplace, so on cold days, you can sit by the fire and gaze at the snow while sipping one of the hundreds of variations of coffee drinks that will be offered. I just have one question: Whatever happened to the simple choice between regular and decaf?
Beginning late March, and continuing for the next few years, we will enter a period of construction and renovation second only to the construction of the main campus 40 years ago. It will be a bit messy with trenches and building sites throughout the campus, and there will be some inconveniences with certain facilities, parking lots, and roadways closed for renovation, so prepare yourselves.
A partial list of projects breaking ground within the next 24 months include: installation of a campus-wide natural gas line; installation of satellite boilers at 15 different locations; a major upgrade to Rockefeller Arts Center involving sequenced closings of King Concert Hall, Marvel Theater, and Bartlett Theater; expansion of the two largest music rehearsal rooms and completion of the Sound Recording Studio in Mason Hall; construction of a soccer/lacrosse stadium; renovation of virtually every athletic field; relocation of the Residence Row roadway; replacement of the Chautauqua Hall windows; renovation of the Williams Center; and an upgrade of the fire alarm systems in Kasling and Grissom. Additionally, off-campus construction of a Hi-Tech Incubator, along with designing the renovations for Fenton and Houghton Halls, makes for a very exciting time.
Before concluding, I wanted to share with you a recent conversation I had with an alumnus, who just joined our Fredonia College Foundation Board. Frequently my remarks conclude with an example of how you make a difference in the lives of our students, but todayís example shows how your actions can have an impact far beyond just the current students.
I met recently with Dr. Diane Pennica, a 1973 SUNY Fredonia graduate, who grew up in the Fredonia area. She talked about how friendly and warm the faculty and staff were to her, and how she still fondly remembers the positive, supportive climate she encountered while a student here. Her original major was Education, but the Biology and Chemistry courses she took fascinated her, and with some friendly encouragement from several faculty members, she decided to concentrate on the sciences. As she moved into her Senior year, Emeritus Distinguished Teaching Professor Kevin Fox from Biology, serving as a helpful mentor, suggested she pursue graduate studies.
Several times she reiterated how much this campus meant to her. But what I want to share with you today is what she has done with her education. She is a Senior Scientist, having been with Genentech for more than 25 years. Her research led to the development of the drug TPA, which is a treatment for stroke victims, and she currently is working on research that will eventually lead to better treatments for cancer patients through what she calls "individualized medicine." As I sat there listening to her, I kept thinking of all the stroke victims, who have been spared the terrible debilitating effects of strokes, and the future cancer patients, who will have a better chance for successful treatments, thanks to her research work. And while her accomplishments are a result of a lifetime of dedication, intellect, and determination on her part, I couldnít help thinking about the fact that SUNY Fredonia is an important "stepping stone" for students like Dr. Pennica. Not only do your actions make a difference in the lives of students, but in the impact our students will have on others. Thanks to each and every one of you for what you do every day to positively impact the lives of others.
Have a great semester!