SUNY Fredonia General Campus Meeting
Remarks by President Dennis L. Hefner
Friday, August 24, 2007
Welcome back for the start of another academic year. At last spring’s All-Campus meeting I spoke glowingly about the new Steinway piano donated by the Sorel Foundation, and then pointed at the piano. Later, at the reception, several people came up and said they were disappointed to not hear the new piano played. To make amends, here’s Professor Phyllis East, playing on the “relatively” new Steinway piano.
Thank you, Phyllis. I also should mention that the formal dedication of the piano will occur on Saturday, September 29 at 4 p.m.
Normally bringing someone else on stage this early in my talk means we have received abysmal state funding. Not this time! As Governor Spitzer promised, all inflationary operating costs, including mandatory salary adjustments, were fully covered, making this the third consecutive budget to fully cover inflation. I hope covering inflation, and perhaps doing a little better than inflation, becomes an Albany tradition.
This year we also received $4.6 million to construct a new child care center that will add infant care, serve more pre-schoolers, and better support our instructional needs. The remaining funding for the Science/Technology building, $38 million, was included in both the Senate and Assembly bills, but has been temporarily delayed because of the infighting that’s occurring in Albany. However, even if our project continues to be among the many programs being held hostage, we will receive the necessary dollars as part of the new 5-year capital construction program, which will be passed next spring.
This week we received good news on rankings: 12th among public master’s universities in the North by U.S. News and World Report, and again placed among the top universities in the Northeast by the Princeton Review. However, for me the most important statistic is our graduation rate, where we continue to be ranked 7th in the entire nation for four-year graduation rates among regional public universities.
There were two big summer events: (1) the opening of the new Azteca Restaurant in the Martin’s Plaza means Mexican food, our favorite, has returned to the Dunkirk/Fredonia area, and (2) the first of three gas wells was drilled on campus, and we hit gas. Two other wells will be drilled sometime during the next 12 months, and the 10 year cumulative savings in utility costs could approach $1 million.
This summer was extremely productive. Campus construction reached an all-time high, as a campus-wide natural gas line was installed and tested, Maytum Hall and the Rockefeller Arts Center were switched to satellite boilers and coolers, the $5.5 million renovation to Rockefeller is nearing completion, the roadway behind Houghton Hall became a two-way street, and overall, 54 projects valued at $18.5 million occurred this summer. These projects represent the second largest dollar volume of campus-managed construction projects of any SUNY campus, other than Stony Brook, and are the reason why we’ll continue experiencing some construction inconveniences over the next few weeks, and also why our facilities management, grounds, and custodial staff are really looking forward to the start of this semester. Everyone has been working 110% to complete all of these projects, and I want to publicly thank them for their willingness to make these improvements. Let’s give everyone involved in this herculean effort a round of applause.
Summer also was busy with summer school, summer orientation, and summer youth camps. Summer school enrollments were a little lower than last year, so we will need to make some adjustments for next year. However, one area of continuing growth was international programs, as travel abroad participation grew by more than 50% over last year’s record pace.
Thanks to the special summer efforts by our Admissions Office, with support from many other departments on campus, this year’s entering freshman class is our second largest in history, and once again, more than 70% of the entering freshmen are from the top two selective groups, as defined by SUNY. As a result, we have again surpassed our selectivity target.
Progress also was made this summer on the designs for the new Science/Technology Building, the Technology Incubator, which will be built in Dunkirk, the new music practice rooms to be built between Mason and Rockefeller, and Phase II of the soccer/lacrosse field upgrade. On Saturday, September 7, we’ll be dedicating University Stadium prior to the start of the Days Inn Soccer Classic Tournament, so mark your calendars.
There was a recent change in leadership within the SUNY system. John Ryan, who did a superb job as Chancellor for the past two years and had an opportunity to move to North Carolina to be closer to his family, stepped down on June 1. I’m very pleased that John Clark, who has served SUNY in several interim positions, including the presidencies of Plattsburgh, Brockport, Optometry, and Alfred State, became the Interim Chancellor. John is a very conscientious, hard-working person, who understands the role of campuses and systems. He’ll do a great job as Interim Chancellor, while a national search is conducted for the permanent Chancellor.
The most promising action this summer was Governor Spitzer’s appointment of a Commission on Higher Education. One of the Commission’s primary charges is to develop a rational tuition policy for SUNY, and drafts of the final report are due by December 1 to allow for inclusion of certain key provisions in next year’s Administrative Budget. Keep your fingers crossed!
Before discussing several priorities for the coming year, I’d like to reflect briefly on a few of the many highlights from the past year:
• Final, full, and complete NCATE accreditation was received by our Teacher Education programs.
• University Commons had a successful opening, and the new Bookstore and the Cranston Marché were featured on the covers of national magazines.
• More than 250 students participated in the annual Student Research and Creative Activity Expo—the largest number ever!
• For the second year in a row, three Fredonia faculty received Fulbright Awards: Psychologists Jack Croxton (Russia) and Cheryl Drout (Japan), and Communication Chair Ted Schwalbe, who just returned from a summer Fulbright to Namibia.
• Speaking of returning, I especially want to welcome back and thank Officer Gil Uhlendorff of University Police, who recently returned after 18 months in Kuwait, where he completed his second tour of duty in the Middle East.
• The spectacular Hillman Opera production of “Carmen” sold out King Concert Hall on two consecutive nights last fall.
• Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) won the regional championship for the 10th consecutive year, and earned a 2nd runner-up trophy at nationals.
• Visiting speakers and artists included Convocation Speaker Dr. Neal deGrasse Tyson, the Academy Award-winning team of Wendy Tilby and Amada Forbis, renowned poet and former Fredonia student Lucille Clifton, international environmentalist Dr. Vanada Shiva, Peter Schickele (aka PDQ Bach), and Susan Marie Frontczak, who performed “A Living History of Marie Curie,” just to name a few.
• Steve Rees (Theatre and Dance) was awarded special honors for his entry at the Biennial Tech Expo of the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology, and Joe Straight (Mathematics) received the Mathematical Association of America’s Meritorious Service Award.
• The Dance Minor has now become a full-fledged BFA in Dance.
• Two separate U.S. Education grants, each involving $1.5 million over five years, were received for ELA and Project Bridge.
• Fredonia’s ice hockey team won the SUNYAC championship with three straight road wins at Buffalo State, Oswego, and Plattsburgh, earning a bid to the NCAA championship tournament, while men’s soccer won the East Coast Athletic Conference post-season championship.
• $1,842,701 was generated through fund-raising, helping the Fredonia College Foundation assets reach $19.3 million.
• A new Blue Devil logo was approved.
• Biology faculty member Bill Brown’s research was featured in both the New York Times and the October Issue of Smithsonian magazine.
• The 7th annual Mathematics and Science Challenge in May involved more than 300 students from 17 high schools.
• Fredonia became the home of the New York State Mathematics Teachers’ Journal, with Bob Rogers (Mathematics) editor and Keary Howard (Mathematics) and Jamar Pickreign (Education) associate editors.
• Our development officers had 640 visits and substantial contacts with donors and major prospects.
• Fredonia students swept the top three state awards at the New York State Speech Hearing-Language Association competition, and our students placed a second and a third in two categories at the Mock Trial competitions.
• The SEFA campaign surpassed its target, collecting $47,050 for United Way.
• The honor society for freshmen, Alpha Lambda Delta, was chartered and had its first induction ceremony.
• The $15 million “Doors to Success” fund-raising campaign was designed, and the silent phase has begun.
• The Alumni Leadership Conference brought 24 science alumni to campus to discuss opportunities associated with the new Science/Technology building.
• A new recruitment DVD, now available on our website, was produced in collaboration with Communication Assistant Professor Nefin Dinc, AIT’s Colin Plaister, and our Admissions Office.
• Fredonia had three All-Americans: thrower Julia Hopson in track and field, and divers Kelly Sponholz and Scott Horsington in swimming and diving.
• A major Cheerleader Competition held on campus involved nearly 120 teams and drew nearly 5,000 people—making it the largest in Western New York.
• Faculty promotions include:
Distinguished Professor:
Alberto Rey Visual Art and New Media
Distinguished Teaching Professor:
James Hurtgen Political Science
Professor:
Ziya Arnavut Computer Science
Ellen Litwicki History
Librarian:
Kathleen Sacco Reed Library
Associate Professor:
Iyad Abu-Jeib Computer Science
William Brown Biology
Kim Marie Cole English
Bernd Gottinger Music
Gerald Gray Music
Linda Hall Accounting
Ana Maria Klein Curriculum and Instruction
Sherri Mason Chemistry and Biochemistry
Aimee Nezhukumatathil English
Associate Librarian:
Kerrie Wilkes Reed Library
• Other promotions include:
University Comptroller
Judy Langworthy
Director
Maggie Bryan-Peterson
Shari Miller
Susan Cortes
Associate Director
Kathy Ann Forster
Jodi Rzepka
Heather McKeever
Cathe Kilpatrick
Assistant Director
Laurie Ensign
Jeremy Corrente
Tracy Stenger
Staff Associate
Janet Mayer
Secretary 2
Christi Schmittendorff
Administrative Aide
Debra Siebert
Admissions Counselor
Cory Bezek
Assistant Benefits Coordinator
Jennifer Burke
Assistant Director Financial Aid
Megan Zaffalon
EDP Counselor
Rachel Skemer
Secretary 1
Judy Feniello
Theresa LaDuca
Linda Rex
Lisa Schrantz
Sally Thompson
Clerk 2
Dawn Hunt
Instructional Support Technician
Christopher Taverna
Janitor
Robert Lawton
Louis Sinare
George Wolfe
Motor Equipment Mechanic
John Schmidt
Nurse 2
Mary Price
Res Net System Administrator
Benjamin Hartung
Special Programs Manager
Katie Thies
Sr. Programmer Analyst
Joseph Baxter
Staff Assistant
Jerry Reilly
William Michalski
Maintenance Helper
Donald Dillenburg
Residence Hall Director
Angela Rosebrough
Stephanie Wares
Payroll Examiner 2
Ruth Phillips
Congratulations to each of you!
We’ve now completed the first year activities associated with the 5-year Fredonia Plan, which is designed to improve the campus’ performance in five critical areas:
• Student Learning. A full-time Internship Office was created and a second Education Technologist hired to support development of a comprehensive Center for Teaching and Learning. The most significant undertaking last year was the Foundations of Excellence project, which involved the participation of more than 100 faculty and staff in a comprehensive self-study of first-year success and how to improve it, which was endorsed by the University Senate. This initiative, along with the review of capstone experiences, which occurs 12 months from now, means that by the next catalog, every Fredonia student will have a significant first-year experience and a substantial Senior Capstone experience.
• Scholarship and Creative Activities. The Office of Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) was established, research was added to the title of the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies to provide a greater focus for this area, and the various grant and contract functions were consolidated into a single, one-stop-shop Office of Sponsored Programs and Research.
• Diversity. The first year activities focused primarily on international diversity, as Professor Ted Schwalbe from Communication became our first ever Coordinator of International Learning and another position was added to the International Office. A campus-wide Diversity Task Force will be established this fall to review all elements of campus diversity, and make formal recommendations. Thanks to previous efforts, we are ahead of our student diversity goals, and for the first time in Fredonia’s 181 year history, more than 10% of the entering class is composed of students of color.
• Technology. The entire academic core is wireless and a comprehensive campus-wide technology upgrade plan has been drafted. The conversion to ANGEL was a complete success, and resulted in our campus receiving two awards: one for use of ANGEL by the Counseling Center, and a second for “extreme migration.” The university website was redesigned to give it a fresher look and make it much easier to keep updated, and our IT department installed NUMARA Footprints, which allows for better management of technology systems across the campus.
• Image. The Viewbook, which is used to attract students, received a major makeover. The regional Vice President for Noel-Levitz conducted a thorough review of our campus marketing activities and provided a number of helpful recommendations. The Fredonia Footsteps program, which involves our alumni and emeriti, and the Fredonia Choice program, a new scholarship concept, will be implemented.
One additional initiative deserves special mention. Thanks to the leadership of Professors Christina Jarvis (English), David Kinkela (History), and Sherri Mason (Chemistry), we now have a strong and active Sustainability Committee that truly will make a difference in the impact this campus has on our environment. Recycling centers have been located in every building on campus, and new recycling bins have been or will soon be located throughout the campus. The committee is working on many other sustainability issues, and will need your help to make the “greening of Fredonia” a reality. After all, we want to ensure that this planet is here, in good shape to support our children and our grandchildren.
And finally, last week our granddaughter, Jillian, came to stay with us for four days. It was her first “solo” visit. The last time most of you saw her she was eight years ago when I walked onto stage carrying her at the Fall 1999 All-Campus meeting. She is a typical, energetic 8-year-old. One of the days, we took her to Niagara Falls, and her favorite part was the Journey Behind the Falls, where you go down in an elevator and look through a portal at the back side of the Falls. To me, the back of water looked the same as the front, but to her, she saw a totally different perspective. We then visited the Butterfly Conservatory, and she was absolutely enchanted by the many varieties and differing colors. Throughout her visit, she was inquisitive and eager to learn. She demonstrated to me the pure joy in learning. Over the next 48 hours, 5,500 students will arrive in Fredonia. Many will have a strong desire to learn, others may require some coaxing, but it will be up to us to create an environment that supports learning and that helps students become contributing members of our society. Your willingness to help students, to share a smile, to provide guidance, and to create a friendly, supportive environment truly makes a difference. Just ask our alumni, and they will tell you about the person, or persons, at SUNY Fredonia who changed their lives, and helped them to succeed. And our alumni cite faculty and staff from across this campus. You just never know how your actions, or kind words, might make the difference. Our students come to college because of their dreams and aspirations, and each and every day, each of you, through your daily actions, help make our students’ dreams come true.
Thank you for all that you do, and have a great semester!