SUNY Fredonia General Campus Meeting
Remarks by President Dennis L. Hefner
Friday, August 22, 2008
Welcome back for the start of another academic year. As our year begins, the Olympics are coming to an end. I hope you enjoyed watching the Olympics coverage, and expect you were impressed with local pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski, who earned the silver medal. Watching the late night coverage has created a bit of sleep deprivation. Fortunately, with the beginning of the national political conventions, sleep is on the way.
This past summer was probably the busiest in our campus’ history. Two summer sessions, numerous youth camps, including two different New York State Summer School of the Arts programs, and six summer Orientation programs were only the beginning. Construction included a $4 million facelift for the Williams Center food court, which will reopen Tuesday, Sept. 2, and have a dedication at 9 a.m. the following day; extensive work on our $22 million replacement for the campus-wide heating and cooling system, which impacted nearly every building on campus; plus work on Nixon Hall, Grissom Hall, Andrews Quad, Lake Way Drive, and Ring Road, just to name a few. It’s been quite a summer, and everyone involved with this major effort deserves a round of applause.
Three other significant projects are moving forward: Phase II of University Stadium began on Monday; the Technology Incubator is scheduled for a September ground-breaking; and the new Child Care Center is scheduled for a March 2009 ground-breaking.
The Williams Center was to have already received new double-paned, energy-efficient, hopefully leak-proof, but unfortunately heavier skylights, but a structural issue associated with the extra weight must be fixed. Scaffolding will remain in place for a while, so some events normally held in the multipurpose room of the Williams Center are being relocated. Once this project is done, we will finally get rid of those buckets we’ve been using during rain storms.
Because of an early graduation, we have new Student Association officers for the fall: Nicholas Dhimitri, a senior Political Science major, is the new SA President, and Melissa Paluch, a junior Political Science major, is the new SA Vice President. Would they stand and be recognized?
The Princeton Review again placed us among the top universities in the Northeast and just today U.S. News and World Report again ranked us 12th among public regional universities in the North. These rankings are welcome, but it’s important to remember the most important “bottom line” statistic is the graduation rate, and among public universities, we are ranked seventh in the entire nation for four-year graduation rates. “Fredonia in 4” works.
This spring the Reed Library addition was renamed the Carnahan-Jackson Center for Learning and Scholarship, in recognition of nearly $2 million dollars in gifts to our campus from the Carnahan-Jackson Foundation, and on Sept. 26 the Rockefeller Arts Center Art Gallery will be renamed for Cathy and Jesse Marion, in recognition of a new $500,000 endowment and gift to the Fredonia College Foundation.
Last night more than a dozen Turkish students, sophomores in Computer Science and International Studies, arrived on campus from Ege University. Our other joint degree partner in Turkey, Izmir University of Economics, is enrolling students this fall in Computer Science and Communication, for attendance here next year. The pipeline for Turkish students is now a reality.
Student applications reached all-time highs this past year, as Fredonia’s percentage growth was the highest in SUNY. We closed freshmen and transfer admissions in late June, and thanks to the large number of applicants, the quantity and quality of the entering class improved. We will be bursting at the seams this fall, but the timing couldn’t be better. Additional students generate more dollars through tuition and fees, residence halls charges, and food and bookstore sales, and these extra funds will help close the operating budget gap.
This upward enrollment is running counter to the birth rate in Western New York. Of course, our faculty and staff have been helping to reverse the birth rate trend. In fact, would everyone who had a child, or a grandchild, or a great-grandchild born during the past 12 months please stand?
This past spring there were two disappointing news items. The first involved the state budget, which after the positive recommendations from the Commission on Higher Education turned out to be much less than had been expected, and the second was the closing of the Azteca Mexican restaurant. I can’t talk about Azteca—it’s still too painful.
With regard to the budget, you know Fredonia has already experienced three sizeable reductions: the Administrative Budget cut $450,000 from our utility funds; then another $500,000 was cut prior to passage; and one week after signing the budget, Governor David Paterson announced a huge cut, which thanks to intervention by SUNY Board of Trustees Chair Carl Hayden and Interim Chancellor John Clark was reduced to $115,000. Collectively, these three cuts represent 6.5 percent of our state funding.
We thought the budget was finally set, but three weeks ago, the governor announced an additional 7 percent cut, representing another $1.4 million reduction for our campus. Efforts are underway to mitigate the impact of this reduction, and the final outcome is still uncertain.
However, we definitely will be experiencing further belt tightening. As we tighten our belts, we must continue to meet our top two priorities: providing students’ access to classes, and maintaining our commitment to employees. The projected shortfall will be covered this year through a continuation of the current rolling hiring freeze, using the additional tuition and fees generated by the extra students, redirecting funds from our auxiliaries (FSA and residence halls), impounding dollars from divisional IFR accounts, and eliminating all funds from our equipment accounts. Remaining intact will be department operating expense dollars, travel accounts, and the library acquisition budget. These short term solutions will need to be buttressed by a tuition increase, and the Board of Trustees finally seems poised to move strongly on this issue. We have been through tough budgets before, and together we will get through the current difficulties.
While the operating budget is a challenge, the capital construction budget could not be better, thanks in large part to the advocacy of State Senator Cathy Young and State Assemblyman Bill Parment. This year we received the remaining $38 million for the Science/Technology building, an additional $40 million for a classroom addition to the Rockefeller Arts Center, and a five-year commitment for a total of $70 million to support critical maintenance. You may wonder about the dichotomy between operating and capital budgets. Here’s a quick explanation: capital funds are provided by bonds, which are paid over several decades and, unlike operating revenues, are impacted little by the sharp rise and fall in state revenue.
Before discussing several priorities for the coming year, I’d like to reflect briefly on a few of the many highlights from this past year:
• Fulbright Fellowships were awarded to Psychology’s Jack Croxton (Russia) and Cheryl Drout (Japan), and to Communication’s Ted Schwalbe (Namibia).
• 14 SUNY Fredonia faculty had books published.
• The “Doors to Success” fund-raising campaign, publicly launched in May, has already generated $7 million towards its $15 million goal.
• New academic program approvals include a B.A. in Journalism and an M.A.T. in Adolescence Science Education.
• The College of Arts and Humanities’ “Spring Symposium” featured lectures, an exhibition, and a play about Leni Riefenstahl, the controversial German filmmaker.
• Major fall School of Music celebrations involved the gift of a new Steinway grand piano from the Sorel Charitable Foundation and the 100th birthday of classical saxophonist Sigurd Rascher.
• Modern Languages and Literatures received a $40,000 SUNY grant to redesign its entry-level Spanish courses.
• Convocation highlights included the Maytum Convocation lecture by Dr. Spencer Wells, director of National Geographic’s Genographic Project. This year’s convocation theme deals with human rights and will feature Marian Wright Edelman on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 3:30 p.m. in King Concert Hall.
• The SEFA campaign generated more than $51,000—another campus record.
• Three coaches received SUNYAC “Coach of the Year” honors: P.J. Gondek for Men’s Soccer, Chris Case for Women’s Lacrosse, and Geoff Braun for Women’s Volleyball.
• The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team won regionals for the 11th consecutive year, and won its semi-finals division at nationals.
• Gary Lash of Geosciences received considerable acclaim for his research on Marcellus Shale.
• The new soccer/lacrosse stadium was dedicated in front of more than 1,200 fans.
• Kim Tillery of Speech Pathology and Audiology provided hearing screening to 4,500 athletes at the Special Olympic Summer Games held in Shanghai.
• “Pink the Rink,” a hockey team fund-raiser for breast cancer, received nationwide publicity.
• Winning major awards were Communication Professor Nefin Dinc for her film, “I Named Her Angel,” and Aimee Nezhukumatathil, the 2008 winner of the Balcones Poetry Prize.
• The Wind Ensemble had a successful summer performance tour in China.
• The student exchange programs with Swansea Metropolitan University in Wales and the University of Plymouth in England celebrated their 20th anniversaries.
• Three undergraduate student interns wrote Beyond Normal: Making Your Writing Devilishly Good, a new campus guide to improve student writing.
• Earth Week concluded with a presentation by Ralph Nader; the first ever Campus Sustainability Report was produced; and RecycleMania generated more than 75,000 pounds in just 10 weeks, as the campus continued to “Go Green!”
• The Rosa Parks Scholarship competition had more than 50 entries—an all-time high.
• All-American status was earned by divers Scott Horsington and Kelly Sponholz, and by thrower Julia Hopson.
• Lieutenant Clifton Wheeler of University Police won one gold and three silver medals in sharp shooting at the North American Indigenous Games.
• Reed Library’s Big Read grant focused on Ray Bradbury’s novel, Farenheit 451, last year; and this year will focus on Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird.
• The School of Music earned a national award for its innovative use of the ANGEL course management system in Music Theory placement.
• Several individuals filled, assumed, or returned to administrative leadership positions:
Department Chairs:
Biology Patricia Astry
Curriculum and Instruction Ana Maria Klein
History John Staples
Psychology Cheryl Drout
Directors:
Academic Advising Joanne Martonis
Budget Lynda Pleszewski
CCC (General Education) Rhea Simmons
Education Development Program Janet Knapp
Internal Control Amy Beers
Henry C. Youngerman Clinic Melissa Sidor
• Faculty promotions include:
Distinguished Teaching Professor:
Clark Zlotchew Modern Languages and Literatures
Professor:
Nancy Boynton Mathematical Sciences
James Davis Music
Michael Jabot Education
Elizabeth Lee Visual Arts and New Media
Eileen Lyon History
Associate Professor:
Ann Carden Communications
Timothy Frerichs Visual Arts and New Media
Karry Kazial Biology
Stephen Comp Visual Arts and New Media
Katherine Levy Music
Kathleen Magiera Education
Shannon McRae English
Rhea Simmons Education
Jonathan Titus Biology
• Other promotions include:
Secretary 1
Carol Capitano
Mary Lou DeWolf
Julie Sticek
Patricia Anderson
Assistant Director Admissions
David Steiner
Clerk 2
Janice Laurito
Leah Betts
Cynthia Haase
Lori Johnson
Benefits Coordinator
Jennifer Costa
Clerk 1
Tammy Dahl
Admissions Assistant
Lester Harbin
ResNet Coordinator
Amy Post
Secretary 2
Cheryl Budniewski
Supervising Janitor
Anthony Marino
System Administrator
Michael Szocki
Plant Utilities Engineer
Paul Agle
Dining Services Manager
Ed Koning
Project Manager
Diana Carpus
Janet Mayer
Help Desk Support Specialist
Thomas McCune
Christopher Taverna
David Torres
Matthew Warren
Dining Services Assistant Manager
Stacie Bauer
Computer Help Desk Manager
Catherine Zakrzewski
Residence Hall Director
Allison Adams
Jennifer Schaedler
Dining Services Supervisor
Lynne Montague
Maintenance Assistant
Donald Dillenburg
Coordinator of Systems
Kathleen Sacco
Congratulations to each of you!
Thanks to the leadership of Roger Byrne and Kerry Wilkes, the Middle States self-study design was approved. This year we conduct the self-study, and a year from now, the accreditation team visits us.
We also made significant progress on the Fredonia Plan. This past year saw the first-ever Conference on Teaching and Learning, creation of the Professional Development Center, expansion of first-year programs, preparation of a campus-wide Diversity Plan, strengthening of internship and service learning opportunities, expanded study abroad programs, completion of the wireless system, and expanded advertising to improve campus image.
During this coming year, key Fredonia Plan activities include expanding the Fredonia Choice and Fredonia Footsteps programs, ensuring every graduate has an appropriate senior capstone experience in the major, implementing key recommendations from the Diversity Plan, and further expansion of joint student/faculty research.
Finally, I want to share with you two events that made me so proud of this campus. The Educational Development Program recently held its 40th Reunion, bringing more than 100 alumni back to the campus. Following dinner, each alum was asked to stand and say a few words. One by one these remarkable graduates, most of whom had graduated 20 or more years ago and who had originally come to our campus from humble economic circumstances, stood and talked about the faculty and staff who made a difference to them. They talked about their families, about what their education meant to them, and how they have given back to society. I wish we had recorded those comments because they were a vivid reminder of how you each impact the lives of our students. It was an inspirational evening, and I wish everyone could have been there.
The second event occurred recently, just after the governor announced SUNY would be a significant part of his latest round of budget cuts. FSA hosted a reception for the directors, faculty, and staff of our four largest summer programs. During the reception, their comments to me were uniformly effusive about the friendly nature of the campus, the exceptional staff, the beauty and cleanliness of our grounds and buildings, and our stellar faculty. One faculty member from another SUNY campus actually came running up to me as I was leaving to say “I had always heard positive comments about Fredonia, but this campus is even better than I had been told, and that’s saying something.” As I walked down Central Avenue, the many positive comments kept ringing in my ears. I will admit to having been a bit down by the latest budget news, but after hearing so many positive comments, I decided there and then to let you know how much your actions, relayed through these campus visitors, meant to me. My resolve to ensure this campus weathers the current budget crunch, while maintaining its overall quality, was greatly bolstered that day, thanks to all of you.
Every day, we should remind ourselves, just as the EDP alumni did, that this university makes a difference in the lives of its students. What we do matters, and we cannot allow the current budget issues to distract us from our mission.
Thanks for what you do, thanks for cheering me up, and have a great semester!