March 4 message from President Kolison

Dear Fredonia community:

It is Thursday, and it is time for another weekly update. 

Let me begin by thanking you for the time you take to read these updates. It is truly a pleasure to connect with you through these weekly communications. 

Testing Results Remain Impressive 

We have now administered more than 7,100 tests since we began the spring semester on February 3. To date, we have had a total of 15 positive cases, and of those, only three were on-campus students. Also, what is remarkable is that Fredonia has not experienced an on-campus positive test since February 9.

So, let me do what may be unnecessary by asking this question:  Why do we continue to get very good results from our testing?  I am arguing that it is not luck.  Rather, it is because we have remained vigilant about being safe.  Could these results become less than desirable?  Yes, if we let down our guard.  In fact, I was informed last week that some members of our community were observed walking around campus without masks.  That is risky.  I understand the fatigue being caused by this virus. Notwithstanding, I want to encourage everyone to please stay the course of remaining vigilant. With vaccine opportunities increasing each day, I am very hopeful this situation will be over soon.  So, let’s not give up as we approach the finish line.  

I would like to thank the members of the Infection Control Management Team for their work in developing and executing our testing, isolation, and quarantine procedures.  Most of all, thank you—students and employees—for continuing to make great choices to keep yourselves and those around you safe.

Public Vaccination Site 

As I informed you last week, SUNY Fredonia is partnering with the Chautauqua County Department of Health to host public vaccination clinics on the campus in Steele Hall. The first event took place this past Saturday, and, by all accounts, it was very successful. More clinics are being planned by the county here on campus.  Hence, we will have to occasionally close parking lots near Steele Hall to accommodate visitors to campus for the clinics.  For those who commute to campus regularly, we appreciate your patience and flexibility as we host these occasional events.

As I shared with you previously, we are pursuing the opportunity for a “closed” vaccination site on campus.  If we are given the designation of a “closed vaccination site,” we would be able to vaccinate all Fredonia students, faculty, and staff right on campus. Given our success in hosting a public site, we are hopeful that our application will be successful. I will keep you informed about our progress towards this goal.

Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence  

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of virtually meeting almost all of Fredonia's 11 finalists for the Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence:  Emma Atherall, Bradley Brown, Emily Brown, Benjamin Farley, Molly Gibbs, Elizabeth Hahn, Jonathan Kobrinsky, Haleigh Moreno, Braelin Scott, Thomas Sheffield and Emilee Stenson. Not only have these students shown a tireless devotion to their academics, their extracurricular pursuits and campus leadership are also very impressive. Their success is a reflection of their commitment to academic excellence and to the support Fredonia faculty and staff have provided to students at this university. I want to thank our faculty and staff for their work with these students and all students that they work with at Fredonia.

 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching  

I received news early this week that Linda Prechtl, Adjunct Lecturer in the College of Education, was selected for the prestigious Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching, a recognition of, and a tribute to, her expertise, commitment and dedication as an adjunct faculty member.  This afternoon I had the special privilege and pleasure of presenting the award to Linda in my office. Please join me in congratulating Mrs. Prechtl on this well-deserved honor!

Thank you for your time.  I hope you have a great weekend. The forecast calls for warmer weather next week. I will take that as another sign that warmer days are just around the corner!  Of course, I could be too optimistic in my forecast as this is just my first New York winter.

Remain safe,

Very truly yours,
Dr. K.

Stephen H. Kolison, Jr., Ph.D.
President