President’s Newsletter

Friday, April 4, 2025

Dear Colleagues,

The highlight of my week was the Diversity Conference, the theme of which was “Uniting Our Communities for an Inclusive Brockport.” Reverend Ben McBride gave the keynote, “Becoming and Belonging,” where he talked about his work in Oakland, California and his efforts around the concepts of building, bridging and belonging. He talked about the importance of widening our circles and talking across differences, whether they be political, ethnic, gender, class, race or ideology. Sometimes the simplest message is the most profound, as it was when he reminded us that acknowledgement is not affirmation. In other words, you can acknowledge the humanity of another person and their perspective without having to buy into it yourself. But the simple acknowledgement of another perspective can help build community and a sense of belonging. His message was a great way to kick off the conference, along with the annual Feldman Paper Award. Dr. Davis noted that most if not all of the concurrent sessions were full, with some even having to change location to accommodate a larger than expected audience. I’m grateful to OEDI, BSG and the Diversity Conference Committee for their hard work. The Conference also included our annual International Festival as well as the Malik Lecture for the first time this year.

I held two open forums this week, one for the Administration and Finance evening shift, and one for Advancement and Communications. These open forums offer opportunities for dialogue and discussion regarding a range of topics, which this week included the state budget and the federal landscape, amongst other issues.

Regular meetings this week included a cabinet meeting which focused on the budget and our Five-Year Capital Plan, one-to-ones with senior leaders, a meeting with the President Elect of Senate, the Senate Executive Committee meeting, a Rotary luncheon, and a Willow Domestic Violence Executive Committee meeting. I also attended Dance/Strasser on Thursday evening, which was a wonderful showcase of choreography and dance.

My travel plans changed this week, so I was able to spend some time on Thursday getting ready for next week’s Town-Gown Community Breakfast as well as walk around campus. I was able to visit with colleagues in the Albert Brown Building, Dailey Hall, Drake Memorial Library, and Allen. I was also able to spend some time at the REOC earlier this week.

This afternoon I take part in the AASCU Student Success Committee, and I’ll get a chance to stop by the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Northeastern Conference poster session. In addition, I’ll be able to attend part of the Graduate Student Spring Professional Development event. And of course, we have First Friday starting at 4pm, so I hope to see some of you there!