President’s Newsletter

Friday, September 5, 2025

Dear Colleagues,

I hope many of you got a break over Labor Day weekend. I enjoyed a quiet time reading books, writing, and hanging out with my dog Rosie while Allan had a golf competition (I did tell you he liked to golf…).

At Cabinet this week we approved funding for experiential learning activities, continued the review of our strategic plan, and reviewed our Facilities Master Plan. I want to thank Gary Morog, Mike Baird and Julie Caswell for attending the meeting and updating us on the status of various facilities projects. In most cases, we are on track to complete these commitments even as new projects arise. Following the meeting, Cabinet took a tour of facilities, which gave us a chance to go “behind the scenes” and see places on campus that we generally don’t get a lot of opportunity to spend time in. This included reviewing plans for our locker rooms, information on upgrades needed for Cooper Hall, a review of Hazen, and a discussion about Brockway. We finished off the tour by heading to the Harrison dining hall to take advantage of the Staff Saver Wednesday initiative.

JPBC meetings started up this week as well, and we have moved back to our in-person format. I look forward to engaging discussions this year regarding budget and planning. JPBC Co-chair Elliot Weininger reviewed last year’s report on JPBC activities and Cabinet’s response, as well as the charge for the year. Ian Harper reiterated our strong financial position, and Rachael Killion and Crytal Hallenbeck-McPhall presented the annual training update for members.

I had one-to-one meetings with three cabinet members this week as well as with our BSG president. In addition, I had meetings for Rochester Rotary and United Way. I also had my annual review with the College Council President, Scott Turner. We discussed the goals we set for last year as well as this year’s priorities, which include fundraising, budget management, campus climate, strong enrollment management (aligning with SUNY’s Academic Momentum Campaign), student engagement, and of course preparing for leadership transition.

Today marks the return of our tradition of First Friday gatherings at Alumni House, and I hope to see many of you there this afternoon!