President’s Newsletter

2025-10-17

Dear Colleagues,

I hope that you had a pleasant midsemester break, even if it was just a change of pace with the students away from campus. I used the time to catch up on some paperwork, prepare for my SUNY Presidents’ meeting, and travel to Albany. During the meeting, we discussed the Academic Momentum Campaign, as well as other system updates. In addition, we had a presentation over lunch by Daniel Porterfield, President of the Aspen Institute and author of Mindset Matters: The Power of College to Activate Lifelong Growth. It was followed by a session organized by the Institute for Citizens and Scholars, which convenes the group College Presidents for Civic Preparedness, a group to which I belong. It was good to meet up with colleagues to discuss issues of common concern, including the state budget preparations and responding to changes at the federal level.

On the Friday before break, I was able to join the Brown Bag Lunch and Learn organized by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and I took the opportunity to visit with colleagues across campus, including individuals in Tuttle, Seymour Library, the Fannie Barrier Williams Building, and Allen. I look forward to finding another day later in the semester to visit with colleagues in other buildings.

This week Dance is undergoing an accreditation visit by the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), and the provost and I met with the evaluators to discuss the strengths of the department.

Perhaps the most unusual part of my week was a Rotary luncheon that featured Adam Bierton, a professional pumpkin carver (yes, that’s a thing!). He demonstrated his skills and talked about his career path, which I have to say was fascinating. I also attended a Willow Board meeting.

I met with the Senate Presidents. We discussed topics from the SUNY Presidents’ meeting, Title II accessibility requirements, and some housekeeping items, including ensuring that the previous year’s resolutions are all complete.

Cabinet is meeting this morning, and we will be discussing the Academic Momentum Campaign further, as well as the Great Colleges to Work for Survey. Further information about both topics will be forthcoming soon. Later this afternoon I will be meeting with our BSG leaders and with Sarah Stanton, our CSEA president, as part of my regular meeting series.

This weekend we have our first Fall Open House. I want to thank you in advance if you are taking part. We also have women’s soccer Senior Day, a field hockey game, and a home football game. It will be a fun way to wrap up the week.