President’s Newsletter

Friday, February 6, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

This past week included a number of external meetings. I attended the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council meeting which was held at the Kodak Center, where we got a New York State Budget update and were informed of a number of economic development projects in the Greater Rochester area. I also attended two meetings for United Way and chaired the Executive Committee meeting for Willow. In addition, I spoke at the reception for the Athena Awards event in Rochester on Thursday. The event was inspiring on so many levels, especially because all finalists had an opportunity to tell their story, and their stories were impactful and illuminating. It was one of two highlights of the week, the other being a sit down with Brockport alum Bill Fichtner, a Hollywood actor who was visiting his alma mater. Mike Andriatch and I are going to be traveling to California next month to see more of our Hollywood alums as part of our campaign travel.

The SUNY Comprehensive Presidents met virtually on Monday, discussing a range of topics from the AcMo project, to campus climate issues, to the wider budget request that SUNY is making. Along with colleagues from enrollment management and our budget office, I also attended a virtual meeting with SUNY officials regarding becoming an ACE campus next year, if the budget is approved by the state. We are putting together a good plan to support a cohort of students following the model that SUNY has created.

Internal meetings this week included one-to-ones with four senior leaders and a meeting with new faculty, where we discussed the start of the semester and the questions that they had regarding setting themselves up for success at Brockport. The Cabinet meeting focused primarily on our scholarship plans for spring semester as well as for the 2026-27 recruitment cycle. JPBC focused on updates regarding the strategic plan as well as proposed new KPIs that the IR team have put together. In addition, we had our quarterly UUP salary increase and promotion meeting. Collectively, these meetings provided evidence to me that we continue to have a bright future ahead of us and that we are on the right track for success.

I will be traveling next week as we continue our work on Igniting Excellence: The Campaign for Brockport. I look forward to updating you again with another newsletter on Feb. 20. 

I hope to see you at First Friday this afternoon!