President’s Newsletter

Friday, April 5, 2024

Dear Colleagues:

Ellsworth is SUNY’s Mascot King! Thanks to all who voted for Ellsworth in SUNY’s annual Mascot Madness competition. It was great fun watching our community come together and demonstrate their Brockport spirit. We are planning an opportunity to celebrate Ellsworth’s win, so be on the lookout for details coming soon.

This week, Cabinet began reviewing the Presidential Campus Climate Committee (PCCC) recommendations and we have set aside time at next week’s meeting to continue the review. I want to thank the entire PCCC for their diligence over the last several years, and thank Mario Fontana and Damita Davis for co-chairing the committee, along with Sara Kelly who temporarily stepped into a leadership role this spring semester. As soon as our review is complete, we will ensure that the report and recommendations are available for the entire community.

This week I was able to meet with our newest College Council member, Ms. Jamie Romeo, who serves as Monroe County Clerk. She will be joining the council for our April meeting. College Council members are appointed by the Governor and serve for 7-year terms. We currently have a few vacancies on the council which we are hoping will be filled over the next year.

I continued my open forums and have now had meetings with Student Affairs, Enrollment Management, and Administration and Finance. Open forums for Academic Affairs and Advancement and Communications are in the process of being scheduled. I have found value in the opportunity to share information and answer questions, and I look forward to continuing with this format in the future.

Amongst the other events I attended this week were Dance Strasser and the very moving memorial service for Dr. John Marah.

You may be aware that the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is currently being administered to first year and senior students via emails which contain individualized survey links, as well as individualized Brightspace notifications. The NSSE is one of the most widely utilized surveys in the nation and allows us to not only benchmark against our peers, but also gives us a clear comparison to how our students responded when they last completed the instrument in 2020 and 2023. Knowing our students’ perceptions about topics such as academic learning, diversity, co-curricular experiences, and life outside of the classroom will give us vital information to enhance decision making across campus. If you have regular contact with students, please do encourage them to complete the survey.

The search for the VP for Administration and Finance is going well. We are hoping to bring candidates to campus as early as next week, so watch out for notices in the Daily Eagle.

I’m looking forward to experiencing the solar eclipse on Monday! Be sure to wear your solar eclipse glasses. Have a great weekend!