Update from Farmingdale State College President John Nader, PhD

September, 2016.

December, 2016 - Message to Faculty and Staff

Farmingdale State College’s most recent survey of alumni reveals that more than 90% of baccalaureate degree recipients are employed within six months of graduation (see "Employment Outcomes" below). I am thrilled to be at Farmingdale State College. Through the web site, I plan to provide the campus community with regular updates about the College and the work of my office. Much of the update will undoubtedly have a positive tone given all the good things that are happening here. I will also try to be candid about some of the problems and challenges that we face.

In August, I hosted my first college-wide convocation to discuss with our faculty and staff the vision I have for Farmingdale focused on the Powered by Optimism theme. I've had the pleasure to meet with many members of our faculty and staff, students, elected officials, FSC graduates, and civic leaders who share my enthusiasm about Farmingdale State College. In fact, I've spent much of my first two months engaging the broader community in a discussion about the College and its multiple successes.

The very good news is that our students have every reason to be optimistic about the value of FSC degrees, as evidenced by the employment outcomes survey below.

Employment Outcomes: I am happy to report that our just-released employment survey of our 2014-15 graduating classes yielded results of which the College, our region and SUNY can all be proud.

A whopping 58% of our graduates responded to the survey. That is truly amazing, and represents 824 students. It's important to note that the majority of FSC grads are gainfully employed right here on Long Island. Some highlights of the report:

91% of the students with a bachelor's degree are employed
74% are employed in fields related to their degree
47% secured their employment before graduation; the balance of 53% were employed within six months of graduation
82% responded that Farmingdale prepared them "extremely well" or "very well" for their current positions
19% of baccalaureate respondents who are employed reported salaries of at least $60,000; 48% reported salaries of $40,000 or more
Over 90% reported being employed in the New York metropolitan area—the vast majority on Long Island!

There are other reasons for optimism.

Farmingdale's First Master's Degree: Farmingdale recently took a huge step forward with the final approval of its first graduate degree. The Master's in Technology Management is an interdisciplinary program combining business and engineering technology and housed in the School of Engineering Technology.

The 30-credit MS degree offers two tracks: one in Construction Engineering Technology and one in Electrical Engineering Technology and Mechanical Engineering Technology. FSC is the only college on LI and the only SUNY college to offer an MS in Technology Management.

Also in fall 2017, we will launch our Interaction Design degree. This is just one of the new degrees that FSC will launch. We are expecting approval for new degrees in Sustainable Energy Technology, Computer Security Technology, Geographic Information Systems, and Criminal Justice: Police, Courts, and Corrections. All of these programs will serve the workforce and economic needs of Long Island.

Enrollment Growth: Farmingdale now has the second largest undergraduate enrollment among four year colleges on Long Island. This fall we've reached a total enrollment of over 9,000 students—the vast majority of whom hail from Nassau and Suffolk counties. At a time when many colleges are facing enrollment declines, Farmingdale is meshing access and academic excellence. I know that growth places added demands on our space and facilities. However, we face stagnant support from the state which increases our reliance on enrollment. Few colleges are in our advantageous position, and I do not want to rest on our successes.

Enrollment Management Working Group: I am appointing a small group to help in our enrollment planning efforts. I will ask the group to help us evaluate and refine our recruitment strategies and develop a multi-year plan. The College has been very fortunate to increase both enrollment and selectivity. This is an uncommon combination, and it is partially a result of our advantageous location. I want to be sure that FSC is poised for the more competitive environment that will exist in the years ahead.

Residence Life Working Group: I have also asked the DIFR Committee and others to examine the status of our residence life facilities and occupancy. In recent semesters we have not fully occupied the residence halls and some concerns have been raised about the buildings. I have asked for a report with some recommendations by November 1.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council: Thanks to Dr. Veronica Henry and the newly formed DEI Advisory Council which will be working on a strategic diversity and inclusion plan to be submitted to SUNY by November 1. More importantly, I hope the plan will move the college forward with recommendations that will make FSC more inclusive and further support student, faculty, and staff diversity.

Bunche Plaza Flags: Thanks to the involvement and support of our facilities staff, we are moving forward with a plan to place international flags around Bunche Plaza. We expect to install a pole and flag for each nation (40+) that has had a student at Farmingdale. This should add to our focus on diversity and bring added color and visual appeal to the inner campus.

Shuttle: This semester, the college has begun to run a shuttle bus between the LIRR station in Farmingdale and the campus. The service is supported exclusively by a student transportation fee. Thus far, ridership is steady with about 600 passengers per week. Thanks to Student Affairs and Institutional Advancement for seeing this project through to implementation.

FITW/RAM Initiative: One of the things that I've come to respect is the commitment that many of you have to improving the institution and the success of our students. Certainly the FITW grant /Research Aligned Mentorship project is a great example. I had the pleasure of attending the opening events just prior to the start of the semester. It's clear that the focus on improved orientation, advising, mentoring and more holds the prospect of yielding even higher retention, graduation and other success rates. Thanks to Beverly Kahn, Erwin Cabrera and many others for their work.

There is good reason to be "Powered by Optimism" this year. I am thrilled to be part of a college that is so important to the future of Long Island. I look forward to working with you as Farmingdale State College becomes even more successful and vital to the region.

– John

Last Modified 2/18/21