Update from Farmingdale State College President John Nader, PhD |
April, 2017 |
Message to all Faculty and StaffApril, 2017 First, a big thank you to the entire campus community for their assistance, support and participation in the recent inaugural events. The campus looked great, and we received dozens of favorable comments and commendations on the installation itself and the week's activities. It takes dozens and dozens of people to initiate, plan and organize an array of events and activities. These included presentations, lectures, student poster sessions and an Alumni Awards Dinner as well as the installation events. We were able to show the state and the broader community Farmingdale State College as it is: a highly successful institution that serves its students and its region very well. Thanks again for everything that was done to organize such a successful series of events. BASS - The advocacy effort for the Building for Applied Social Sciences has been very impressive. Over 1,000 letters went to members of the state legislature. Both our Foundation and our College Council provided strong letters of support. I have been in touch with members of both the Senate and Assembly regularly. Several members of the campus community have also met with the State University of New York Construction Fund to build support for the project. The building is a pretty big request ($38M), but we have done just about everything we can to keep this project on the state's radar. As of this writing, the state budget has yet to be adopted. Even after it is passed, we may not know for some time which individual projects are chosen for funding. Thanks to the many people who have helped. Buildings, Grounds and Facilities - I have asked the cabinet to review and prioritize projects to improve our buildings and grounds. Here's a partial list of the projects underway or under consideration: Great Mall renovation; classroom additions/improvements; Books & Beans upgrade to expand food options; Nold Athletic Complex exterior; women's softball field and facility; enhancements to the Roosevelt Hall Little Theatre; Ward Hall Great Room upgrade, and more. For some of these projects, there is already funding appropriated. Others will require us to prioritize the use of campus funds. I will keep the campus posted. In the News - You may have seen Aviation Center Director Mike Canders on CBS Channel 2 talking about air traffic safety. It seems a number of our faculty are contacted periodically for their content expertise by local media. The Aviation Center will soon be offering a drone pilot certification program. April Fools on the Homepage - I hope many of you were able to see the College's website on April 1st. Very funny. Thanks to Jon Goldstein, our aptly named Creative Director in Institutional Advancement, for doing this. I've saved the screen shots. Internal Campaign - Thanks to all who have participated in the internal campaign of the College Foundation. We have 33 new donors and 16 donors who've increased their pledge over the prior year. I appreciate it! This is great news. Ram-Bo - March Madness is over. As you know, Ram-Bo made it to the final four among SUNY mascots before being bested by an Acorn from SUNY ESF. We appreciate all of the many members of the campus community who voted for our mascot over the past few rounds. One person reported to me that he had voted for Ram-Bo over 60 times in the course of the competition. Student Suggestions - Last month I met several times with our student government leadership. There have been many good suggestions for improving the college and various offices are working to implement a number of them. Among the topics discussed have been extended library hours, food service options, adding student activities and events, smoking on campus, better accommodating the scheduling needs of international students, creating some campus traditions, a gift of new, secure charging stations for students and more. I have asked cabinet members, and others, to work with students on a number of these topics. Enrollment in New Programs - We now have 58 applications for the new graduate degree program in Engineering Technology Management and 14 for Interaction Design. Both of these programs have a strong future. Open House - Our Spring Open House will be held on Saturday, April 8th. This is an ideal time to show prospective students and their families what FSC has to offer. Recent Campus Programs - Thanks to the many people involved in organizing the New York State Business Plan Competition, the Financial Mathematics Conference and Canon Day on campus. In addition to our successful Technology Job Fair, these events were all very successful in reinforcing and raising our profile and providing opportunities for our students. Happy Spring! John |
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