Update from Farmingdale State College President John Nader, PhD |
February, 2017 |
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February, 2017 This update may well prove to be the longest I've written as there are some important matters ahead of us and some good news, as well. Internal Campaign - By now you may have received a letter from me asking that you participate in the internal campaign on behalf of the College Foundation. I am asking for your help. Here's why: this year I've requested that the funds raised be devoted only to two purposes—student scholarships and professional development. These are areas of substantial need. I would certainly love to see us raise more money for these purposes. As important, however, is the need to show external donors and philanthropic sources a significant level of campus participation and support for the College. Our level of internal giving is relatively low. I am hoping to boost it over time from about 33% to 51% or above. If you already participate—THANK YOU! If you would like to help, please do so. A one-time gift is appreciated and you may also want to join many others in having an amount deducted from your bi-weekly paycheck. Thanks for considering this. Scholarships - Thanks to Academic Affairs, Enrollment Services, Institutional Advancement, Alumni Affairs and the Farmingdale State College Foundation for helping to realign the timing and distribution of our student scholarships so that we make better use of the funds that we have. We are working to make scholarship awards earlier in the year so that students know the net costs of attendance and so we might use our money to better recruit and retain strong, deserving students. I've also asked that we better promote all of our scholarship options through our website with a comprehensive listing. Inauguration - My inauguration as FSC's ninth president will occur on March 31. Thanks to the very active inauguration committee, there will be a number of events, activities and displays throughout that week. We recently received word that John Zogby, a noted author, pollster and political commentator who is founder of the noted Zogby Poll and Zogby Analytics will be giving a public talk the day before the inauguration. SUNY Board Chair H. Carl McCall will preside over the formal installation. Details to follow. Policy Update - You may have read my recent message to campus regarding DACA students and the executive order regarding immigration. In addition, there was a well-attended campus forum on this topic. As I said in early December, we will keep the campus informed about these issues. A recent Memorandum to Presidents from SUNY reiterates System Administraton's strong position in support of students. Regarding other policy and budgetary matters, the Governor is pushing for the Excelsior Scholarship even as the executive budget includes a proposal for restoring some version of SUNY's rational tuition policy. The budget has substantial money for critical maintenance money for our campus. This is much needed and has been the area on which I've devoted advocacy efforts. Funding for Academic Equipment - SUNY's Colleges of Technology—of which we are the largest—meet periodically to discuss matters of mutual interest. Each campus continues to be concerned about the need for funding of academic equipment given the nature of our programs. The COTs are also discussing a change in the sector name from Colleges of Technology to Centers of Applied and Experiential Learning—or something like that. DEI Plan - We recently received confirmation that our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan has been approved by SUNY. As important, our plan was considered among the top 20% as exemplars within the System. Thanks to the many members of the DEI Advisory Council who completed the plan. Enrollment - I try to report regularly to you on this topic as it is central to all that we do and to the demands on our facilities. For spring 2017, our total enrollment is up by nearly 400 students. To be clear, this is due mostly to the growing number of continuing and returning students, i.e., strong retention. LIEOC Enrollment - Another piece of good news is that our Long Island Educational Opportunity Center has added about 200 students. The LIEOC provides vital job prep and readiness services to many, many local residents. Give Kids a Smile - Thanks to our faculty and students in Dental Hygiene for an incredible Give Kids a Smile event on February 3. It was quite impressive and a great example of both applied and service learning. Black History Month - Thanks to the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Social Science Research Institute and Student Activities for planning events during Black History Month. Bernice Sims, civil rights activist and author will be speaking at the Campus Center at 11 a.m. on February 16. Black History Perspectives will feature Suffolk County Legislator and Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory and award winning filmmaker, Jordon Crafton, with a presentation of his film, My Block: Strong Island Part 2. The program begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Little Theater on February 23. I hope to see you at these events. Upward Mobility - Some of you may have seen the New York Times feature on America's Great Working-Class Colleges. It's worth reading and reviewing the comprehensive study on social mobility linked in the article. For FSC, some of the data are very encouraging. In measuring the share of children who were from the bottom fifth of incomes as students and moved to the top fifth as adults, Farmingdale State College ranked 106th out of 369 selective public colleges. In the overall mobility index—a measure that reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at FSC moved up two or more income quintiles —FSC ranked 128th out of 369 selective public colleges. A Big Thank You - To all of the members of the College's staff who worked diligently through the recent storm to clear roads and walkways, serve students, keep us informed and protect the public. We appreciate it! Happy Valentine's Day! John Nader |
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