Update from Farmingdale State College President John Nader, PhD |
September, 2017 |
Message to Faculty and StaffSeptember, 2017 This has been a very busy start to the semester. That's largely due to a number of good things. There's much to report and many pressing issues. If you're new to the College—and over 100 of you are—Welcome! This is a really good place to work. Enrollment - Our total enrollment is up by about 4.5%. That is certainly taxing our spaces and buildings and placing increased demands on our student services. Fortunately, however, we've been able to make investments in new faculty, improved facilities, equipment and technology, more attractive grounds and additional staff to better serve our students. Most enrollment growth is due to a big uptick in continuing and returning students (i.e. improved retention.) Farmingdale Foundation - There are many significant improvements underway at the Foundation. Thanks to Nancy Connors and her staff, we have worked closely with donors who will assist us with the fall President's Gala. The generosity of our honorees and the integration of our alumni into the fall event will make for a less costly event that will yield greater returns for the Foundation. The Foundation has also been successful in repurposing gifted funds to permit greater discretion in the use of some restricted endowments. Our alumni are very pleased to be better integrated into the work of our Foundation. In addition, we will be altering the awarding of scholarships to better serve our recruitment and retention goals. Decisions about funds for research and professional development will be more inclusive of our academic departments and schools. Also, thanks to the work of Janice Rivera, the Foundation has received a $75,000 grant through the generosity of the Tortora Sillcox Foundation to create the Sillcox Scholars Program. Improving Buildings and Grounds - This has been a priority and thanks to SUNY critical maintenance funds and our strong financial position, we have made some progress. During the summer break, improvements were made to the Roosevelt Little Theatre. You may have noticed these at the recent Convocation. Conklin Hall reopened after many months of work. The flowers and greenery in front of Horton and the Campus Center look great. The improvements to Books 'N Beans is intended to improve the food service options and will be completed soon. This week we will be adding at least twenty trees to the campus to replace those that were distressed or dead. More will follow. The Great Mall project has already completed some much improved sidewalks that should reduce puddles and standing water and enhance the appearance of the campus. We will continue to make aesthetic improvements and carry out the facilities master plan. National Survey of Student Engagement – Click 2017 NSSE for the results of this important survey. In many areas, the College did quite well. For example, the vast majority of students (82%) self-identify as having a good or excellent educational experience at Farmingdale. There are also areas that showed some improvement over the 2014 results. However, there are some other areas in which, frankly, we fall short in both relative and absolute terms. The responses of our seniors are, in some cases, quite concerning. Questions regarding interactions with faculty, academic advisement, and student engagement in activities require some attention. Feel free to review the data. There will be more information to follow. In some ways we are an anomalous campus given our diversity, the relatively high shares of our students who work, commute to campus, or are first generation to college. With that in mind, it is particularly important to identify areas in which we can improve. Thanks to Patricia Lind-Gonzalez who has prepared an excellent summary. Applied Learning - One of the areas in which we scored below our College of Technology and SUNY peers was in participation in high impact practices. This includes practices such as service learning, study abroad, internships, research with faculty, field experiences, and senior/capstone projects. The good news is that this is an area in which the College is already doing better. Along with the recently adopted applied learning requirement, we have opened the Nexus Center which will focus on applied learning/internship and career development opportunities. Please feel free to introduce yourself to Rena Varghese, the Center's Executive Director. Conklin Hall - If you've not had a chance to get to the newly renovated Conklin Hall, please do so. Though the project was long delayed, we have a very nice new home for our Student Activities office and our student government, clubs and organizations. Conklin is already a hub of activity. New Programs - The College launched two new academic programs this semester: the MS degree in Technology Management and the Interaction Design BT degree. The graduate degree enrollment is very strong. Interaction Design, though slower to enroll, shows great promise. We've already had local firms inquire about when the first ID class will graduate. Tesla and SolarCity - You may have seen the media attention surrounding our emerging partnership with Tesla. The event announcing the partnership was a great success. Tesla will work with FSC to offer students a training program to prepare them to service and maintain these remarkable vehicles. In addition, we are in contact with Tesla and SolarCity officials about other possible partnership opportunities and recruitment of Farmingdale students. Thanks to Mohamad Zoghi for his work on the Telsa partnership. Thanks - I've been at the College for just over a year. Thanks to all of you who've helped in making for a smooth and successful transition. Farmingdale is highly successful thanks to all of you. We cannot take this success for granted. Every institution faces multiple challenges and problems. We are no exception. Upgrading our academic technology, recruiting new faculty, improving our buildings and grounds, addressing serious space constraints, improving advising and launching new programs that will keep us vibrant are part of a list of areas that require attention and commitment. As I noted at Convocation, we have made progress in a number of these areas. It's remarkable to reflect on our success in enacting many (not all) of the goals and improvements I outlined in August 2016. Have a great semester. -John |
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