| Update from FSC President Nader, PhD |
March, 2023 |
It’s spring and it seems a fitting time to lead off with some of the College’s sustainability
initiatives. Thanks to efforts across campus, we continue to do more in this area.
AASHE Silver Rating- Thanks to Sustainability Committee, the College recently attained silver status
through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Farmingdale is the first college in our region to achieve this designation which is
held by only eight other colleges in New York. The data submitted to AASHE will help
formulate the Master Sustainability Plan that our campus sustainability committee
will develop over the next year or so. It is the main metric that the Princeton Review
uses in its annual Guide to Green Colleges which lists FSC.
Pollinator Garden- Soon a pollinator garden will be created in the area of the wind turbines and lacrosse
fields on the north side of campus. Thanks very much to our Facilities, Grounds, Sustainability
leadership and Urban Horticulture & Design for soliciting design proposals from our
Horticulture students. The successful design was created by Liliya Dagle, a student
majoring in Landscape Development. For those who may not be aware, a pollinator garden
is intended to attract bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds etc., that transfer
pollen between or within flowers. The garden will boost sustainability efforts, further
beautify the campus and offer applied learning opportunities.
Offshore Wind Training Institute- The OWTI housed at FSC and Stony Brook received 17 proposals for first round funding.
Proposals were received from across the SUNY system, including university centers,
comprehensive colleges, colleges of technology and community colleges. Thanks to Dean
Barb Christe for leading the effort to submit multiple proposals from this campus.
Energy Manager Mike Cervini and Sustainability Manager Maia Roseval prepared the scoring
rubric for OWTI reviewers and prequalified many of the early proposals.
Spring Into Service- On April 20 the College will hold its initial Day of Service. The Office of Community & Civic Engagement and the Dean of Students Office have
organized a day featuring a lecture and Q&A with George Takei, an Asian-American actor
and human rights activist. He will discuss his life's work, social justice and human
rights advocacy and his passion for public service through his involvement with various
organizations. The day will also mark the culmination of a toiletry drive that will assist five external philanthropic community organizations and our FSC
Food Pantry. A contest will be held from April 3-20 to determine which School or Division
collects the most items. The first 200 guests who bring a toiletry item to the Day
of Service lecture will receive a complimentary autographed copy of George Takei’s
book and tee shirts will be given out afterwards for a group photo in the amphitheater.
University Police Programming- University Police has held a number of shelter in place/emergency response programs.
Overall, these have been well attended and well received. If your functional area
would like to schedule a program, please reach out to Chief Dan Daugherty. Also, UP
has published an updated Emergency Response Guidelines flipbook. These are available
through University Police and are distributed at emergency response drills.
Biggest Loser Competition- Many of us needlessly accumulate thousands of emails. Here’s a good way to get rid
of some of the digital clutter. The contest begins on April 1 (no, this is not an
April Fool’s prank) and runs through the end of the month. Deleting emails improves
IT security by reducing breachable data and information. The person who deletes the
highest amount of emails will win one complimentary ticket to the 2023 President's
Gala and the person with the largest reduction of their overall mailbox size will
win two tickets to the cocktail party on the green at the 2023 FSC Golf Classic. IT
will capture email storage of each email account at the end of March and again on
April 28.
Food Pantry- Thanks to Carly Tribull and Karen Gelles we've had four pantry sessions this spring
with 186 unique users. The pantry is entirely volunteer run. Although the majority
of volunteers are staff and faculty, we have started incorporating student volunteers
through the Office of Community & Civic Engagement and other organizations. The pantry
also relies on the assistance of the Moving and Trucking team, led by Doug Lopalo,
that transports food from Island Harvest to Greenley Hall. Currently the pantry collects
entirely non-perishable food. SUNY has recently expressed interest in providing us
with refrigerators for fresh food. Island Harvest can provide fresh food to us and
we are exploring refrigeration options.
CPRA and the Strategic Plan- Thanks to all of the members of the Committee on Planning and Resource Allocation
we are very near finalizing the College’s new strategic plan. CPRA and Cabinet members
have collaborated on a plan with eight goals, including one that aspires to make FSC
an employer of choice and another that focuses on the long-term sustainability and
identity of the College. The plans includes both aspirational and attainable goals.
CPRA will be circulating the draft to campus in the very near future. Concurrently,
we are working with Simpson Scarborough, a nationally recognized firm in higher education
branding, to assist in raising our visibility and profile and conveying our strengths
in a very competitive environment.
John Nader
President
