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| The first half of the spring semester has been busy as I continue to get to know the campus and broader community, and it has been wonderful to see and hear from so many people.
Progress continues with the search for a Vice President for Student Affairs. The search committee, with the assistance of the firm Academic Search, continues its work and is recruiting a strong pool of candidates.The application period closes on March 25, and this time frame will allow us to bring candidates to campus prior to the semester ending so that the college community will have the chance to meet each in person. Additional details will be shared as the candidate visits are scheduled.
I had the honor of speaking with the New York State Assembly’s Puerto Rican/Hispanic Taskforce earlier this month. This opportunity allowed me to not only introduce the members of the taskforce to the great work happening here at SUNY Oneonta in regards to access, equity and inclusion, but it also helped me learn how the taskforce works to enhance opportunities for Latinx college students. I hope to strengthen our relationship with this taskforce and continue to work with them in the future. Read more about my conversation with this group.
We also wrapped up the last of the institutional planning dialogue sessions this month and are en route to developing an agenda with items to guide the college's overarching actions for the next 18 to 24 months. The dialogues were widely attended and represented positive collaboration among the administration, governance, faculty and staff, and the student body. This collaboration resulted in a rich trove of insights and perspectives from different constituencies of the college community. Thank you to everyone who took part in these important conversations. A document outlining the ideas and action items that emerged from the dialogues is in development, and I hope to be able to share it in early April.
Sincerely,
Alberto J.F. Cardelle
President
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| College in High School Partnership Programs
Benefit All
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Students from BOCES New Visions Pre-Engineering Program in Milford, NY enrolled in Physics 1030 & 1040 visiting the Science Discovery Center on campus.
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Suffern HS teacher Shawna Strenfel '07 talks with students enrolled in Education 1060 during field experience work at a pre-school.
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| Through the Office of Continuing Education, SUNY Oneonta partners with 35 high schools across New York to offer SUNY Oneonta courses to their students through our College in High School (CHS) program. Our partner high schools are as close as Oneonta High School and as far away as Massapequa High School on Long Island. Currently, 17 courses — representing all three of our academic schools — are taught in high schools, from our newest addition, FASH 1300 - Apparel Construction to our most taught class, GEOL 1020 - Introduction to Geology. These courses prepare students to perform at a higher academic level while also exposing them to possible career paths.
This year, more than 300 high school students are earning SUNY Oneonta credits at a cost of $150 for a three-credit course or $200 for a four-credit course, making our courses affordable and accessible to students and their families. Students are looking for interesting course options in their high schools while earning college credit at a lower price. This is a fantastic opportunity for our departments to challenge high school students across New York and introduce them to a SUNY Oneonta education before they might even set foot on campus. One-third of CHS courses are taught by high school teachers who also happen to be SUNY Oneonta alumni. Their courses are among the college credit brought in by 60-65% of our first-year students.
Our CHS partnerships generated approximately $55,000 in revenue for the institution this year, with $22,000 (40% of the total revenue) going directly to the supporting academic departments. The CHS revenue can be allocated by departments to pay their supporting faculty of record a stipend; to cover their professional development costs or travel expenses to complete CHS site visits; and even to purchase department equipment that will enhance the student learning experience in these concurrently taught courses.
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| Access & Opportunity Programs Director Featured in Chronicle of Higher Education
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| Pathy Leiva, director of Access and Opportunity Programs, was recently quoted in The Chronicle of Higher Education in an article titled "A U.S. Program for Migrant Students Is Unusually Successful. Now the Pandemic Threatens It."
In her role at SUNY Oneonta, Leiva provides leadership to our College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP). She had the opportunity to speak to The Chronicle about the difficulties of recruiting during COVID and how the pandemic presented unique obstacles to farm and factory workers who had children in the college-planning process.
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| College at Oneonta Foundation Turns 40
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| Paul Adamo
Vice President for College Advancement & Executive Director of the College at Oneonta Foundation
The College at Oneonta Foundation is celebrating its 40th year of supporting affordable access to high-quality academic experiences for students at SUNY Oneonta.
Since its establishment on March 19, 1982, the Foundation has been committed to raising and administering gifts and grants from SUNY Oneonta alumni, parents, foundations and corporations, faculty, staff and friends to enhance the academic status of SUNY Oneonta through endowed funds, scholarships and institutional programs.
“As we reflect on our first 40 years, we remain dedicated to the goal of keeping an Oneonta education affordable, accessible, and inclusive,” said Jim Doig ’75, president of the College at Oneonta Foundation Board of Directors. “The Board of Directors extends its deepest appreciation to every member of the Red Dragon family who makes this goal a reality through charitable gifts and grants of all sizes.”
Last year, the College at Oneonta Foundation awarded over $3.48 million in student and campus program support, including $2.5 million for student scholarships, internships and student research and creative activity. This positive impact is a point of pride for our college. It is also an affirmation of the shared belief in the importance of charitable giving for our students’ academic careers and lives.
As of Dec. 31, 2021, the Foundation’s endowment and net assets were valued at $83 million – the largest among all SUNY comprehensive colleges. The Foundation Board’s vision is to provide a $100 million endowment. We will continue our work to realize this vision, ensuring a brighter future for even more SUNY Oneonta students.
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| Ed Beck & Sarah Portway Present at AACU
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| Instructional Designer Ed Beck and Assistant Professor Sarah Portway presented at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) annual conference in January 2022 during its virtual forum on open learning and ePortfolios.
The virtual forum theme was “Quality, Equity, Affordability, and Access: Preparing for the Future of Higher Education and Our Democracy.” Beck and Dr. Portway presented from two viewpoints, the campus perspective versus the instructor perspective.
From a campus perspective, multiple ePortfolio solutions were piloted in the last two years, and they shared the decision-making process that brought them to their current solution that blends authentic web-building skills, portability after graduation and privacy controls.
From the instructor's perspective, they shared experiences beginning a new project, shifting support for different modalities during remote instruction semesters, and timing assignments, feedback, reflection and revision across the semester.
The pair were also invited to speak during the Global Open Education Week and presented on the subject again. A recording of the presentation is available online.
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BFS Awarded $2 Million Contract for Watershed Steward Program
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CRISP WSP workers at an inspection table
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| Paul Lord
Biology Lecturer, Biological Field Station Researcher & Dive Master, CRISP WSP Administrator
SUNY Oneonta's Biological Field Station has been awarded a five-year, $2.2-million contract to expand the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership (CRISP) Watershed Steward Program (WSP). The CRISP WSP aims to halt the spread of aquatic invasive species by providing free inspections of watercraft and equipment at boat launches and fishing access sites throughout the greater Catskill region. These aquatic invasive species have the potential to devastate local waterbodies. The program gives a unique opportunity for SUNY Oneonta to provide hands-on, professional experiences to college students aspiring to a career in biology, ecology, environmental science and related fields. As "watershed stewards," these students will have the opportunity to obtain skills in public communication, education and AIS identification.
This is a familiar role for SUNY Oneonta as previous iterations of the program have been administered here since 2012. This season, CRISP WSP aims to hire 25 watershed stewards throughout the CRISP Region (Sullivan, Delaware, Schoharie, Greene and Otsego counties). Wages will start at $16 per hour, with a bonus to work in Sullivan county, with the potential for raises during the season with demonstrated diligence and good performance. Anyone interested and living in or near the Catskill region is urged to inquire for more information and to apply. Please contact Paul.Lord@oneonta.edu for more information.
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| Middle States Update & Invitation to Provide Input
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| This semester the seven work groups shouldering our reaccreditation effort got down to brass tacks: They conducted a thorough search for evidence of institutional achievements and began drafting parts of the self-study due for submission next January. Their challenge has been to identify the assessments that most directly relate to Middle States’ standards. Rest assured, they have found abundant evidence that the College has satisfied its obligation to advance its mission.
The work groups themselves epitomize the commitment demonstrated so consistently in the evidence they have surfaced. Just as the work groups have tirelessly collaborated on the self study, faculty, staff and administrators have partnered in countless ways since the last accreditation in 2013 to improve conditions for learning and living in and beyond our community.
Although reaccreditation efforts are not typically seen as inspiring, some work group members have admitted that collaborating on the self-study has proved strangely gratifying—that they have enjoyed reviewing past collective achievements whether or not they themselves had participated in the former work. One member described the evidence hunt and drafting of the self-study as “refreshing opportunities” to dwell on positive achievements. Another claimed he benefited from seeing the health of the institution affirmed by external standards.
Next month there will be opportunities for campus members to review the preliminary findings of the work groups and to ask questions or otherwise weigh in through online open forums. (Please look for details about these forums—provisionally planned for April 6, 7 and 8 — in announcements in The Oneonta Bulletin.) Indeed, given the work groups are still in the most formative stage of organizing the evidence of our collective achievement, feedback offered now will have the most potential impact on the drafting of the self-study chapters. During the fall semester, additional opportunities to engage the self-study findings will of course be offered, but the winter submission deadline and the planning of the Middle States campus visit next spring will begin to take priority, so please consider sharing your knowledge and perspectives at this early stage!
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| Congressman Delgado Hosts Regional Panel on Campus
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| Congressman Antonio Delgado hosted a panel on campus in late February that discussed the importance of manufacturing in the United States and what opportunities may be possible in New York due to the legislation presented in House bills “CHIPS for America Act” and “America COMPETES Act.” The panel featured several local leaders like Ioxus Senior Vice President for Sales & Operations Chad Hall, Otsego County Chamber of Commerce President Sean Lewis, Director of Workforce Development at SUNY Denise Zieske, Senior Manager for Albany Business Operations and Alliances at IBM Mike Munro, President of New York State Pipe Trades Association Greg Lancette, Chief Operating Officer of NY CREATES Paul Kelly and President Cardelle. Much of the conversation revolved around connecting educational institutions with workforce development programs to help develop regional hubs of manufacturing and employment pipelines in communities across New York State.
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