College of Arts and Sciences

Global Center for Critical Demography and Public Sociology
The mission of the Global Center for Critical Demography and Public Sociology is to conduct, coordinate, promote and disseminate research and scholarship based upon the critical demography paradigm which facilitates and promotes the development of concepts, theories and methods that historically do not readily fit within the disciplinary boundaries of traditional demography.

At the heart of the critical demography paradigm is the concept of empowerment.  This empowerment provides students and persons in the various communities in the state of New York with the opportunity to gain expertise in the areas of grant writing and research.  Indeed, one of the primary foci will be train graduate students for leadership roles on research projects.  The Center represents a safe place where innovative ideas and constructive challenges are generated. The Center encompasses both theoretical and applied research practices, and serves as a community and statewide resource on demographic issues that impact public and social policy in the State of New York and abroad. Contact: Hayward Horton

• Center for Jewish Studies

The Center was established in 2001 to advance the University at Albany's ongoing commitment to overall academic excellence and in particular to the field of Jewish studies.  The Center extends the reach of Jewish studies at UAlbany and the SUNY system through new educational initiatives, innovative community-wide programming, and scholarly endeavors.

• Center for Latino, Latin American and Caribbean Studies

The Center for Latino, Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CELAC) is a unit whose goals include promoting research and encouraging greater communication and cooperation among the Latin American, Caribbean and U.S. communities, and a greater understanding and appreciation of Latino multicultural diversity within U.S. society.

New York Latino Research and Resources Network
NYLARNet, a project affiliated with CELAC, addresses significant public policy issues related to the Latino population of New York and the Northeast region. Both CELAC and NYLARNet have a publications program that includes the Latino(a) Research Review, as well as organizing conferences that engage the University, local, national, and international communities. Contact: Edna Acosta-Belén

• Department of Africana Studies

The Department of Africana Studies promotes the concept of “the world within reach” through teaching, research, and service.  The department’s mission is to engender an appreciation of diversity and emphasize the ways in which Africans and people of African descent in the Americas have constructed and interpreted their own lives and cultures.  The department interacts with local and global communities: faculty share their expertise in classes, symposia, and forums, many of which are geared toward the community, while students participate in internships and community service that integrate their academic and practical knowledge.  For example, the Department co-sponsored (with the Office of International Education) an awareness-raising event about the Invisible Children of Uganda and continues to work on many aspects of HIV/AIDS awareness and research, including fundraising for HIV infected South African women, educating two South African Zulu girls, and a book drive for AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe during the spring of 2008.

The Africana Studies Community Service Program
The department offers internship opportunities to its majors, minors, and graduate students with the Homeless & Travelers Aid Society of the Capital District, Equinox, Adolescent Employability Skills Plus Program, Inc., the Executive Chamber, the Capital District African American Coalition on AIDS, among other governmental and non-profit agencies. The student, host agency, and faculty supervisor arrange for the student to complete 135 hours of on-site work and academic work per semester. Contact: Marcia Sutherland

• Department of Classics

Archaeological Field School
This is an eight week program designed to teach students the basics of archaeological field work, laboratory processing, and artifact analysis. The field school will be conducted at the Pethick site, a prehistoric Native American site that dates to approximately between 1,500 B.C. and AD 1500. Excavations at the Pethick site are a cooperative endeavor between the Department of Anthropology and the New York State Museum. This course is intended for students planning a career in archaeology; however, students who are not planning on future archaeological work will also find the course a rewarding experience, and are encouraged to attend. Contact: Sean Rafferty

Archaeological Projects in Cyprus
In the spring of 1970, the first Albany archaeological expedition arrived in Cyprus under the leadership of classics professor John Overbeck. Stuart Swiny joined the team since he was already working on the island. Since then, a long list of UAlbany faculty members have visited, researched, and written scholarly works on Cyprus. Contact: Stuart Swiny

Archaeological Research in Albany and Viminacium, Yugoslavia
Through excavations in Yugoslavia, UAlbany classics professor Michael Werner sheds new light on Roman history, while in Albany, he works to stay a step ahead of construction projects that might destroy valuable artifacts of the city’s rich past. Werner was named Albany’s official archaeologist by Mayor Jennings and he views his position as community service.  Werner and others have helped recover artifacts and historical evidence from the early settlement that became the city of Albany.  He also leads a team of researchers and student archaeologists at the ancient Roman Legionary Base at Viminacium, on the Danube River in Yugoslavia. The Roman military base dates back to A.D. 33 as a Roman encampment and may, have been used by subsequent military forces, including the fifth century’s Attila the Hun. Contact: Michael Werner

The Institute of Cypriot Studies
For more than 30 years, the University at Albany has nurtured its relationship with the island nation of Cyprus. This mutually beneficial friendship has been marked by the exchange of scholars, by archaeological excavations by UAlbany students at sites such as the village of Pyrgos, and by enrollment of Cypriot students in graduate and undergraduate education. Now this relationship is taking a new twist involving the government of Cyprus, the University of Cyprus, and Cyprus College. This collaboration will focus on a variety of issues, particularly those that promote academic initiatives and economic development. The Provost’s office will continue to promote graduate fellowships and exchanges between UAlbany and the University of Cyprus, which has sent many talented graduate students in the fields of education and public affairs to UAlbany. In March, the Provost is travelling to Cyprus with D’Elia and Biggs to sign an articulation agreement with Cyprus College in the fields of economics, accounting, math, and computer science. The mutually beneficial links between the University at Albany and Cyprus span the range from ancient civilizations to emerging high technologies. Building on this strong base, both the number and diversity of these links will continue to grow and evolve. Contact: Classics Department

Institute for Mesoamerican Studies (IMS)
The Institute is a non-profit educational research institute dedicated to the study and dissemination of knowledge concerning the peoples and cultures of Mesoamerica (Mexico and northern Central America). IMS serves to organize and coordinate the work of the Mesoamericanist faculty at UAlbany. We have the largest number of full-time Mesoamericanists of any institution north of Mexico, and our members are among the most active and prominent scholars in the field of Mesoamerican anthropology. The primary activities of IMS are research and publication. Contact: John Justeson

• Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Faculty Outreach                 
LLC faculty regularly engage a variety of community activities including: making community presentations on relevant topics such as the Hudson-Champlain Tricentennial exhibit and talk at the Guilderland Library, Spring 2009, offering teach-outs (university professors give of their time to teach a class in local schools), providing translation and/or interpretation services for schools, medical practices/hospitals, courts, credentialing, teaching international dance classes, and participating in community organizations. Contact: Janna Harton or go to: http://www.albany.edu/llc/

Francophone Day                
Each spring this LLC-University in the High Schools collaborative event brings in high school students interested in all things French.  Students get a tour the campus in French and then participate in cultural activities, games and presentations from French-speaking countries around the world.  Contact: Janna Harton or go to: http://www.albany.edu/llc/

French Studies Program — Community Service for French majors. Students help in various activities of the Franco-American Federation of New York, a non-profit that serves the Franco-American population dispersed throughout the region, to increase community awareness of the French contribution to the history and culture of our state. Community service consists of working as a teacher's aide in an after school program for children ages four to eight, helping to produce a monthly newsletter, planning activities, preparation of press releases, maintenance of web page. One student per semester contributes 100 hours of service to assist the Franco-American Federation, an organization whose membership totals 200. Contact: Janna Harton or go to: http://www.albany.edu/llc/

International Film Festival
The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures offers a wide selection of foreign language films (with English subtitles) in many languages, from Arabic to Zulu, and in many settings, from Russia to Argentina, free and open to the public weeknights throughout the fall and spring semesters at the uptown campus as posted at http://www.albany.edu/llc/NewsandEvents.htm and at the University at Albany web calendar.  Films range from classics to cutting edge avant-garde.  Festival themes vary from semester to semester and have included:  "Cinema Without Borders: The Multiple Faces of Globalization", "Global Giggles" (humor across cultures), "City Scope" (exploring international urban centers through film), German-Turkish films, and "Jewish-German Lives in Post-Wende German Cinema."

Olympiada of Spoken Russian                   
Each spring over 100 high school students converge on the Campus Center to compete in their knowledge of spoken Russian, Russian culture, and reading, with LLC's Russian faculty, staff and students hosting the event.  Winners of this regional competition are invited to a summer program in Russia and go on to compete nationally and internationally.  Contact: Janna Harton or go to: http://www.albany.edu/llc/

• Department of Sociology

Capitalize on Community
Capitalize on Community is a five year collaborative community development project designed to enhance HIV prevention in the African American and Latino communities in the Capital District. The aim is to promote awareness, research and service. Contact: Hayward Horton

Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research
The Center was established in 1988 to carry out urban research both comparative and historical in scope. By promoting broad-based collaboration among urban scholars from a variety of fields and geographic settings, the Center's mission is to further Mumford's ideal of local involvement with global vision. To this end, Center projects and activities range from international urban conferences to local planning initiatives to national endeavors examining urban change over time. Projects assess the impact of global changes on the U.S. metropolis and civil society, probe the 19th and early 20th century roots of present-day cities and suburbs, and address urban change in other parts of the world, mostly notably China. The Center works in close collaboration on several of these projects with the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis (CSDA). Contact: Richard Alba

College of Computing and Information

• CCI Women in Technology

Technology Leaders of Today Speaker Series
CCI's Women in Technology (CCIWIT) program reaches out to encourage girls and women to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies in fields related to computer science, informatics, and information science. Technology Leaders of Today presents women in various aspects of computing who speak about their work and experiences. Lectures are free and open to the community.  Contact: Jennifer Goodall

Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy

• Center for Women in Government & Civil Society

Directed by Dr. Judith R. Saidel, the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society conducts research and offers a range of programs and outreach activities. CWIGCS is working with eight state agencies on training, fellowship, and research projects:

• The NYS Education Department receives training programs regarding positive youth development.
• The NYS Department of Health receives training and fellowships on such topics as HIV/AIDS, community health, and tobacco control.  The Department’s AIDS Institute is also involved in a Center survey research project on core competencies and national training standards for healthcare interpreters.
• The NYS Office of Mental Health gets training and fellowships on Medicaid restructuring, workforce diversification, and quality management.
• The NYS Department of Transportation receives training and fellowships on civil rights.
• The NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance gets training and fellowships on immigrant and refugee assistance.
• The NYS Office of Technology receives training and fellowships.

Advisory Committee on Minority Women's Issues
The Advisory Committee was created in 1983 to help the Center's leadership in balancing policy decisions and program content with the perspectives of women of color. The Committee's 20 members serve in various capacities within state and local government, in the public and private sector, as students and academics, and as community service activists.

Liberty Partnership Program
The Liberty Partnerships Program is a middle- and high-school intervention program for young women and men who are at risk of leaving school before graduation. The program serves students within the Albany City School District.

• High School Program — LPP offers paid internships for 15-20 high school students. The high school component is a 6-week program that features an internship and workshops on professional office etiquette and use of office machinery, college preparation, computer skills, team building and communication skills, and community service projects.
• Middle School Program — Ten to fifteen middle-school students participate in an intensive one-week program that encompasses academic and self-esteem enrichment workshops. 
• Peer Support Groups & Self Esteem Workshops — Offered monthly to girls, workshops address topics such as peer pressure, sexuality, health-related topics, and a wide range of additional topics as needed.
• Public Policy Internships — A summer program designed to develop public policy leadership, it provides students with the opportunity to explore the impact of public policy on their lives and also participate in a formal debate on a public policy issue
• Tutoring and Homework Clubs — Also known as H.E.L.P (Human Educational Learning Program). After-school tutoring is available in each middle school and in Draper Hall on the downtown campus. LPP students who need help with homework or test preparation receive one-on-one guidance from local college students at any of the LPP tutoring sites. 

Liberty Partnership also includes a range of activities with and in the community such as the Hispanic Heritage Celebration and the Martin Luther King Celebration.

Fellowship on Women and Public Policy
A competitive annual program that accepts up to 20 talented graduate students from a college or university within New York State. In addition to academic coursework, Fellows work in the state legislature, government agencies, or nonprofit organizations. Additional outreach components of the program include a statewide network of mentors, workshops and conferences, policy field trips and community service opportunities. The Fellowship on Women and Public Policy is an intensive leadership development program designed to promote equity and excellence in public service and encourage government to be more responsive to the needs of women, children, families, and communities in New York State.

By offering policy-related placements in New York State agencies, the Legislature and statewide nonprofit advocacy organizations, the fellowship encourages graduate students to pursue careers in public policy while increasing the capacity of New York State Government. The program is administered by the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society.

The fellowship offers a $9,000 stipend and tuition assistance for academic coursework. The program takes place in the spring semester during which fellows are full-time graduate students at Rockefeller College with policy-related field placements (in Albany) for thirty hours a week from January through June.

Research
Publications include the following and are available on the center's website, www.cwig.albany.edu. 2006.  High-Tech Growth and Community Well-Being: Lessons Learned from Austin, Texas. 2005. Women in State Policy Leadership, 1998-2005: An Analysis of Slow and Uneven Progress reports trends in the status of women in five major categories of leadership in state government.

School of Education

• Capital Area School Development Association (CASDA)

The Capital District Association for Women in Administration (CDAWA)
The Capital District Association for Women in Administration (CDAWA), created in the fall of 1990, is an affiliate of the New York State Association for Women in Administration and The Capital Area School Development Association (CASDA). Its purpose is to promote gender-balanced leadership in schools and advanced schools as beacons of equity for our diverse society. CASDA works with the Steering Committee of CDAWA members to help coordinate meetings, provide opportunities for professional support and mentoring, and develop a diverse professional network of administrators from all levels. Contact: Jeff McLellan

• Center for Urban Youth and Technology

The Center for Urban Youth and Technology (CUYT) is dedicated to implementing technology-based programs designed to work with urban youth. CUYT is concerned with the following questions. How do we begin to bridge the technology gap in this country, specifically in the inner city area? How do we provide services and training to the economically disadvantaged who may not otherwise get this opportunity? How do we expose this population to the new technologies? CUYT focuses on students in the ages of 12-19; those who are beginning to make decisions concerning career options and higher education. Many of these students would not ordinarily have been exposed to current applications of the new technologies. CUYT is concerned about the larger community in urban centers and also focuses on the needs of teachers in urban schools and parents. Contact: Dr. Joseph Bowman

• Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology

Afterschool Program for At-Risk Children
The special education program operates an after-school program for at-risk children as a practicum site for master students at Eagle Point Elementary School in Albany. Students plan and teach using the New York State Learning Standards, and the at-risk children will receive extra instruction to help prepare them to be successful in English Language Arts and Math, Science, and Technology. Contact: Dr. Bruce Saddler

• Department of Educational Theory and Practice

Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP)
Run by the Center for Urban Youth and Technology, The University’s Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) introduces minority and disadvantaged middle and high school youth to areas of science, math and technology. Hands-on activities include, Math Day, Science Day, and the three-week Summer Youth Technology Institute. Contact: Dr. Joseph Bowman

• Department of Reading

Arbor Hill School Reading Clinic
The Reading Department holds the Arbor Hill School Reading Clinic. They have moved the practicum component of the master’s degree in literacy to Arbor Hill Elementary School, an inner city school in the Albany City School District. In addition to providing assistance with literacy instruction in the school, the Department faculty are also involved in staff development projects for the teachers. Contact: Dr. Cheryl Dozier

School of Public Health

The School of Public Health, located on UAlbany’s East Campus, links academic study to the world of public health practice, addressing critical issues from cardiac care to HIV treatment to environmental health. Research and partnerships with many groups, including New York State Department of Health, help inform public policy, evaluate public health interventions, and improve practices. Important resources include, for example, the Center for Public Health Preparedness and the University at Albany Prevention Research Center, focusing on community-based interventions to prevent chronic diseases. The newly established Center for Global Health will collaborate with public health agencies and universities in several countries.

• Center for Global Health

School of Social Welfare

Social Work Student Exchange, Hallym University, South Korea
The University has entered into a formal contract with Hallym University located in Chuncheon City, South Korea, as partner social work schools. The partnership encourages yearly student and faculty exchanges. Three groups of Korean social work students have visited Albany to learn about the American social welfare system. The visits represent a strong community partnership since many agencies in the Capital District host students for half-day visits during their stay in Albany. Students also live with host families in the community — all of whom have adopted Korean children through the Parson's Child and Family Services International Adoption program. This program is ongoing each academic year and has served 200 students, faculty and community members who learn about social welfare in Korea. One group of students visited Korea. Five faculty members from the University have been guest lecturers at Hallym University, lecturing on topics such as child welfare, family violence, aging, social service interventions, and social work education. One faculty member from Hallym spent a sabbatical semester at Albany, specializing in aging. Contact: Dr. Katharine Briar-Lawson

Study Mission to South Africa
A delegation of students, faculty, scholars and community practitioners travel to South Africa and another African country each year on a study mission. The groups visit townships, villages, higher education and governmental institutions, social agencies, and historical areas. They also participate in televised focus group meetings and conferences. Contact: Dr. Shirley Jones.

• Center for Excellence in Aging Services

This is a translational research center that develops, tests and implements innovative practices and policies that address the needs of aging persons, their families, and caregivers. The Center's diverse research, training, education, planning and service activities synergistically work to improve the creation, delivery and sustainability of evidence based approaches to addressing key aging concerns for the years ahead.
The Center stands at the nexus between universities and communities determined both to create new knowledge and to be a key partner in translating existing knowledge into practice. The Center's success in these endeavors is enhanced by maintaining relevance in its activities, finding low cost successful strategies to address key concerns, and expanding its connectedness to various constituencies.  Contact: Anne Petruska

Aging-Friendly Communities
This initiative involves a series of projects addressing the quality of life and support of the growing aging population addressing convalescent care, hospitalization and institutionalization diversion, and the development of collaborative relationships between health care networks, faith communities, and agencies that provide services to the aging. Funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation. Contact: Dr. Philip McCallion

OASIS
OASIS is a national nonprofit educational organization designed to enhance the quality of life for mature adults. OASIS creates opportunities for older adults to continue their personal growth and provide meaningful service to the community by offering challenging programs in the arts, humanities, wellness, technology and volunteer service.  SSW partners with this organization to offer educational programs for over 2,000 local residents. Contact: Lisa Ferretti

Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)
RSVP, established in 1972, links retired persons in the Capital District to projects addressing critical needs in the community. Projects include literacy and reading programs, health care and outreach programs for vulnerable older persons confined to their homes. Over 800 older persons participate actively while membership totals 1,200. A total of 250,000 hours of service are donated per year. Contact: Phillip McCallion

Center for Elimination of Minority Health Disparities

The Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities (CEMHD) is funded by a three-year $1.24 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and endorsed by the New York State Department of Health. CEMHD will focus its efforts on smaller cities, including Amsterdam and Albany. In a state where minorities make up nearly 39 percent of the population and where 169 languages are spoken, one of the center’s highest priorities is ensuring that all New Yorkers have the opportunity to achieve optimum health. CEMHD will fill an important need by developing effective community-based approaches for improving minority health that can be applied here in the Capital District and replicated in communities across New York State. The center is uniquely multidisciplinary, representing collaborative efforts by the deans and faculty from the schools of Education, Public Health and Social Welfare and the College of Arts and Sciences. Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Susan Phillips will be in charge of the outreach and dissemination core, with the task of constructing a strategy to disseminate to minority communities messages that promote the understanding and counteracting of health disparities. As an NIH EXPORT center (Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training), CEMHD will identify health problems and seek ways to reduce, and eventually eliminate, minority health inequities by building the University’s health disparities research capacity, and by strengthening community partners’ abilities to collaborate on research and intervention programs. Contact: Lawrence Schell

Division of Student Success

• Office of Multicultural Student Success

The Office of Multicultural Student Success (OMSS) is committed to developing and maintaining a culturally inclusive and supportive campus environment that promotes and enhances the academic excellence, personal growth and leadership development of African, Latino, Asian and Native American heritage (ALANA) students. The program enhances the University’s broad mission of excellence in education, research and public service through the counseling and mentorship of student leaders, the facilitation and co-sponsorship of educational, cultural awareness and social activities and by collaborating with academic offices on campus to ensure that our students benefit from the rich diversity at the University at Albany.

Important to accomplishing these purposes is the Office’s role as a conduit for campus-community interaction. For example, the office coordinates with agencies on community service and volunteer opportunities, encouraging UAlbany students to participate and develop their leadership skills. Similarly the office assists community groups looking for students of color for internships, career or other opportunities. Also the community is often included in programs sponsored and co-sponsored by OMSS such as the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr./African Heritage Month Luncheon, the Annual National Latino Collegiate Conference and Asian Occasion.   Contact: D. Ekow King

• Student Involvement

Third World Impact
This student-run group promotes awareness of humanitarian issues around the globe, especially for developing countries. TWI is also a gateway for students who wish to participate in international relief efforts.  The goal is to get young people interested in using the professional skills that they will eventually acquire in college to pursue future careers in developing countries in order to help those less fortunate.   TWI hopes to accomplish this by collaborating with various student organizations to show educational documentaries, hold debates, network with other charity organizations and religious institutions, provide access to volunteering opportunities, invite public speakers, and hold donation drives for causes around the world. We also plan to work with step teams, dance groups, musicians, and others alike in order to organize entertaining and exciting events on campus.  Contact: Emmanuel Adomfeh

• University Counseling Center

UCCenter-sponsored Programs

• Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program

Middle Earth is a campus agency where trained UAlbany undergrads deliver hotline and peer education services under the supervision of professionals at the University Counseling Center. These peer services assist students in meeting their educational goals and in coping with emotional, social, and other life issues that they face. Since its beginning in 1970, its primary focus has been on alcohol and other drug prevention as it relates to these issues. An additional mission of the program is to strive toward increased diversity within the organization so that services offered may be more sensitive to the individual needs and experiences of the widest cross-section of students on our diverse campus.

Campus and Community Social Norms Campaign
This is an ongoing campaign aimed at correcting campus and local community misperceptions about student health and encouraging attitude and behavior change among students and the community and to assist in enhancing the quality of life for our students and local community residents. The campaign messages are based on survey data collected from a representative sample of UAlbany students each spring semester. The campaign messages, as well as the research methodology that they are based upon, are conveyed to students through class presentations, posters, feature newspaper articles, newspaper ads, Facebook ads, websites, and other venues. Contact: Brian M. Freidenberg

Middle Earth in the Schools
Undergraduate students from the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program volunteer to serve as guest speakers in local high schools and facilitate trips by local high school students to the University at Albany. The aim of this initiative is to encourage high school students, particularly those from traditionally underrepresented groups, to pursue college careers. Supporting this initiative as well is the Middle Earth Alumni Network, which links with our organization to facilitate campus visits by high school students from across New York State. Contact: M. Dolores Cimini

• Project SHAPE: Sexual Health and Peer Education

Project SHAPE is a peer education program that focuses on sexuality and sexual health promotion. We have 40 members, both undergraduate and graduate students who go through an extensive training course on sexuality. Each year we offer over 120 programs and exhibits on sexual health in the residence halls, for student groups, as guest lectures in academic classes and local high schools, and in workshops for local colleges and organizations on sexual health including the annual Northeastern GLBT Conference, the Fuerza Latina conference, and in youth groups at the Capital District GLBT Community Center. In addition, we facilitate a number of awareness weeks such as our annual World AIDS Week in December, Mixin' Up the Sex Week in April, National Black HIV Awareness Week in March, and we are very involved in Middle Earth’s Sexuality Week each February. Each year we engage in a community service project in which we fund-raise and adopt families in the Capital Region affected by HIV/AIDS. We also do programs for local youth such as sex education presentations to a youth at risk group at the New York State museum. Contact: Carol P. Stenger

Annual Faith and Choice Forum
The Project SHAPE: Sexual Health & Peer Education Program collaborates with staff from Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood for an annual event entitled "The Faith and Choice Forum". In this annual event members of the Capital Region community and the University come together to hear the views of different religious leaders discussing their views on reproductive rights. Contact: Carol P. Stenger

New York State Writers Institute

Special Symposia and Conferences
Recently the Writer's Institute convened a symposium on the Craft of Nonfiction, which included 37 of the country's most noted nonfiction writers who assembled for a three-day series of presentations and panel discussions. Other conferences and symposia have included: Hispanic Women Writers; Women Playwrights; Writing and the Holocaust; The Birth of Black Cinema; The World, The Word, and the Future; Women, Multiculturalism, and the Avant Garde; African-American Autobiography; The Business of Writing; and in 1999, The Annual Associated Writing Programs Conference in Albany. Contact: Donald Faulkner

Office of Academic Support Services

Academic Talent Search
Academic Talent Search is a federally funded program that identifies and encourages individuals between the ages of 11-27 to successfully complete middle school and high school, and go on to enroll in a program of study beyond high school.  6th-12th graders may apply from several designated middle and high schools in the Tri-City area (Albany, Schenectady and Troy). Eligible individuals are those from low-income families; potential first-generation college-bound students; and individuals with disabilities.

Goals are to: (1) assist students in improving their study skills, (2) help them understand career opportunities and show them how to achieve those goals, and (3) help students realize that they can go to college and complete a program of study at a post-secondary level. Services are wide-ranging and include: tutoring and mentoring, career development and exploration activities, assistance with college applications, academic and personal counseling, financial assistance, college campus visits. Contact: Felicia Collins

Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP)
This program is sponsored by the Office of Academic Support Services at UAlbany as part of a statewide body that is conducted by the State Education Department.  The purpose is to bring the college experience to urban communities in the Albany area. STEP prepares historically underrepresented and/or economically disadvantaged elementary and secondary school students to acquire the aptitude and skills necessary to pursue post-secondary degree programs that lead to professional careers in the scientific, technical, health-related or other licensed professions. The program also challenges parents and educators to become involved in the process to support the development of a “community of learners.”  Contact: Etwin Bowman

Office of Graduate Studies

The Shepherd Project
The Shepherd Project is a different approach to achieving the goals of diversity and inclusiveness in graduate education. Instead of focusing primarily on individual students, the Shepherd Project has the aim of establishing long-term partnerships with faculty at institutions that have a track record of producing minority baccalaureates. The reasoning is that unlike the ever-changing student population, faculty tend to be relatively stable. Thus, the key to success is an emphasis on a “win-win” philosophy in the partnerships. We plan to bring prospective faculty partners to campus to interact with their colleagues in their respective fields. These meetings will facilitate collaborations. Faculty at the targeted institutions win because they will have opportunities to advance their research agendas. University at Albany wins because these “shepherds,” the mentors of students at targeted partner institutions, will direct their best graduates to our Ph.D. programs. In other words, the goal of increasing the number of minority Ph.D. students will be accomplished because the Shepherd Project will facilitate the development of a strong and self-sustaining pipeline.  Contact: Hayward Horton

Office of International Education

The Office of International Education (OIE) sponsors over 70 Study Abroad programs in 35 countries and facilitates participation in over 300 programs worldwide through the SUNY Study Abroad Consortium. OIE also assists UAlbany’s international students – over 1,250 from about 95 different countries—with diverse issues including academic and language support and finding off-campus housing. OIE coordinates UAlbany’s strategies for internationalization, which include: increasing the international content of educational programs; developing a wider range of international research projects and partnerships; and, focusing attention on major global issues.

UAlbany offers many international cultural events, not just for its own students, but to the regional community. UAlbany also brings significant business to local ethnically-themed businesses, and it helps support off-campus cultural and religious events for the international community. Finally, of course, UAlbany attracts many international visitors to the region, and its global relationships and reputation support regional economic development. Contact: Ray Bromley

Office of Undergraduate Admissions

The office implements many recruitment strategies to assure success in enrolling a diverse body of students at UAlbany, including the development of extensive community relationships.  With over 27 percent of the freshmen class entering the University in fall 2008 from diverse backgrounds, the University’s successful efforts remain a model for its peers.

UAlbany - Albany High School Alliance for Young Talent

As neighbors with large campuses along Washington and Western avenues in Albany, New York, Albany High School and the University at Albany form a natural educational corridor. In fall 2005, UAlbany, the City School District of Albany, and Albany High School, created a new strategic partnership to advance this corridor, building on many longstanding relationships. The partnership works to foster student success and college access for all students at Albany High, particularly those at risk of not graduating because of barriers to education. Core Alliance programs include tutoring, mentoring, campus visits, and the Teach Together.

Goals are to spark interest in college and career as well as help students improve their academic performance, social development, and personal growth. As the “university next door” with over 17,600 students, UAlbany opens a new world of possibilities to high school students.  At UAlbany the Alliance is spearheaded by the President’s Office, the School of Education and the School of Social Welfare with assistance from Admissions and Academic Support Services. Contact: Edu Hermelyn