Thanks to all of you for your continuing commitment to our University, its students, its programs, its future.

And, a very special thank you to the chairs who have recently completed their service to their Departments and the entire University. By assuming this most critical leadership role, you made a major commitment to the advancement of our entire institution. We are deeply grateful for your service and valuable contributions to our shared enterprise.

We are also grateful to our Chairs, whether continuing or just commencing their service.

To all of you, our deep thanks as well!

Do know that you have our support and gratitude for all that you are doing to advance your disciplines in the context of our institution’s Strategic Values and Goals.

And, please join me as well in welcoming all the new faculty and professional staff who are with us today.

We are delighted you have joined us here at Albany. The fresh ideas and new perspectives and insights you bring provide an exceptional opportunity for all of us to learn and grow.

Each semester, I very much look forward to these campus-wide Faculty meetings. There are, after all, so few occasions when we come together across department and school and college lines to reflect on our University as an integrated whole - an institution which has the potential for being so much greater than merely the sum of its parts.

Indeed, my remarks today will focus on that potential - the opportunity we have to move our entire University forward if we are willing to move outside the relatively “safe” space of our individual units and disciplines and risk a broader engagement with the whole of our institution.

Indeed, I would submit that such enlightened engagement across all aspects of our mission will, ultimately, be the measure of us…will determine whether the University at Albany will achieve the greatness to which we all aspire.

Over the last several years we have engaged in a series of critical planning activities. From our much needed Master Planning Process, which has culminated in major new construction and renovations all around our campus…indeed, we are already commencing a second round of Master Planning for another set of critical capital projects; to Strategic Planning which is still - and will probably always be - ongoing; to the Middle States decennial Accreditation process which entailed a year-long period of intense institution-wide self-reflection and culminated in an exceptionally successful site visit and the granting of reaccreditation - with commendation; to the SUNY-wide Mission Review initiative which will lead to my signing, along with the Chancellor, a Memorandum of Understanding which delineates, in some detail, our University’s distinctive place in the mosaic which is the State University of New York, as well as our specific goals and aspirations as a highly selective research intensive university.

While often exhausting and, upon occasion, sobering, such periods of self analysis have also been rewarding and, at times, exhilarating as we realize the tremendous foundation which has been built here at Albany - by all of you - and by those who preceded you. Each of these planning processes has provided a new opportunity to reflect on our growth as an institution, to evaluate the current state of our many programs, and to envision our future across the totality of our mission of discovery and learning in service to society.

This past Spring, when last we convened as a faculty, I shared with you a virtual litany of accomplishments - from national and international recognition of our faculty’s research; to the increasing academic profile of our entering undergraduates as our application pool has become the largest in all of the SUNY system; to the establishment of new curricula and academic partnerships; to creative new ventures in extended learning and outreach to our various communities; to major new funding from the state, federal government, industry, and private philanthropy to support our academic and research programs and our increasingly sophisticated infrastructure requirements, and on and on. Yes, the 1999-2000 academic year was a “very good year.”

So what’s next? What do we - to put it in the vernacular - do for an encore?

While I know it will sound counterintuitive, I would submit that we can not, simply, do more of the same. Indeed, our goals for the coming year need to be based on the fact that current demographic, economic and geopolitical forces will require nothing short of transformation in our country’s institutions of higher education. While I know we all tire of such phrases as the “global, interconnected society”, the “new economy,” the “information explosion,” and so on, the fact remains that institutions of higher education cannot hope to meet the challenges of the profound societal transformation reflected by such phrases with “business-as-usual.” And, I would submit, they cannot hope to meet such a challenge unless their faculties and staffs are unified in common cause. Each and every one of us is - ultimately - responsible for the whole of our institution. Isolated islands of disciplinary and professional expertise - however excellent - cannot hope to achieve the transformation that will be required of any institution of higher education which aspires to greatness at a time of such major societal change.

In my Inaugural Address entitled “Engaging the Future,” I commented that “We must be bold as, together, we envision the future of the University at Albany. We must engage with each other, engage with those we serve - our students and the citizens of New York; engage with our national and global colleagues - all toward the end of deep engagement with our University and its future in the context of great societal change.”

Yes, the context for the essential change facing all of us in higher education is engagement…interactive, collaborative and innovative engagement.

First, let us engage with our students…

This past year many of you were deeply involved in a review of our general education curriculum here at Albany…a review which engendered the kind of intellectual discourse which is essential to the entirety of our curriculum.

It was the kind of cross-disciplinary curricular analysis that will be required if we are to meet our responsibility to students who will encounter a world transformed. Our shared goal should be to keep the conversation alive…not just about content, but pedagogy as well. We need to establish a forum to examine the undergraduate learning experience as a coherent, challenging whole…a forum where difficult issues are addressed in new and innovative ways…a forum which accepts as a base assumption the fact that the largest percentage of our students will not pursue their major as a life-long profession. I have asked Interim Provost Santiago and Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Sue Faerman, to take leadership in establishing such a Forum.

We need to discuss whether two free-standing natural science courses are sufficient for informed citizens in a global society dominated and being transformed by advances in science and technology. We need to address whether two free-standing courses in the arts and humanities and two in the social sciences are sufficient for informed citizens in a global society where scientific advances are posing social and ethical dilemmas which will have profound effects on generations to come.

No, I am not talking about expanding our curriculum…what I am talking about is a reconceptualization of our educational process. If our goal is to provide an education which will prepare all our students, regardless of major, to be informed and contributing citizens…citizens with a value structure which embraces civic responsibility and the kind of inquiring intellect which fosters discernment and “principled action” (J. Roszak, “The Making of a Counter Culture”), we need to move beyond a curriculum composed predominantly of unconnected exposures - however stimulating - to various circumscribed bodies of knowledge…6 hours of this, 3 hours of that…until the magical 120 credits are achieved. We need to frame our curriculum in ways that inspire - indeed, demand - interdisciplinary reflection on major societal issues. We owe our students no less as they prepare - under our tutelage - for lives of purpose and personal fulfillment.

Let us commit to coming together, across disciplinary lines, to challenge the rigidity of our current course structure. Our biology majors need more than the currently prescribed exposure to isolated courses in the social sciences, arts and humanities. The basic precepts of these other “ways of knowing” should permeate their entire educational experience… should help them view their science in the context of its impact on social structures and societal values.

Indeed, the ethical dilemmas which are arising from major advances in science and technology will require that our humanities and social science majors have the ability to recognize, understand and address the consequences of scientific inquiry and technologic innovation.

Making these vital connections between disciplines and with societal issues may require us to eschew circumscribed disciplinary courses and develop longitudinal educational experiences which will complement and enrich our students’ experience in their major fields of study…educational experiences which will provide the kind of rich, multidisciplinary world-view essential for contributing citizens in the 21st century.

Thanks to the creativity of many of our faculty, we already have models of such curricular innovation. I recently had lunch with a number of our Presidential Scholars as well as some participants in Project Renaissance. They spoke in glowing terms of the interdisciplinary course, Foundations of Great Ideas, and the challenges of integrating different disciplinary perspectives in Project Renaissance. But, perhaps most important, they spoke in glowing terms of their close involvement with their teachers. They recognized and deeply cherished their deep engagement…their clear commitment to providing an educational experience which will enrich their futures. They clearly saw them as role models for their own obligations as contributing and informed citizens.

So do join the conversation…come together with your colleagues over this next year to debate and probe the limits of our traditional curricula and pedagogies. Together examine ways to ensure the coherence of the total educational experience we provide for our undergraduates - general education, the major, and the rarely examined “other”…minors and electives.

And - most important of all - test the validity of our current models of teaching and the form and content of our curricula - both undergraduate and graduate - in the context of the new demands and opportunities our students will encounter in a changing society they must lead and help to shape.

Such engagement with our students will be possible only to the extent that we engage with each other.

Indeed, if we are to address our Strategic Goal of providing distinctive…and distinguished…student-centered undergraduate, graduate and professional programs which will serve to attract students of exceptional academic ability, the whole of our institution must be involved. Each individual in each of our divisions must recognize his or her unique and critical role.

Just last week, the Vice Presidents and I held an all-day retreat to review institutional priorities and goals for the current academic year…priorities and goals which had grown out of consultation with the faculty, the Deans and Chairs, and with the staff across all of our many units. We examined each of the proposed initiatives in terms of its congruence with the institution’s Strategic Goals, its potential for advancing our University beyond mere incremental change, the degree to which it would require the engagement of all members of our university community, and the extent to which it enhanced the engagement of our institution with the larger communities we serve - the region, the state, the nation.

Have no fear…I do not intend to review each and every recommended priority and goal with you. In fact, one of the major decisions I made that day was, despite the abundance of creative and provocative suggestions for our collective consideration, today I would attempt to be brief and to the point.

Not unlike a woman named Mary who lived with her husband Ollie in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. Ollie was a much beloved member of this small town…he was a caring man who was always there to help and support his neighbors. Sadly, one day, Ollie passed away. Mary, his now widow, went despondently to the editor of the town newspaper to put in an announcement about Ollie’s passing. Upon hearing that the obituary would cost 25 cents a word, she thought for a moment, and then placed 50 cents on the counter. She wrote the following words: “Ollie died.” Aghast, the editor ran after her and said, “Please let me help. Ollie was so beloved here in town…here is another 75 cents for his obituary.” Mary, very grateful for his generosity, returned to the office and wrote the following words: “Ollie died. Boat for sale.” Brief and to the point!

What also emerged from the discussions at our retreat was the clear realization that few, if any of the goals proposed were unique to any particular unit…and few, if any of the goals proposed could be achieved through the efforts of any single unit of the institution.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the area of enrollment management, both the recruitment and retention of our student body. Let me update you on our enrollment situation. First, the good news. In keeping with our goal to increase institutional selectivity and, hence, the academic profile of our entering freshmen, the class SAT average of 1169 represents an increase of some 20 points over last year. Two-hundred-forty- eight (248) Presidential and Frederick Douglass Scholars have enrolled, an increase of 91 over last year. Given that we had the largest applicant pool in the entire SUNY System, we were able to be more selective; further, we decided to halt admissions some 80 short of our enrollment goal to assure this substantial increase in selectivity.

Our goal for next year? To continue this upward trajectory in student quality. Indeed, thanks to our success to date, I am delighted to report that SUNY System has awarded us an additional $1.5 million to assist us in meeting our selectivity goals over the next three years. Quite a testament to your achievements.

Continued improvement in the size and quality of our applicant pool, and continued success in enrolling - and retaining - more highly qualified students, will require no less than the deep engagement of our entire institution…every individual in every division has a role to play.

We must, in fact, be a student-centered university. Led by our Vice Presidents and Deans, every division, every school and college will be asked to evaluate itself in this context. As I’ve already discussed, hard questions need to be asked regarding the form and content of our undergraduate, graduate and professional curricula, and their adequacy in the face of major societal change. Educational programs must be designed to challenge the best of our students. Each and every academic unit must participate…must be held accountable in terms of meeting this institution-wide goal.

The quality of life here at Albany is also vitally important in terms of the recruitment and retention of our student body. From financial aid to residential life, athletics and recreation, the quality of our food service, campus aesthetics, cultural offerings, student organizations, health and safety - yes, even parking…all of these are essential to the environment for learning we must create. Over the next year, all of our service and support units will be asked to review their various activities in that context, and to seek ways to simplify procedures and evaluate their programs against the needs of a constantly changing - and aging - student body. These units, too, must be held accountable in terms of meeting the goal of being a student-centered university.

A few moments ago, I said, “First, the good news…”. Indeed, our overall enrollment is not where we hoped it would be. Graduate and professional enrollment, with the exception of Education, has fallen short of our goals. This shortfall is not just an interesting abstraction. Unless addressed through quarter courses, enhanced Spring registrations and so forth, we face a $1.4 million shortfall in our budget for the current year.

It is true that national prosperity always tends to depress graduate enrollment. However, the very advances in technology which are fueling the growth of a knowledge-based economy also have created a need for life-long learning which our nation’s colleges and universities can and should address.

Some of our faculty have already become engaged with this new population of life-long learners. They have recognized and responded to the need for a new paradigm of post-baccalaureate education. However, I call on all of you to participate.

We must address this new challenge if we are to meet our Strategic Goal of access and engagement with the needs of our students. Indeed, such programs of extended learning will, I feel, become increasingly important in terms of meeting our basic educational mission, even as they will assure our ongoing fiscal stability. We can’t allow ourselves to be marginalized as our sister institutions become more and more aggressive in establishing themselves with these…at least for the moment…non-traditional learners.

Engagement with our stu-dents…engagement with each other as we strive to achieve Strategic Goals which require the involvement of the whole of our institution…

What of engagement with our external communities? Here, too, there has been a paradigm shift, not unexpected given the knowledge-intensive nature of the “New Economy.”

Our various publics have clearly recognized their dependence on colleges and universities for the new discoveries which can invigorate the economy and address a myriad of emerging societal issues. And, the need for an educated workforce has never been more acute.

Our Strategic Plan states, in part, that “The University will continue its historic commitment to the core value of societal responsibility…by actively supporting the application of its teaching and research to the needs of society.”

Indeed, such engagement with our various communities is more important now than ever before.

A recent report issued by the Kellogg Commission on The Future of State and Land-Grant Institutions, entitled “The Engaged Institution,” reflects on the many contributions our institutions have made to our society…and calls on us all to do more - and do it better!

A critical challenge we all face, states the Report, “…is growing public frustration with what is seen to be our unresponsiveness…a perception that, despite the resources and expertise available on our campuses, our institutions are not well organized to bring them to bear on local problems in a coherent way.”

For many years, the University at Albany, like many of our nation’s colleges and universities, has been deeply committed to the concept of public service…committed to addressing societal needs through volunteerism, consulting and the like. We have provided programs of continuing education, tutors in the schools, assistance to small businesses, and opened up our facilities to public use.

Why…with all this outreach activity…is there still public frustration and a perception by many that we are unresponsive?

The answer, I would submit, is in our frequent failure to truly partner with those we seek to serve.

Too often in the past, we in the academy have seen our public service as simply providing our “superior expertise” to our various communities…whether they needed it or not! When we developed a new pedagogical approach, we brought it to the schools - whether they wanted it or not! When we developed a new application of our scientific research, we brought it to industry, whether it fit into their long-term business plan, or not. When we developed a new method of assessment, we brought it to social welfare agencies, whether it fit their needs, or not. In short, the public service of many of our nation’s universities has for too long been in one direction - true partnerships with their various communities have been rare.

Over the last several years at the University at Albany, as at many other colleges and universities, we have sought to develop such partnerships - develop them by sitting down with our various constituencies and listening... “…listening to [our public and private sector colleagues] in the communities we serve.” We have sought to understand their needs and to fashion our programs of teaching and research in the context of those needs. This type of service and outreach has not only been more responsive to the needs of our partners, but has enriched us, as well, through new insights, new understanding and, often, new resources. More on that in a moment.

To the extent that we can embrace such a strategy, we will become truly engaged institutions - institutions which the Kellogg commission defines by seven guiding characteristics: “Responsiveness - the ability to listen, to frame the right questions, to offer services at the right time in the right way; Respect for partners - recognizing the skills and expertise our [public and private sector] partners bring to the collaboration, and recognizing we have as much to learn as we have to offer; Academic neutrality - assuring that our outreach maintains the university in the role of neutral facilitator and source of information when public policy issues, particularly contentious ones, are at stake; Accessibility - helping new partners to negotiate our complex structures [- be they bureaucratic or - as at Albany - architectural,] and assuring that our resources and programs are well-publicized to all; Integration and Coordination - fostering an on-campus climate which rewards outreach and supports the often multi-disciplinary approaches essential to addressing complex societal issues; and, Resource Partnerships - recognizing that successful outreach is not free, and that developing corporate and government sponsorship, as well as appropriate fee structures for services which will support ongoing programs, is essential.”

Our challenge? To participate in such partnerships with integrity of purpose and fidelity to our unique mission of discovery and learning.

Many of our faculty and staff are already embracing such a strategy of engagement…and our entire institution has gained immeasurably from their innovation and involvement.

The East Campus and the Center for Environmental Sciences and Technology Management simply would not exist without the close partnerships our faculty have developed with University, government and corporate partners.

Not only have these collaborations opened up new avenues of research and educational opportunity for our undergraduates and graduate students, but they have also greatly enhanced our physical and fiscal resources.

It became clear a number of years ago that annual state allocations for our base operating costs would not - for the foreseeable future - increase to the degree necessary to move our institution forward in other than an incremental fashion. Yes, the hemorrhaging of faculty positions has stopped; indeed, our enrollment success over most of the last several years has generated sufficient additional state tax dollars and tuition revenues to support net increases in faculty lines. However, this past year has shown that we can not always depend on an enrollment-based fiscal strategy to support major advances in our faculty and resource base.

Indeed, a new paradigm for fiscal growth was needed…a paradigm based on partnerships with those that depend on our unique strengths and capabilities and who are willing to invest in mutually-supportive collaborations which have the potential to move our institution forward in significant ways. For example, the vision for and development of just such partnerships in advanced materials, atmospheric sciences and comparative genomics have led to a new state-of-the-art science building - CESTM - and a commitment of funds for two additional buildings on the same site, as well as an entire new campus…our East Campus, purchased in 1996, and soon to be expanded by some 28 acres. In all, we will see the addition of some 489,000 square feet of high quality research and educational space, space which will greatly enrich our academic programs. Our partners in government, both federal and state, as well as the private sector are willing to invest in our future since they recognize the impact our programs of research and education will have on the economy and quality of life of our region, state and nation. And their investment has not stopped at new facilities.

Ten new senior scientists, 23 new professional and technical staff, and 26 new postdoctoral and graduate students have joined us - funded by special state economic development grants, federal grants and contracts with industry. In all, some $134 million have been received for the personnel, equipment and facilities which support these new partnerships - and, at the same time, support our University’s programs of discovery and learning in such areas as physics, biological sciences, public health and atmospheric sciences.

Equally important, our undergraduate and graduate students in the sciences have the opportunity to interact with the research and development staff of on-site private sector partners…and our business school students carry out field projects in areas such as entrepreneurship and management information systems with resident start-up companies. The actual collocation of University programs and private sector companies at both CESTM and our East Campus has greatly enriched the educational and research opportunities available to students from across our entire campus.

Yes, the new paradigm works. And we hope to expand it across more of our disciplines in the near future.

Such partnerships with government and the private sector have the potential to create the resource base we require to move our institution forward…even as we fulfill our Strategic Goal of applying our research and teaching to the needs of society.

Engagement with our students and engagement with each other as we seek to be more student-centered. Engagement with those we serve as we seek to meet the needs of our various communities through our programs of research and teaching. Clearly such engagement requires that we move outside the safe spaces of our particular units and departments and risk a broader view of our institution as a whole. It is a risk - but, in the words of playright Neil Simon, “If no one ever took risks, Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor.”

If no one ever took risks, CESTM and the East Campus would not exist. If no one ever took risks, the intellectual challenges of our new course, Foundations of Great Ideas and such new programs as forensic molecular biology, Social Work and the Law, International Studies, and so on, would not be inspiring our students. If no one ever took risks our Governor and State Legislature as well as the private sector would not be investing so much special funding in your programs of research and scholarship. If no one ever took risks we wouldn’t have achieved another record in Annual Giving or be contemplating the largest Capital Campaign in our institution’s history. If no one ever took risks we would not be engaged in the largest expansion of facilities since the uptown campus was built. If no one ever took risks our plans for an intergenerational living community - Fort Orange Village - would not be taking shape. If no one ever took risks the recent Book/Ends Conference would not have enriched our institution even as it engaged our entire region. If no one ever took risks we would not be welcoming some 30 new faculty into our University family, or recruiting 43 additional colleagues during the current year.

We have many challenges before us during the coming year - hard decisions about resource allocations which must reflect the success of our individual units’ enrollment initiatives; addressing information technology needs in a strategic and inclusive campus-wide process, creating incentives which inspire and reward those in our University family willing to take fresh and creative approaches to traditional practices and procedures.

Such challenges must be addressed in the context of our Strategic Goals, and with the same degree of institutional engagement which led to their creation.

We, like most of our nation’s top-quality universities, are in a process of reflection and renewal…a renewal which will be possible only to the degree that each member of our community takes ownership of our shared goals…identifies ways that he or she personally can contribute to our overall agenda for change.

And, as each of us moves beyond our safe spaces and engages with colleagues from across our entire institution, we will have the rare opportunity to come to know the depth of the excellence which surrounds us.

The mutual respect which will emanate from such encounters will instill a sense of institutional pride which will, in the end, assure the deep engagement with the whole of our University which will define our future.

So, I end as I began, with thanks. Thanks to all of you who are willing to risk…willing to embrace change in service to our students, our University and our many communities.

Veterans to Be Honored At Special UAlbany Celebration
By Greta Petry
Eunice Baird Whittlesey ’44, has been on a quest - one that will be realized in June when the University at Albany honors alumni, faculty, staff, and students who have served in the armed services.

Think of the military and you might first think of World War II, Vietnam, or Desert Storm. But UAlbany’s history of students and faculty who served in the military dates back to the Mexican American War (1846-’48). One graduate, Charles Kendall, Class of 1846, died of disease after serving in that conflict.

Whittlesey, of Scotia, and her husband Joe spent last winter digging through the University archives in search of names of veterans. Helen Brucker Martin, Class of 1944 co-councillor as well as Mrs. Whittlesey’s best friend, helped from the start. They spent countless hours poring over yellowed newspaper clippings and tracking down leads in order to pay respect to UAlbany veterans and their families.

It all started when Mrs. Whittlesey found out that several names were not included on a bronze plaque that honors State Normal School graduates who died in the Civil War. Undergraduates who left school to fight before they graduated, like Private George B. Wolcott of Milan, Yates County, were not named on the plaque. Wolcott died at Gettysburg. Chris Hunter, a student of Professor Allen Ballard (who teaches Civil War history), helped in the search for more extensive information about State Normal School Civil War veterans. Hunter earned a master’s degree last May.

The exclusion of veterans from the Civil War plaque bothered Mrs. Whittlesey, who embarked on a crusade to rediscover the connection between veterans and the University. Her goal, which will be achieved June 9, 2001, is to honor all the University’s service veterans with the unveiling of an eight-panel Wall of Honor, a 36-foot mural to be housed in the new Science Library. To date, more than 3,000 names of veterans associated with UAlbany have been collected. These names will be inscribed on the Wall of Honor.

The celebration, which will coincide with Alumni Weekend, will cap a major volunteer effort by University alumni. The Whittleseys and Martin were assisted by Virginia Polhemus Carney ’42, Eleanor Winne ’42, and Eleanor Alland ’47.

“I am also deeply indebted to Geoff Williams for his complete and professional assistance in the University archives,” said Mrs. Whittlesey, who this past June was the recipient of UAlbany’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Compiling the names of veterans associated with UAlbany is an ongoing task. To add or confirm a name on the list, or for more information, call Melissa Samuels at (518) 442-3083 or send an e-mail message to: alumni@uamail.albany.edu.

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Monument to the 44th New York Volunteers who fought at Little Round Top at Gettysburg during the Civil War. Students and alumni from the State Normal School fought with the 44th, as part of the Normal School Company. Photo by Joe Whittlesey