University at Albany, State University of New York


President�s Spring Report to the Faculty
May 9, 2001
Campus Center Ballroom

Thank you so much, Ed�.and, good afternoon everyone.

Well, another academic year is almost over�and what a year it was! I welcome this opportunity to reflect on but a few of the highlights of the past year, and to celebrate with you the myriad accomplishments of our faculty, students and staff. This is such a special time on any university campus�.a time when we take a moment from our hectic schedules to honor those who have excelled�those who have contributed of their time and their talents to enrich this wonderful University.

Just this past weekend at the President�s Undergraduate Leadership Award ceremony, we came together to honor a truly exceptional group of students and student organizations �representative of them was the Presidential Honors Society. This group of some 110 students, all of whom have GPA�s of 3.75 or higher, has contributed over 3,000 hours of community service, this year alone. They and so many of their classmates epitomize our University�s strategic values of engaged learning and societal responsibility. Their presence here at Albany continues to enrich us all.

There are countless examples of such commitment among the faculty and staff as well. It is fitting that we pause to recognize our colleagues who have achieved, who have contributed, who have excelled�colleagues who epitomize the values which define our institution.

First, let me introduce a faculty member who has been recognized by his colleagues for his exceptional devotion to our University. This year�s Collins Fellow is known for his indefatigable service across the entire spectrum of university activities, and for his singular devotion to our students. Join me in congratulating and thanking John Pipkin, Professor of Geography and Planning�this year�s Collins Fellow.

Now I am honored to introduce our colleagues who have been selected for the 2001 President�s Awards for Excellence. I know you will agree that this year�s award recipients are truly outstanding�not only in the performance of their particular professional responsibilities, but also in their deep commitment to our University.

Our first award honors those who excel in teaching at all levels of our educational program. Would this year�s recipients of the President�s Award for Excellence in Teaching please rise to receive our congratulations:

  • Hayward D. Horton, Sociology
  • Stephen M. North, Department of English

The next category is the President�s Award for Excellence in Support Service, which honors excellence among the members of the classified service staff, those who mean so much to the quality of life of our University. I invite the recipients to rise, and please join me in acknowledging them:

  • Ellen B. Kelly, Department of Physics
  • Josephine (Pina) Smith, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
  • Mary E. Unser, Department of Reading

Next is the President�s Award for Excellence in Professional Service. This award recognizes the contributions of members of the professional staff who contribute so much to the lives of our students, our faculty and the entire campus community. Would the recipients please rise to receive our congratulations.

  • J. Philippe Abraham, Advisement Services Center
  • Ann E. Boehm, (BAME) Department of Biological Sciences
  • Maritza Martinez, Office of Academic Support Services

Next is the President�s Award for Excellence in Librarianship for outstanding contributions by a member of the library faculty. This year�s recipients are::

  • Otis A. Chandley, Associate Librarian
  • Laura B. Cohen, Associate Librarian

The President�s Award for Excellence in Academic Service recognizes the extensive contributions of faculty members to a variety of University-wide initiatives and their leadership in assuring the quality of the University�s academic programs. Please join me in acknowledging this year�s recipients:

  • David P. McCaffrey, Public Administration and Policy
  • Charles P. Rougle, Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Our final award celebrates the scholarly achievements of our faculty and their invaluable contributions to their disciplines. Would the recipients of the President�s Awards for Excellence in Research please rise and receive our congratulations:

  • Lance F. Bosart, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
  • Joachim Frank, Biomedical Sciences — [not attending]
  • Norma M. Riccucci, Public Administration and Policy

It is also a tremendous pleasure for me to acknowledge seven of our colleagues whom the Board of Trustees has promoted to the highest academic ranks within the State University of New York. The faculty members so honored clearly represent the highest ideals of our profession. Please join me in congratulating:

  • Distinguished Professor Richard Alba of the Department of Sociology;

  • Distinguished Professor John Logan of the Department of Sociology;

  • Distinguished Librarian Meredith Butler, Director of the University Libraries and Dean of the Library Faculty, the first Distinguished Librarian ever appointed by the State University of New York

  • Distinguished Service Professor David Anderson of the Department of Public Administration and Policy;

  • Distinguished Service Professor Sung Bok Kim of the Department of History, and former Dean of Undergraduate Studies;

  • Distinguished Teaching Professor Judith Fetterley of the Departments of English and Women�s Studies, and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies;

    and finally,

  • Distinguished Teaching Professor Robert Rosellini, Chair of the Department of Psychology.

Congratulations to you all!

Also, please join me in congratulating Dr. David Carpenter of the School of Public Health on being named this year�s Academic Citizen Laureate by the University at Albany Foundation. His contributions to our University have enriched us all.

Please join me, in once again, saluting these exceptional colleagues.

It is hard not to keep repeating the word "excellence" in the context of such faculty, students and staff.

Indeed, I find myself using that word more and more frequently as I move around the region, our State and the country meeting with alumni and other friends of our University�I use the word excellence not only to describe the tremendous accomplishments of so many of you, but also to describe a shared commitment of vital importance to our future.

The University at Albany�s Strategic Planning Committee, in its Statement of Strategic Values, noted that if we are to "respond to [the] complex set of conditions that characterizes society now and for the new millennium," we need to be committed to Change, committed to Society and committed to Excellence. The Committee spoke of our founders, "�a small group of bold visionaries�" who were, above all, "..committed to excellence�.". They stated that "while our mission has changed since then, that boldness of vision and commitment to excellence remain."

Excellence�a word which can be over-used and, too frequently, carelessly used; to the point that it loses its meaning.

Let that not happen here at Albany. Let us reserve that word for those programs which, in keeping with the true meaning of the word, are superior "�in some quality,�or achievement over all"�for those faculty, students and staff who are "better or greater than or superior to another."

In so doing, we will raise our institutional expectations and create a framework for decision-making which will assure our continued growth and vitality.

This, then, is my theme for today�s remarks� the need to maintain our expectations for excellence�to challenge ourselves to assure an institution distinguished by its commitment to excellence, and the courage of its members to make the choices necessary to achieve such excellence.

Such a commitment to academic excellence was at the heart of the University�s Strategic Plan which I accepted at the October, 1998 meeting of the General faculty, and the various institutional goals enunciated in the Plan continue to inform the planning and priorities of our various Divisions, Schools and Colleges.

Indeed, this past year, when viewed in the context of these strategic goals, was another "very good year."

First, our goal of providing a distinctive, student-centered undergraduate learning experience was greatly advanced through a series of fora organized by Provost Santiago, Dean Faerman and Vice President D�Elia. Faculty from across the University discussed the Future of General Education, Forming Community Links in Undergraduate Education, Developing an Outcomes Assessment Plan and, finally, Undergraduate Research Initiatives.

Undergraduate research is a key strategic initiative of our institution. Indeed, our Center for Neuroscience Research recently has been selected by NSF as a Research Experience for Undergraduate Training Site, one of only six such neuroscience training sites in the country. Congratulations to all involved in this successful grant application. Programs such as this will serve as a model for others across all our disciplines and will help us meet our goal of a distinctive undergraduate experience here at Albany. I urge you all to consider how you might involve our undergraduates in our mission of discovery; such an opportunity will enrich the learning experience for all our students. It will involve them in a process of inquiry which will serve them well whatever their field, whatever their ultimate career.

I urge you as well to be alert to opportunities for developing new programs which will prepare our students as they enter a rapidly-changing and complex world�programs like our new minor in bioethics, and our newly proposed program in International Studies. We must be responsive to the challenges our students will surely encounter.

Over the past year, a great deal of effort has been devoted to designing educational programs to challenge the best of our students. As the Report of last year�s Honor�s Task Force, chaired by Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences, Mark Durand, pointed out, such programs must be rigorous and must provide for small group interaction with faculty.

Indeed, some of our Mission Review funding has been utilized to expand our undergraduate honors offerings in political science, mathematics and statistics, biology, psychology, sociology and English�and other departments are also engaged in similar curricular development. But, we need to do more.

Institutionally, we are at a critical juncture.

We have invested a tremendous amount of resources and effort in increasing our selectivity, in striving to be an institution of choice for the most talented high school applicants. And, in no small measure, we are succeeding.

Once again, this year, Albany is leading all SUNY campuses in the number of applications for freshman and transfer students — some 19,693 total applications. Binghamton is second with 18,619 — just thought I�d mention that! Out-of-state applicants have again increased, and this year we had a record number of international students — some 923. Most important, however, is the fact that there has been an improvement in the quality of our applicant pool in terms of both SAT and average GPA. The academic profile of admitted Presidential Scholars is also improved — average SATs of 1342 and GPAs of 94.7, including two national merit scholars. While at this time of year these numbers are changing daily, it is clear that we are moving ever closer to our strategic goal of attracting a student body comparable to the most selective of this nation�s public research universities.

But this very success carries with it major institutional challenges. Clearly, we must provide an educational experience which will challenge and fully engage these talented students.

Just last week I participated in a very frank conversation with a small, but deeply engaged group of faculty around the topic of "What do we owe our students?"

We reflected on the critical question of student retention, especially the retention of the kind of highly-motivated and talented students we are seeking to attract here at Albany�students of excellence (there�s that word again) who are expecting a challenging academic experience.

Together we discussed the need to redouble our efforts to develop "honors" courses, offer independent study opportunities and be proactive in identifying students of special promise. We have extensive procedures for identifying low performers, but none that are designed to seek out those students who need and want to be challenged with more advanced work�more creative curricular experiences. We can not expect to retain � or to continue to attract � the very kind of students we seek without such curricular and pedagogic strategies.

We also discussed the need to foster an expectation for academic excellence for all students from the very first day of their education here at Albany.

One of the faculty at our meeting asked, "Why don�t the very best teachers in a department deliver the lectures in large introductory courses? They are, after all, the hardest courses to teach well." This is certainly the practice at many elite research universities. Why not here at Albany? Another faculty member reflected on the importance of positive attitudes toward learning and the need to establish�and enforce�codes of behavior which reinforce expectations of excellence from the very first day of classes. Teachers that permit a casual approach to learning by some of their students run the risk of conveying an impression of low expectations for learning to all their students.

I urge all departments to continue their discussions on the creative deployment of faculty and on their levels of expectation for student behavior to help raise the standards we must demand for student learning. The rigor of our courses is, after all, the most important measure of our institutional excellence.

And, in the context of our goal for a student-centered learning experience, I urge all departments to consider ways to interact more closely with their undergraduate students. Be it a picnic for departmental majors, dinners in faculty homes, invitations to high achievers to attend graduate�level seminars or just hall-way conversations, all of our institutional research is clear�the closer students feel to even one faculty member, the greater their achievement, the greater their satisfaction with their entire academic experience. Consider the records of students who have participated in Project Renaissance, a program characterized by close interactions with faculty. Retention rates and GPAs of these students are higher than the campus average. Such students recognize their faculty�s expectation for excellence and they respond.

Indeed, students and faculty alike benefit from expectations for excellence throughout our entire institution.

For instance, under the energetic leadership of Vice President for Business and Finance, Paul Stec, our facilities have improved and our many new construction projects are proceeding on-time or ahead of schedule. Administrative processes are being simplified and campus aesthetics upgraded. Indeed, many thanks to the over 450 faculty, students and staff who participated in our recent campus clean-up day in preparation for our re-designed, on-campus commencement weekend. Parenthetically, I do hope that you all will participate in this wonderful new approach to a more personalized graduation experience for our students and their families. Come be a part of the entire weekend�all the events planned to celebrate the accomplishments of your students.

The importance of the quality of life here on our campus cannot be over-estimated. During this past year, dormitory refurbishment has continued, and we now enjoy 100% occupancy of these facilities.

And, according to our students, even the food service has improved. Sports programs (both intercollegiate and recreational) are also critical elements of our quality of life and campus community building efforts here at Albany, and they have been enriched with the support of our wonderful new Athletic Director, Dr. Lee A. McElroy. Not a patient man, 8 days after his arrival, Lee hired an excellent new basketball coach, Scott Beeton, from UC Berkley. Yes, sports have been much in the news this year. Our search for conference affiliation ended successfully as we joined the America East Conference, making seventeen of our nineteen varsity teams immediately eligible for conference championships and NCAA post-season competition. And, as announced last week, Father Kevin Mackin, President of Siena College, and I just agreed to a three-year basketball series which will pair both our men�s and women�s basketball teams in an annual doubleheader. Save November 27th � the UAlbany-Siena basketball rivalry is back after a 25 year hiatus. And our men will again be playing the Orangemen of Syracuse, this time right here in the Pepsi Arena.

Under the excellent leadership of Vice President James Doellefeld, the Division for Student Affairs has also made major progress in the areas of health and safety, financial aid and residential life�indeed, the excellence of student life programs was recently acknowledged nationally, when we were granted one of only 13 grants on college-based Alcohol and Drug Prevention Models. Such enhancement in student life across all of our Divisions had led to an unprecedented demand for on-campus living, and I am pleased to announce that our planning for new student housing — some 1200 new beds designed as apartment-like complexes — is on track for an August 2002 opening.

Without such co-curricular and quality-of-life initiatives, our efforts to recruit and retain talented and committed students would, simply, not be possible. The expectations for excellence we share for our academic programs and for our undergraduate students must permeate all that we do.

Indeed such expectations for excellence must also characterize our research programs and our graduate and professional programs if we are, in the words of our second and third strategic goals, "� [to] compete regionally, nationally, and internationally for students [and faculty] of exceptional�[quality] and ability." Such programs, again in the words of our second strategic goal, must be "distinguished" and "reflect the distinctive strengths of [our] faculty."

I applaud the strategic planning ongoing across all our Schools and Colleges. Hard choices are being made regarding areas for investment�choices which will have a major impact on the shape of our institution�s academic programs for years to come. Faculty are actively engaged in developing criteria to measure program excellence and to identify areas of comparative advantage vis a vis their disciplinary peers. And there is much good news to report:

  • The gala celebration of the acquisition of the two millionth volume by our outstanding University Libraries.
  • New graduate degrees and certificate programs�at various stages of approval�in forensics biology, nanosciences and materials, non-profit management and leadership and literacy and special education.
  • The establishment of a new School�the School of Nanosciences and Materials; the first such School in the country to embrace the emerging field of nanosciences, an area in which we have a true comparative advantage.
  • Mission Review funding from SUNY System for selective increases to graduate stipends, adding to the $1.2M already re-allocated by Academic Affairs to this critical institutional need.
  • Major peer-reviewed grants in areas as diverse as genomics, atmospheric sciences, irritable bowel syndrome, bioMEMS technology, teacher labor markets, student learning and achievement, environmental toxicant exposure, nanotechnology, science education, information technology and demography.

Indeed, this documented research excellence at Albany has led to major improvements in the facilities and infrastructure that are essential if we are to continue to compete for the highest quality faculty and students. Just as we must invest in strength, so too must our many government and private sector partners. The recent announcement by the Governor, IBM and our Legislative leaders of up to $50M in state support and $100M from IBM — the largest donation IBM has ever made to a university — to establish a Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics here at Albany, in partnership with IBM, is testimony to the excellence of our faculty�s research in this field. Professor Alain Kaloyeros, founding Dean of our new School of Nanosciences and Materials, and his many colleagues have established the University at Albany as a world-leader in nanosciences research. This new Center will include a unique-in-the-world, university-based 300 mm computer wafer pilot prototyping facility, as well as laboratory and clean room space for research, incubator space for high-tech companies and a state-of-the-art workforce development program.

While this investment by the state and our corporate partner, IBM, may be unique in its size, it is not unique in its reflection of the confidence our partners — both public and private — have in the quality of many of our programs of research and scholarship. Our East Campus and its programs of functional genomics and biotechnology have received considerable support from the state. Our emerging Center for Jewish Studies has already garnered substantial external support, as has our Chinese/M.B.A. Program, our Business School programs in Human Resources Information Systems, the Science Research in the High School Program, and our Korean Studies program, among many others. This has been a truly exceptional year�our faculty�s excellence has been recognized and, as a result, our entire university has grown in both substance and stature.

We must maintain that momentum. We must, even in the face of budgetary uncertainty, continue to increase the number of outstanding faculty colleagues; we must identify and invest in areas of potential and established excellence; and we must be willing to make the hard choices which will make such investments possible. A few weeks ago, I discussed this very topic � "Strategic Academic Programming: The Need to Make Choices" � with a group of faculty. I was heartened by their commitment to the kinds of strategic investments which will define the future of our institution. We discussed the impression, shared by some, that institutional priorities have appeared to focus on the sciences. We explored the fact that such an impression reflects the extreme interest of the press in anything dealing with science and technology. We agreed completely on the clear need to invest in excellence across all our areas of intellectual endeavor � the arts and humanities, social sciences, natural sciences as well as our professional schools; and, we discussed the need to develop benchmarks for the standards of excellence we aspire to across all our programs. It, like my conversation with faculty regarding our students, was a fruitful and candid discussion�.more to follow in the fall.

Over the past year I have been especially heartened by the clear commitment of our faculty to engage with our communities, and to bring the power of their research, scholarship and teaching to bear on issues of critical importance to the region, the state and our nation. Such engagement is at the heart of our strategic values and goals and it is clear we are up to the challenge. Vice President Gilbert is in the process of completing an inventory on Outreach Initiatives across all our Divisions, Schools and Colleges and it is, in a word, impressive. Our institutional outreach is considerable: delivery of our undergraduate curriculum to the New York State Education Department workforce, burgeoning initiatives with our urban neighbors, our programs of education to the public sector labor force, training and education for healthcare and pharmaceutical industry professionals, the application of our research to such diverse issues as pollution, disease prevention, demographic shifts, small business development, the interface of the humanities and technology, bioethics, computer chip fabrication, genetic disorders, urban planning and economic development. Our faculty are engaged�they are, along with our staff and students, fulfilling our core value of societal responsibility with true excellence.

Expectations for and attainment of excellence clearly must exist across all our endeavors here at Albany. And such excellence is being noticed. Alumni from around the country are responding with pride�and contributions. Corporate partners and foundations are recognizing that investments in our areas of strength are returned many-fold. We are closing in on this year�s $19 M private-giving goal, the largest in our history. And that, of course, does not count the staggering gift of $100M from IBM.

Indeed, we are now in the so-called "silent" phase of a major comprehensive campaign, with a potential goal of several hundred million dollars. Under the leadership of Vice President Ashton, advancement staff members have personally visited with over 500 potential major donors, and through electronic screening have identified another 8,000 possible major donors. I have visited alumni and friends individually and in groups across the country, from Detroit to San Francisco to New York City to Stamford, CT. We are building relationships with prospects, getting to know their interests, facilitating visits to campus as well as visits by faculty and administrators of interest to the prospect. This relationship-building phase is critical to obtaining the kind of major gifts which will increase our endowment and support the many programs which define our academic excellence. Indeed, each and every one of us can make a contribution in building the relationships that will ensure the success of our fundraising efforts.

In a very real sense, meeting the University�s strategic goals will not be possible without extensive public awareness of the excellence of our accomplishments and the very real potential we have to achieve our aspirations. We all need to become advocates for our institution�with potential students, our alumni, our friends and our private sector and government partners. Indeed, one of the reasons that I devote this Spring Report to the Faculty to what may at times appear to be simply a litany of accomplishments is to share with you the wonderful campus-wide view I am privileged to have of this great institution. No one can be an effective institutional advocate without the knowledge of and appreciation for the excellence which exists outside one�s own more familiar territories. No one can be an effective institutional advocate without the institutional pride born of a recognition of the excellence which permeates so many of our programs. And such recognition of the excellence which surrounds us can only serve to motivate each of us to set ever higher standards for ourselves, our students and our programs.

We have enunciated a bold vision for our University. And this vision will become reality to the extent we join together in a commitment to set the highest possible expectations for excellence. From academic program offerings to commencement ceremonies, from the choice of new faculty colleagues to student residential experiences, from teaching assignments to the condition of our lecture halls, let us examine all that we do in that context.

Let us, together, commit to examine all that we do with a fresh eye � forsaking the familiar but only average for challenging new approaches with the potential for excellence. Let us, together, recommit ourselves to expectations for excellence for this great university.

In closing, let me express my sincere thanks to all the members of our University community who have given so much to all of us during the past year:

Our Vice Presidents, each of whom has led their divisions with wisdom and creativity.

Our Deans and Chairs who provide such dedicated and insightful leadership.

Our governance leaders and, most particularly Professor David McCaffrey, Chair of the University Senate; members of our major university-wide committees; the heads of our employee unions; and the officers of our student organizations. Your many contributions have greatly enhanced our University.

Join me as well in welcoming and congratulating Professor Carlos Santiago as our new Provost and Chief Operating Officer. Carlos has worked tirelessly on behalf of our University�as a faculty member, a Department Chair, an Associate Provost, and Interim Provost. His creative and dedicated leadership has already had a major impact here at Albany. We are so very fortunate that he has agreed to accept this position. Carlos, on behalf of all of us, thank you! More to follow at a reception for Carlos which will convene directly after this meeting in the Fireside Lounge. I hope you can all join us to congratulate Carlos in his new role as Provost.

And, again, to all of you, thank you for a wonderful year.

University at Albany