President’s Report to the Faculty
Fall, 1997
September 10, 1997

What a delight to see you all again . . . hopefully refreshed and rejuvenated by a wonderful summer...and to welcome all of you to the start of the 1997-98 academic year.

Last Fall when I spoke with you, I commented on what a remarkable summer it had been . . . and I thanked, on behalf of the entire University, all of the faculty and staff who made it so productive and successful. Let me, again, begin these remarks with such “thanks.” Thanks to so many of you, this past summer has been equally remarkable, equally productive, equally successful.

We have, together, moved our major planning initiatives forward in ways critical to our future.

We have dedicated our new CESTM building, a facility whose program concept is so powerful, that we were joined on this important day in June by the Governor, members of our Congressional delegation, both leaders and many members of the New York State Legislature, Commissioners, Mayors, and scores of business and community leaders. We have again welcomed thousands of visitors to the campus for programs in the Arts, the Empire State Games, and, of course, the Giants Training Camp. And, thanks to the success of the Camp, a student from the Capital Region will soon be awarded the second Capital Region New York Giants Scholarship.

And, perhaps most important of all, we have seen our year-long advocacy efforts with the Legislature and Governor’s Office come to fruition in support of many of the superb programs of our faculty.

All of this, in addition to carrying out our annual physical plant rehabilitation and repair schedule, and Summer Planning Conferences for more than 3,000 new students. It has, indeed, been a remarkable summer!

Again, my deep thanks to all of you! Your commitment and plain hard work have sustained the momentum generated during last year’s extremely successful academic year.

And, we must continue to move our University forward as we commence the 1997-98 academic year.

I’m sure you would all agree that there is something very special about the start of an academic year. Though we have all been through many of them in our professional lives, each new year offers the opportunity for renewal. We welcome new colleagues . . . new students . . . even as we greet old friends and together recount the activities of busy and productive summers.

Yet no new academic year can be viewed in isolation from the years that have come before . . . both recent years and those of long ago. The University at Albany is the sum of all its years, and all its people, both past and present.

Today, our institution stands at a significant and promising moment in its history . . . a time of opportunity built on the efforts and achievements of the past and present.

We are well positioned for a future that holds great promise . . . a future which will include major renewal and expansion of our physical facilities, along with the increases in faculty, student body and academic programs required to fulfill our vision as a pre-eminent public research university.

In discussions over the last several months with the Chancellor, Provost and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, it is clear that they see the University at Albany as a pivotal element in their vision to enhance the national visibility of the State University of New York.

They recognize and affirm the momentum we have achieved in enhancing the quality of our student body and educational programs . . . they have celebrated with us as our faculty continue to achieve national recognition for the quality of their research and scholarship . . . and they, along with the Governor, the Legislature and our Region’s business, community and political leaders, have recognized the key role we play as a nationally prominent research university in enriching our Region and our State.

They have indicated to me their commitment to support the University at Albany as we continue to move forward.

Yes, this is a moment of opportunity for our University... an opportunity we must, together, embrace with enthusiasm, and dedication to the values which sustain us.

In my end-of-year report to you this past Spring, I summarized the major advances we had made during the 1996-97 academic year in enhancing a learning environment here at Albany characterized by a quality student body and the academic programs of excellence necessary to recruit and retain such students.

We reviewed together the results of efforts to enhance the quality of our campus environment in terms of the facilities, technology, and administrative services necessary to recruit and retain distinguished faculty colleagues.

We reflected on the fact that quality faculty, committed and talented students, creative and innovative academic programs, distinctive and distinguished programs of scholarship, excellent support services and facilities, and a rich variety of co- curricular activities are all essential to achieving the learning environment we desire.

And, I stated my belief that progress in any one of these areas is not sufficient to our purpose . . . rather, simultaneous progress across all these institutional priorities is essential to the totality of our learning environment here at Albany.

Indeed, over the past year, even in the face of major budgetary constraints, you exhibited the collective will and creative energy necessary to move us forward across all these areas. Thanks to your efforts, we are now well-positioned to take advantage of a much more positive fiscal and policy environment.

As we now begin a new academic year, I will discuss the fiscal and policy environment which serves as context for the important planning initiatives and decisions which lie ahead, and I will speak to a number of challenges which I feel must take priority during the coming year if we are to be successful in taking advantage of this very special moment of opportunity in the history of our institution.

First, the Budget . . .

When I spoke to you this past May, I said that we clearly have a “long wait ahead of us” . . . even that was an understatement! Suffice it to say, the wait was worthwhile. As I indicated in my recent letter to you, the recommended reductions in the University’s base budget were restored, and the Tuition Assistance Program was fully funded.

Specifically, the Trustees of SUNY have just approved a $1.5 billion operating budget plan for the University’s state-operated campuses which includes a $34.4 million increase in state aid . . . the first such increase, without a corresponding reduction in operating funds, in nine years. These additional dollars will help cover rising operating costs, including salaries, contractual services and equipment. Indeed, our operating budget has actually increased by some 1.7%.

It is important to note, however, that while most campuses received some inflationary budget increases, a few campuses will see their budgets reduced by up to 3% . . . reductions which predominantly reflect enrollment declines on their campuses. I will come back to this critical point in a moment.

In addition to stabilization of our 1997-98 operating budget, I am also most pleased to report that many of the special Legislative initiatives we proposed have also been approved, and those that weren’t are positioned well for funding in the next fiscal year. This new funding, targeted specifically to our campus, reflects the success of our advocacy . . . reflects the tremendous support we have received from the Region’s business, community and political leaders. These various constituencies joined us in advocacy on behalf of our University. Clearly, they recognize the power and importance of what you do.

As you can well imagine, such specially-targeted funds are extremely difficult to obtain . . . competition from over 300 other public and private educational institutions in New York is, to say the least, keen.

Please, join me in thanking Mr. David Gilbert, our new Director of Governmental Relations, who has done such an exceptional job of working with our faculty, chairs, deans, and vice presidents in assuring that the Governor’s Office and the Legislature were constantly aware of the quality of your programs and the simple logic of providing you with the additional resources needed to assure their continuance.

David’s understanding of the significance of our academic programs, his tenacity, and his several “all-nighters” on the floor of the Legislature indeed bore fruit.

For example, as part of this year’s statewide economic development package, $10 million have been included for the expansion of the CESTM facility. Yes, the paint is barely dry and, yet, the congruence of our basic and applied research programs with science and technology needs of the State has greatly accelerated our time line for development of this major new research facility.

The new wing made possible with these funds will house a microelectronics pilot manufacturing/workforce training facility. This state-of-the-art research facility will strengthen the University’s bid to attract a major Semiconductor Industry Association research center to our campus, an initiative we are undertaking in partnership with RPI, MIT, and Stanford University. If successful, this new Center, housed at CESTM, will -- within three years -- generate some $15 - 20 million a year in federal and industry funds, allowing a major expansion of research faculty and programs here at Albany. To position us for this application, the State budget also includes a $5 million State match for this competition.

This is a perfect example of how the quality of our research can lead to greatly enhanced physical and fiscal resources so that we can continue to recruit the highest quality faculty and graduate students even at times of relatively static state tax support.

There were many other items of importance to our academic programs included in the Budget as well, all of which I described in my recent letter to you . . . for example, an appropriation of $125,000 to support a new Center for Minority Health Training and Research Education based in our School of Public Health. Further, as a result of our legislative efforts, the School of Social Welfare will now be eligible to participate in the State’s $2.5 million Caseworker Education Program, and the School of Social Welfare also received funding for additional staff support to expand the Community and Public Service Program through which students serve thousands of citizens in over 100 not-for-profit agencies in the Capital Region.

These new initiatives... and many others . . . benefit our faculty and students in major ways. I know you join me in thanking the Legislature — particularly Majority Leader Bruno and Speaker Silver, as well as the leadership of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus — and our entire Capital Region Legislative Delegation — particularly Senator Hugh Farley and Assembly members Jack McEneny and Ron Canestrari for their advocacy on our behalf.

Finally, I am extremely pleased to report that conversations I have had with Assemblyman Ed Sullivan, Chair of the Assembly’s Higher Education Committee, will soon result in an allocation of some $100,000 in support of our efforts to increase the international programs here at Albany.

Clearly, our global society, the internationalization of our economy, and the ever-increasing movement of the world’s populations will have a profound impact on the kinds of knowledge and skills our students must possess. As I stated in my inaugural address, our curriculum should address this reality. Let us set as a goal that within five years, 10% of our graduates will have participated for at least a semester in an exchange program in a country where English is not the native language.

The initial funds committed by Chairman Sullivan will enable us to staff such an initiative, and begin to work with the high schools to expand the language capabilities of our incoming students so that they can continue their study of language and cultures with us and, thus, fully benefit from such an international exchange experience. Such a program would help distinguish the University at Albany as an institution sensitive to the ever-changing needs of our students in an ever-changing global society.

This initiative will be led by Professor Carlos Santiago as part of his new role as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. We wish him well in this, and other responsibilities of his new post.

During the coming year, we will develop, with the Schools and Colleges, a new list of special legislative initiatives which will help us to move the campus forward in additional areas of importance to our academic programs . . . initiatives which will enrich our curriculum, advance our research and graduate programs and enable us to attract the kind of quality students so essential to our continued growth as an institution.

In short, while protracted . . . there’s that understatement again . . . this was an extremely successful budget year. My deep thanks to all of you who participated with us in advocacy for these critical restorations of our core funding, as well as helping to advance the special legislative initiatives which will allow us to continue to move our institution forward.

While it is still too early to make any detailed predictions about next year’s State budget, the improved health of New York’s economy, coupled with the fact of an election year, leads us to believe that our State tax dollar support will remain at about current levels and that no tuition increase will be approved.

As you know, the actual budget process begins when the Division of Budget issues its budget request letter for the 1998-99 budget, and the State University, in turn, requests budgets from the campuses. The budget information contained in these two requests will give us a much clearer idea of the broad parameters within which we will be planning. You will, of course, be involved as this process unfolds.

Clearly, continued stability of State tax support for higher education after at least eight years of cuts, is a tremendous improvement. Further, as I have reported at several faculty meetings, major positive changes are underway at SUNY. Not only have we gained increased flexibility in our business and financial practices, but more and more activities... previously managed by System Administration . . . have been devolved to the campuses.

One of the most dramatic changes under consideration involves the Budget process. If the current proposal . . . affectionately known as the RAM, or Resource Allocation Methodology . . . is approved, the only monies allocated to the campus will be State tax dollars. All other revenue streams, such as tuition, will remain, in their totality, on the campuses which generated them. This is very good news. Clearly, since State tax dollar support will probably not increase in any major way, we must be creative and diligent in designing programs which will enhance these different revenue streams. Importantly, however, under the RAM proposal, we ourselves would control all such new revenues.

It is also clear that the methods being proposed to allocate our State tax support will, even more than at present, be driven by campus enrollment. We can not afford to overlook this critical aspect of our fiscal environment. Our student body, both its size and quality will, in simple terms, determine the future of our institution. There is no more important element of our planning environment than this.

I will return to this critical issue in a moment, but first let me review the status of the key planning initiatives that are underway here at the University, and outline the activities organized for the coming year to bring these planning processes to fruition.

As you know, the Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by Provost Genshaft, has enunciated and endorsed a set of values which complement the University’s Mission Statement and set the context for the development, over the coming academic year, of strategic goals which will guide our future planning and resource allocation both at the campus and college level.

As you may recall from my report this past Spring, in the view of the Committee, our institution should be judged by its commitment to these values: engaged learning, discovery, societal responsibility, technology and innovation, and the distinctiveness of our programs.

Clearly, each of these values has profound implications for our future. Therefore, as I mentioned in the Spring, our strategic planning process will now expand to include the entire University community.

During the Fall Semester, the Strategic Planning Committee will coordinate a series of college and department meetings and fora to discuss and provide feedback on these recommended institutional values and a number of strategic goals which flow from them.

Committees of faculty, staff, and students from across the University will then be formed to develop each of these strategic goals in the context of our institutional strengths and weaknesses and our external environment. Once reviewed and endorsed by the Strategic Planning Committee, the resulting strategic framework will receive further input from the Schools and Colleges.

I have asked Provost Genshaft to devise a schedule which will permit the Strategic Planning Committee to submit their report to me by mid-April so that the Schools and Colleges and the University as a whole can utilize this Strategic Plan in preparation for the next budget cycle.

Indeed, if such a Strategic Planning process is to be successful, it must be linked to our budgeting process. Therefore, in consultation with the Senate leadership, I will soon establish a standing Goals and Priorities Advisory Committee which will be charged with reviewing the University’s budgetary allocations to ensure consistency with the strategic framework we are in the process of developing.

This Committee will consist predominantly of teaching faculty — some appointed, some elected — and all will serve three-year terms to assure an in-depth knowledge of our financial structure and institutional priorities. Through this Committee we will ensure the integrity and effectiveness of our planning processes.

A second critically important planning initiative has been the development of the Master Plan which will guide us as we continue to address the capital requirements of the campus.

The update you recently received summarizes the exceptionally fine work of the members of our Master Planning Committee, chaired by Executive Vice President Carlucci, and details next steps in this planning process. I commend it to your attention. Your input is critical as we move forward.

We are now in the process of developing specific recommendations for the prioritization and sequencing of major capital projects on both the downtown and uptown campuses. When completed, the Master Plan will be the guiding document and justification for our annual capital budget requests to the state. It will be congruent with the values and strategic framework enunciated in the Strategic Planning process and, like the Strategic Plan, will guide us as we strive to fulfill our shared vision for our future.

Indeed, I am delighted to report that the SUNY Construction Fund has set a goal for the campus of $100 million in construction and rehabilitation for the first five years of the Master Plan.

Yes . . . $100 million.

Given the fact that the library, which is nearly at the half-way point in its construction, is the first academic building SUNY has funded over the last some 30 years, a commitment of this magnitude is an opportunity to truly redefine our aspirations for the University. Already this year, the Legislature is considering our requests for a number of major capital projects, including new instructional and research facilities. This is a clear indication that our message has been heard.

I do recognize, however, that space needs exist across much of both the uptown and downtown campuses, needs which, in the longer term, will require substantial resources beyond this initial $100 million. Your continuing input will be critical as we begin to set priorities for the many essential facility and infrastructure needs that have been identified during the Master Planning process. Please know that we will set these priorities and the timing of specific building and rehabilitation projects in consultation with you, and in keeping with our evolving Strategic Plan.

I think you would agree that the results of this year’s budget, coupled with the clear commitment of SUNY to address our facilities requirements, make this a moment of real opportunity for the University at Albany. With this kind of support, our aspirations can be realized.

There is, in my opinion, no reason we should not be able to fulfill our goal of achieving Research I status. There is, in fact, no reason we should not aspire to be elected to membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities.

Gaining such external recognition will flow naturally from our continued efforts to enhance the learning environment here at Albany . . . a learning environment characterized by faculty and students of excellence; an environment conducive to academic programs of the highest quality . . . programs which anticipate and address creatively, the needs of our students and our various communities.

We have, over the last several years, made much progress. The quality and importance of what we do has been recognized, and we have gained the support not only of the SUNY system, but the political and business leadership of the State and Capital Region as well.

We must now build on these accomplishments so that we can position ourselves to take maximum advantage of the more favorable resource and policy environment that now exists.

Clearly, the quality of our learning environment here at Albany will continue to be shaped by the quality of the faculty. Our challenge is two-fold . . . to continue to renew ourselves through ongoing recruitment of the best possible faculty colleagues and, equally important, to provide an environment which supports the retention of our faculty of excellence . . . an environment which supports their research and educational programs and facilitates their development as teacher/scholars.

As announced this past Spring, I have authorized Provost Genshaft to initiate at least 20 new faculty searches during this academic year. We have lost some 15% of our faculty in the past ten years, and we must continue to reverse that trend. Indeed, given the fact that the Master Plan for our facilities expansion is predicated on a gradual increase in our student body to a total of 20,000 by the year 2006, we must clearly prioritize faculty recruitment and retention over the next several years. Further, the re-establishment of the Target of Opportunity Faculty Recruitment Program, will help us to fulfill our shared, and undiminished commitment to diversity.

But, even as we commit ourselves to a gradual expansion of our faculty base through recruitment, we must be equally diligent in retaining our faculty of excellence.

For example . . . while the Master Plan will, over time, transform the research and instructional facilities available here at Albany, our current shortage of space has reached a critical level and must be addressed in the near term. Executive Vice President Carlucci is currently attempting to identify space contiguous or in close proximity to our current uptown and downtown campuses which would allow us to address some of the immediate needs for research and instructional space our colleges have identified. Such decompression of our current facilities will be a major priority during the coming year.

We will also continue the various programs begun last year to expand the technology so essential to our continued growth as a research university. In terms of network access, the installation of fiber to all offices in the University — on the Podium, Downtown, and on the new East campus — is now complete. And ResNet is now universally available in all our residence halls. With these connections in place, we are committed to continuing our program of providing the computing resources required by our faculty for both research and pedagogic innovation.

As you all know, on October 1st, Dr. Stephen DeLong will step down as Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs to assume another University assignment, and Mr. Felix Wu will provide transitional leadership as Interim Director of the Academic Computing Center. During Steve’s three years of leadership in the area of Information Systems and Technology, major advances have been made.

Please join me in thanking him for his vision and dedication in advancing the technology environment of our campus.

We will soon be engaging the services of a consultant to review the entire area of academic computing. Such a review will inform a national search we will initiate later in the Fall for new leadership in this critical area.

To further address our goal of enhancing the environment for research and scholarship here at Albany, I am extremely pleased to announce that, in keeping with a recommendation made by the Research Council of the University Senate, we will, this year, begin allocating a portion of the revenues from campus indirect cost recovery to Deans, Departments and Centers in support of the research activities of our faculty. Given that indirect cost revenues are received by an institution to cover very real costs incurred by programs of research, the use of these funds, as recommended by the Senate, will be limited to activities which will promote research within the units.

To begin this Program, 10% of the campus’ indirect cost recovery revenues will be allocated, with 20% of these funds going to the Dean or, in the case of certain Centers, to the Vice President for Research, to support college- and campus-wide research initiatives, and 80% going to the Department or Center. This allocation represents a 400% increase over the current allocation of indirect cost revenues to the various academic units.

In keeping with the practice at many research universities, such a plan puts decisions regarding the allocation of institutional funds for the support of research more appropriately in the hands of the Deans, Center Directors and Departments.

We also, of course, remain committed to enhancing the opportunities our faculty have for continued growth as teacher/scholars, and for developing the kind of innovative educational programs which are at the heart of our academic enterprise. Hence, we will again set aside resources for an Innovation Fund for Teaching. Last year’s competition attracted a number of excellent faculty proposals, and I want to congratulate all our faculty colleagues who participated in this program. Last year’s awardees are listed in a Handout, and I commend it to your attention.

Such continued support of the research and instructional programs which define our institution is essential if we are to provide a learning environment which is conducive to faculty retention.

We will continue to make such investments in our faculty.

Such investment is an investment in our future.

And, such investment will create the kind of learning environment which is also essential to our ability to recruit and retain students of quality — both graduate and undergraduate.

Let me update you regarding our progress in the area of student recruitment. Despite tremendously increased competition for high quality students, we have been successful in achieving our dual goals of increasing the size of our incoming freshman class, as well as improving the class’ academic profile by at least 15 points. Indeed, the average SAT score for the Class of 2001 rose some 16 points to 1166 for traditionally admitted freshmen.

Our Presidential Scholars program remains one of our most successful recruitment initiatives. One hundred seventy-five of these exceptionally talented students have enrolled in the Class of 2001, the largest number of any class since the program’s inception. The average combined SAT score for this cohort of Scholars is 1330, the median high school average is 93. Almost 500 Presidential Scholars are now enrolled on our campus, students who, according to the faculty, impact the classroom teaching environment in very positive ways.

I am also pleased to report that we have increased the number of new transfer students, and are within 43 of meeting our target of 1,200.

These are wonderful achievements, and many people deserve both credit and thanks, including Provost Genshaft, Sheila Mahan and the staff of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Dean John Pipkin and his staff, Bob Gibson and the staff of the Advisement Services Center, Dennis Tillman and the staff of the Office of Financial Aid, Professor Lil Brannon and the staff of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and all the faculty, staff, students, parents and alumni who participated in a vast array of recruitment activities.

Many new recruitment strategies were employed this year, including a new telecounseling program, to achieve these results. However, the improvements we have seen also reflect the coming to fruition of a multiple-year effort to enrich our academic programs . . . programs which clearly attract highly qualified applicants and serve to distinguish us from other institutions.

One such initiative is Project Renaissance. This innovative, interdisciplinary component of our general education program has proven to be extremely effective in recruiting students to Albany. All 384 slots available for the current year are filled . . . with a waiting list of some 100 students!

And so many other initiatives . . . the Shakespeare Semester planned for the spring, the enrichment of several General Education courses using the Web, the constant development of courses reflecting the changing needs of our students.

All such curricular innovations require an investment of resources as well as faculty time and effort. But, if such investments lead to challenging and creative academic programs, they not only enhance our institution, but the quality of our student body as well.

While undergraduate recruitment was, indeed, quite successful for the coming year, we, like so many institutions across the country, face the continuing challenge of increased attrition rates between the freshman and sophomore years. Indeed, our shortfall in total undergraduate enrollment, while small, is due almost entirely to this troubling phenomenon. We must seek to understand and permanently reverse this trend.

Toward this end, Provost Genshaft has appointed a University-wide Faculty Task Force on the Quality of Academic Life and Undergraduate Student Retention. It will be chaired by Dean John Pipkin and will focus on the complex array of issues which impacts a student’s academic experience, especially in the critical freshman year.

Most reports in the literature clearly indicate that the single most important factor affecting student retention is the quality and quantity of student-faculty interactions — both within and outside the classroom.

We need to address this issue head on.

As I stated at the beginning of my remarks, allocation of state tax dollars will be driven more and more by enrollment. Hence, our ability to not only recruit but retain a student body of quality will, quite simply, determine the future of our institution.

We need to examine the role of faculty as student mentors.

We need to reinforce quality teaching at all levels, but particularly in freshman and introductory courses. Deans and Departments must appreciate the implications of staffing decisions for such freshman courses.

The Retention Task Force chaired by Dean Pipkin will examine such issues and a myriad of other factors which contribute to the overall quality of campus life here at Albany.

While the quality of our academic programs is paramount, residential life, student support services, financial aid, athletics and recreation, and so on . . . all contribute to our long-term competitiveness in recruiting and, critically, retaining the quality students so essential to a robust, nationally-ranked research university.

As I reported in the spring, Vice President Doellefeld and his staff have developed a number of new initiatives to address these critical issues: a major rehabilitation program has been launched to create a living environment more conducive to student recruitment and retention; a new community policing program led by Chief Wiley has greatly increased the visibility of campus police and the safety of our campus environment; our athletic programs — both intercollegiate and intramural — are flourishing; and, working with Provost Genshaft and the Schools and Colleges, a major enhancement of our Career Services function is under way.

I applaud their initiative, and ask you to join with us in making the University at Albany a truly student-centered institution. We all have a role, and we all will benefit in major ways. Such recruitment and retention strategies must embrace the totality of our institution.

Permit me to digress for a moment and address the recent flurry of institutional rankings which have appeared in a number of media outlets. While, of course, I was most pleased to see the reaffirmation of the quality of our institution in the rankings published by U. S. News and World Report and Money Magazine . . . I was, like many of you, deeply concerned — and deeply angered — by the “Party School” ranking reported by the Princeton Review, and the various related stories, pictures and even songs which have flowed from this ranking . . . angered, especially, given the tremendous efforts of our Student Affairs Division and committees such as the President’s Advisory Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention to develop and implement policies which mitigate against the kinds of self-destructive and anti-social behaviors implied by this ranking as a “Party School.”

I would submit that our best response to this publication is to continue our commitment to the programs we have developed to educate our student body, continue our zero-tolerance position regarding substance abuse, continue our active development of programs to reduce such behaviors, and keep our students, their parents, and the media well-informed about all of these proactive and constructive approaches to enhancing the quality of life here at Albany.

We gain nothing by denying that some of our students come to us with complex personal and behavioral problems; however, we also gain nothing by remaining silent regarding the priority we place on creating an environment supportive of the quality academic programs for which we are nationally known.

I hope you will all join with us in this critical endeavor.

While I have to this point focused on the challenges of recruitment and retention of our undergraduates —- the enrollment challenge we face in our graduate programs is much more significant.

While new enrollments in our Master’s and Doctoral programs are down only slightly from last year, this represents a continuing trend which we must reverse. Non-degree enrollments are down even more substantially, a trend which began with the major tuition increase during the 1995-96 academic year. Finally, as with the undergraduate student population, we are seeing increased rates of attrition.

Taken together, these are issues which must be analyzed with care and addressed with creativity. As a research university, we will be judged by the quality and rigor of our graduate programs. We must, in keeping with the values enunciated in our evolving Strategic Plan, invest our resources in areas of excellence and potential strength.

The Review of our Doctoral Programs which began last year is proceeding on schedule, and will be led by Associate Vice President Santiago. This faculty review, coupled with increased emphasis on creative recruitment and retention strategies, will help to assure the continued rigor of our graduate programs. Failure to address these graduate enrollment issues could diminish the quality of our graduate programs, and lead to an eventual decrease in our overall state operating budget.

I know we have the will and creativity necessary to reverse these enrollment trends.

Further, there is a burgeoning demand for advanced training across many of the professions, and I am convinced that we can play a major role in meeting these needs. In this context, I have asked Dr. Joanne Weatherwax, formerly head of our Institute for the Advancement of Health Care Management, to work with Provost Genshaft and the Deans to help identify areas of new opportunity in graduate and continuing education which are congruent with our institutional goals, while meeting the needs created by constantly changing demands of the workplace. Our University must be able to anticipate and address the needs of its students and its various communities, and it must have the courage to realign itself to newly emerging realities, even as it preserves its basic defining values.

As I stated at outset of my remarks, the University at Albany stands at a most promising moment in its history.

We are well-positioned for a future that holds great promise.

Through your efforts, we have continued to enhance the quality of our student body and our academic programs. The quality of your research and scholarship continues to achieve national recognition. The SUNY system and business, community and political leaders recognize the key role we play as a nationally-recognized research University in enriching our State and Region. And, they have joined me in advocacy on behalf of our University. Their support of our institution will allow us to fully capitalize on the favorable policy and fiscal environment which now exists in the State.

Our alumni, parents, faculty and friends have also provided eloquent testimony to their continuing faith in our growth as a major university. I am delighted to announce that this year’s Annual Fund broke all records. We exceeded the $1.6 million goal we set for this past year, and have now set as our 1997-98 goal an unprecedented $1.8 million, an amount in keeping with our longer term goal of achieving an Annual Fund of $2 million by the 1998-99 academic year.

And, more good news. The external support of our faculty’s research and scholarship during the past academic year increased almost $1.5 million . . . a remarkable achievement given funding constraints at the federal level. No wonder we are ranked #17 in the country based on faculty quality!

Each of these successes has flowed from the strength of our faculty. Each has been possible because this University community has made a collective commitment to a strategy of focus, a strategy which will allow us to continue to enhance the quality and distinctiveness of our learning environment.

The coming year clearly presents a number of opportunities for the continued growth of our institution. However, we must address with equal diligence the enrollment challenges which face us. We must focus our considerable energies on assuring that, once recruited, students of quality are retained. We must also continue to grow and renew ourselves through on-going faculty recruitment, and commit ourselves to providing the resources necessary to support the retention of these new faculty colleagues.

And, critical to our ongoing planning activities, we must continue to come together as a community of scholars to challenge long-held beliefs and chart new directions in an atmosphere of free expression, reasoned debate, civility and mutual respect.

To expand such critical dialogue, our institution has recently joined the Pew Roundtable Project. This program, led by the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Higher Education, provides a forum for facilitated campus-based discussions on the national issues which form the context for the challenges which we must confront as we continue to chart our course for the future.

Members of our Campus Roundtable . . . some 25 to 30 faculty, administrators, students, and representatives from our University Council and Alumni Association . . . will meet in Retreat two times during the fall semester, and will identify issues which they feel are critical to our continued development as a major public research university.

Some 150 institutions across the country have participated to date in these facilitated, campus-based “Roundtables.” As a member of the Project, we will have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from these institutions — to share “best practices” and continue to enrich the quality of our campus planning efforts.

Yes, this is an ambitious agenda for the coming year.

However, over and over, you have demonstrated your willingness to take on new challenges with dedication and consummate professionalism.

This is a great moment of opportunity for our University . . . and we have in abundance the committed faculty and academic leadership to chart a course of true distinction.

Let me close today by expressing my most sincere thanks to all of you who give so much to ensure the continued vitality and excellence of our University.

And I hope you will join me in acknowledging but a few of our colleagues who will be contributing to our University community in a variety of leadership capacities during the coming year:

As I reported in my recent letter to you, we are indeed fortunate in having Professor Daniel Wulff, Professor of Biological Sciences and former Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics as Interim Vice President for Research as we proceed with a national search for a successor to Dr. Jeanne Gullahorn. The search will be chaired by Provost Judy Genshaft, and will commence following faculty consultation regarding the optimal organizational structure for the mission-critical areas of research and graduate studies. Thank you so much, Dan.

Please, also join me in thanking Mr. Paul Stec, formerly Associate Vice President for University Advancement, who agreed to serve as Interim Vice President for University Advancement after Mr. Kersten’s recent move to Albany Law School. The national search for a new Vice President will be chaired by Executive Vice President Carlucci.

Both Dan and Paul bring tremendous experience and commitment to these positions . . . Again, thank you both.

As you know, Provost Genshaft will soon be announcing national searches for several other academic leadership positions. The search for the Dean of Arts and Sciences, chaired by Professor Mark Durand, will begin immediately.

Mark, thank you so much for agreeing to serve in this critical position. And, thank you as well for again agreeing to serve as Chair of the Faculty. It just wouldn’t feel right up here without you!

In addition, we are also in the process of organizing searches for the Deans of Public Health and Social Welfare. Deans David Carpenter and Lynn Videka- Sherman have indicated that they wish to step down from their deanships to return full time to their research and teaching. We salute and thank them for their outstanding academic leadership and significant contributions over many years.

And, do join me in thanking Professor Sue Faerman, who is serving as the Chair of the University Senate this year. How fortunate we are that she is willing to serve in this important position. I look forward to working with her — and all the members of the University Senate.

I would also like to acknowledge with deep thanks our departmental chairs, both those who completed their terms during the past academic year and those who will be serving during the 1997-98 year. Service as a chair is an important and demanding responsibility, and I am deeply grateful to all our colleagues who have assumed this critical position of leadership.

The names of all these academic chairs have been provided on a handout, and I ask you all to rise and receive our thanks.

Finally, please join me in extending a warm greeting to the 10 new members of the teaching faculty, many of whom are here today, and all of whom are listed in a handout.

I ask our new colleagues to rise and receive the welcome of the University at Albany community.

This list of acknowledgments could go on and on . . . As I said at the outset, please know how grateful I am to all of you for your continued support and deep devotion to our University.

Thanks to all of you, our University is clearly moving forward, is clearly well positioned to address the challenges which face us and to take advantage of this very special time of opportunity.

Thank you.