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Campus News
Kermit L. Hall on UAlbany
(February 1, 2005)
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| President Kermit
L. Hall |
Talking with students, faculty, staff and
friends of UAlbany, President Kermit L. Hall
has begun to chart his plans for UAlbany’s
future. Here, in his own words, are a few of
his initial observations:
- “First of all, I have been most pleased
to find, this University community clearly
understands that academics come first, and
that the best prescription for continued
growth in the stature of the institution
is to become even more competitive as an
academic enterprise.
- “The University has an exquisite
combination of strong arts and sciences programs,
great public and human service programs,
and cutting-edge initiatives in technology,
notably in nanosciences and biotechnology.
- “The profile of the UAlbany student
population has risen substantially, and the
SUNY system seeks even further improvement.
From my initial vantage point, UAlbany is
not trying to be all things to all people,
but instead is emphasizing the preparedness
of the student population, building an increasingly
strong research profile, developing programs
to make students – undergraduate and
graduate – as competitive as possible
in the larger game of life, and becoming
a contributor to the economic revitalization
of New York State. I also think one of the
great challenges at the university is fashioning
a story about what is happening and then
constantly reiterating it locally, regionally,
and nationally. There needs to be no doubt
in the minds of those who lead the state
of New York that UAlbany’s success
is their success as well.
- “I am particularly impressed with
the cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity
of the institution, a diversity that is essential
to the effective education of students on
campus and to their preparation for the world
in which they will compete.
- “The University has a Division I
athletic program headed in the right direction,
one that stresses the academic success of
its students while striving to be increasingly
competitive on the playing field. We have
a chance, given the strong academic base
of the University, to become a model of success
in intercollegiate athletics, and that success,
as it has done at places like William & Mary,
helps to forge both community and identity.
- “Albany is a significant city, the
capital of one of the nation’s greatest
states, and a region with a storied history.
At the same time, it is not so large as to
be anonymous while offering ready access
to two of the nation’s great metropolitan
areas – New York and Boston – and
equal access to one of the nation’s
great outdoor recreation areas.
“Taken together, these qualities made
UAlbany and its host city and region at once
attractive and challenging. My hope is that
we can take this strong set of assets and use
them to make the university an increasingly
distinguished academic institution – for
students to learn, for faculty to teach and
do scholarship, and for the community to take
pride in its success. We need to be at once
an asset – economic, cultural, and educational – for
the state that has chartered us, but we must
also be viewed increasingly as a player in
the world of international higher education
based on the qualities of our academic programs.
“All great universities have heart and
tradition, qualities that attract and keep
people, and continuing to build those qualities
is one of the most important challenges for
the University.
“Is there work to be done? Of course
there is. One of the wonderful characteristics
of universities is that their work is never
done. As important, however, all of us in American
public higher education are going through a
period of remarkable, some would say troubling,
transformation. Institutions that once featured
low tuition and low financial aid are increasingly
dependent on tuition dollars, private fund
raising, and developing new sources of revenue.
To some extent, institutions like UAlbany are
increasingly on their own, but as we move forward
we should also know that we are not alone.
The rest of American public higher education
is experiencing the same throes of transformation.
That said, it is the quality of the people
and the place that should give us every reason
to be optimistic about the success of UAlbany.
And that has given me every reason to join
my new colleagues. We need to have the courage
to be patient in addressing the issues raised
by this transformation, but we also must have
the prudence to act promptly in so doing.
“We need to make sure that we do the small
things well. And the best way to do so is to
get the president back to the heart of the campus
as soon as possible. While we await the completion
of the new administration building on Collins
Circle, we will put a temporary office for the
president on the Podium, one accessible to the
entire University community and one from which
the president can have access to that same community.”
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