Welcome Back - Spring Semester

Dear UAlbany Community,

Whether you are a new or returning student, or a member of our faculty or staff, welcome to the University at Albany’s spring semester. I hope that each of you had a wonderful holiday season, and that 2020 is off to an excellent start for you.

As we begin a new semester, a new year and a new decade, it is my great pleasure to let you know about a very exciting development: the Carnegie Foundation today announced that UAlbany is one of 119 U.S. colleges and universities awarded the 2020 Community Engagement Classification.

The Carnegie Foundation awards this designation to institutions that perform an extensive self-study intended to “improve the fields of community engagement, scholarship and social innovation through reflection.” This is a very rigorous and selective process that requires significant validation. It is thus a major accolade for our University and underscores our continued efforts in engagement and service, one of the five core priorities of the University’s Strategic Plan. The active engagement and service of our faculty, staff and students with our local communities was instrumental in achieving this Carnegie classification.

Our sincere appreciation goes out to Alfredo Medina, executive director of Public Engagement, and Janine Jurkowski, professor of Health Policy, Management and Behavior and associate dean at the School of Public Health, for their leadership in the pursuit of this outstanding recognition, as well as the many faculty and staff who supported the self-study efforts.

I invite you all to take personal pride in this prestigious designation—a great example of how our commitment, hard work and excellent results are recognized at the national level and beyond. We have many accomplishments we can celebrate and this is just more evidence of what we can achieve when we work collaboratively toward an even brighter future as a community.

I wish you continued success in 2020 and look forward to working closely with you as we continue to reach for greatness.
 

Sincerely,

Havidán Rodríguez
President