President’s Newsletter

Friday, October 10, 2025

Dear Colleagues:

This week was a mix of meetings and time at my desk to get caught up on projects and activities. I was happy that on Tuesday, a change to my schedule meant that I had the opportunity to walk around campus (in the rain, so that part was poorly planned!). I was able to talk with people in Hartwell, Rakov, Smith, Lennon, Lathrop and the Union. I really enjoy these unplanned connections, and I appreciate the willingness of colleagues to spend time catching up with me. I am hopeful that later this morning, I’ll be able to visit other buildings on campus.

On Monday we had an excellent Senate meeting, with presentations on our Washington internship program, the first six weeks programming coordinated by SULA and others, and our First Amendment Support Team (or FAST, for short). You can learn more about free speech on campus on our website.

Also on Monday, there was a bench dedication for Dr. Sandford (Sandy) Miller, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus, just outside the Albert Brown Building, which was well attended.

External meetings this week included a United Way meeting, a Rotary membership meeting, and a session called “AASCU Hot Topics” which is a gathering of AASCU presidents. We discussed the government shut down and its implications, as well as advocacy opportunities in relation to Pell Grants and TRIO programs, which are federal educational opportunity programs for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Internal meetings included one-to-ones with three cabinet members, the JPBC co-chairs, and Extended Cabinet, which focused on federal financial aid updates as well as the new SUNY Academic Momentum Campaign designed to enhance retention and graduation rates. We were recently provided some targets by SUNY and a Strategic Enrollment Management subgroup led by Erin Rickman and Rey Sia will be leading our efforts to match or surpass SUNY metrics.

This week we convened our Town-Gown Committee, which is co-chaired by our new village mayor, Ben Reed, and me. I gave a presentation on our enrollment, our first six weeks and related events and activities, and the state and federal landscape as it might affect Brockport. The Mayor updated the committee on the latest information in relation to the New York Forward Grant which will provide $4.5M to high priority projects designed to boost local economies. He also noted that the Main Street Bridge is still scheduled to open at some point in November.

I completed my annual cybersecurity training this week and would urge you to do the same. I always learn something new each time I take the series of courses.

It’s hard to believe that we’re at the mid-semester break. If you are taking a few days away from campus, I hope you enjoy them. I’ll be off to Albany next week for the quarterly SUNY presidents’ meeting, and I look forward to updating you upon my return.