President’s Newsletter

Friday, October 4, 2024

Dear Colleagues,

On Sunday the university hosted a Celebration of Life for Helen Jae Cheeves, and I want to thank the colleagues who worked so hard with her family to ensure it was a fitting tribute.

Amongst the events on campus this week were the annual multicultural mixer, which was well attended, and the Courage Bowl Luncheon in anticipation of the upcoming Courage Bowl on Saturday, in support of Camp Good Days and Special Times. In addition, I was able to attend Brockport’s Festival of Ten on Thursday evening in the Black Box Theatre in Tower. I also attended the annual Willow Way Summit and luncheon off campus, where I was joined by students, faculty and staff to hear the stories of survivors of domestic violence, and took part in a virtual convening of the Campus Presidents for Civic Preparedness group.

At Cabinet, we discussed the draft EDI strategic plan which will soon go to our governance groups for ratification, and at JPBC we had a presentation by VP Mike Andriatch around the work of the Brockport Foundation and our current fundraising successes.

Unusually this week I was able to be in the classroom, and I want to thank Dr. Jennifer Haytock for the invitation to address her students in ENG / WMS 245, Imagining Women’s Lives in American Literature. I am looking forward to more opportunities in the classroom next week in relation to The Writer’s Craft class.

I held the second open forum of the semester, this time with Student Affairs, and we had a large turnout. We talked about fee funded departments (which was also discussed at JPBC), our student leadership development program, civic engagement and student mental health. I was witness to an exchange of ideas that will support not only our students, but also the community with the upcoming election. I am always impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm within each division, and I want to thank Student Affairs for the gift of their time. I was also able to charge the two Presidential Task forces (on food, and on student transportation) this week, and had a number of regular one-to-ones with cabinet members.

In addition to attending the Courage Bowl, I’m looking forward to the women’s volleyball game this evening and the men’s soccer game on Saturday.

As always, I hope you’ll join me at First Friday today at Alumni House.