President’s Newsletter

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Dear Colleagues,

I was so glad to be able to return to work fully this week, with regular meetings such as Senate, JPBC and Cabinet, as well as one-to-one meetings with cabinet members. I was also able to get an update from Darcy Porter, chair of the Space, Place and Amenities Refresh Committee (SPARC) that is reviewing spaces on campus with an eye to creating a greater sense of belonging and community. SPARC has made significant progress in reviewing campus spaces and the committee is on track to produce a report by Spring Break.

This week, Mike Andriatch and I began our lobbying in earnest with our local legislators regarding SUNY’s budget advocacy. We met with Assemblymembers Hawley and Lunsford, with more meetings planned in the coming weeks. We also attended a SUNY System-wide Government Relations meeting on Thursday. Advocating for SUNY’s budget is one of the most important things we do this time of year.

Mike and I also met with donors this week. I also made several calls to donors across the country, thanking them for their recent gifts to the university.

External meetings included a virtual Presidents Forum with the College Presidents for Civic Preparedness Group, as well as a face-to-face meeting with a community contact in the banking industry to discuss ways that SUNY Brockport can partner with them, adding to our already impressive list of connections with local businesses. I also attended a meeting of a subset of the SUNY Healthcare Taskforce, where we discussed a new program, the SUNY Healthcare Educator Scholarship Pilot Program.

I will be out of the office on Friday, returning on Tuesday next week. I will be sorry to miss the Student Leadership Conference on Sunday, but hope that others will be able to attend and support our students.

Stay warm and healthy!