Campus announces planned change from College to University
In a ceremony replete with African drumming and dance, the traditional trappings of academia and the heart-warming remarks of colleagues and family, Dr. Timothy E. Sams was inaugurated on Friday, April 14, 2023 as the sixth president in the history of the State University of New York College at Old Westbury.
In his inaugural address, President Sams called on the campus to continue to express its “prophetic voice” by upholding its mission to stimulate a passion for learning in students and a commitment to building a more just and sustainable world.
“My vision for SUNY Old Westbury is to be known as a premiere ‘predominantly diverse institution,’” he said, offering a new descriptive phrase for those institutions that enroll more than 51 percent of students from BIPOC backgrounds as SUNY Old Westbury does. “By premiere, we mean that Old Westbury will provide liberal arts excellence by leading within the diversity, equity, inclusion and justice space; hosting a transformational student experience; sponsoring class leading programs in STEM, social justice, and sustainability; managing with distinction; and we will be responsive to the dynamic needs of our region, our country, and the world.”
He also announced that, effective July 1, 2023, SUNY Old Westbury will formally be recognized as a university. Still to be known as SUNY Old Westbury, the campus’ official name will change from “State University of New York College at Old Westbury” to “State University of New York at Old Westbury.”
“SUNY Old Westbury is proud to be recognized formally as a university, a recognition that is reflective of our rigorous, high-quality academic offerings at both the undergraduate and graduate levels,” he said President. “This new designation rightly represents the type of institution that we are today.”
Following a series of remarks by students, faculty, staff, alumni and community leaders, Dr. Sams was invested in his office as president by SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr.
“Tim is the kind of educator who is committed to building a community of support where every young person feels a sense of belonging and a sense of being seen – that’s an Old Westbury tradition he represents,” said Chancellor King. “He is a leader in the tradition that is the best about our democracy, a democracy that is not fully formed. Generation after generation have stood up to fight for civil rights, to fight for the right to vote, to fight to expand the circle of democracy, the circle of freedom, the circle of justice – that is a tradition in which I know Tim has already led and that he will continue to lead.”
The inauguration ceremony comes two years after Dr. Sams’ appointment as president and included the participation of more than 20 delegates representing academic institutions throughout SUNY and from across the nation.
In closing his inaugural address, Dr. Sams summarized his vision for the campus: “We will be a go-to institution for diverse, brilliant, and skilled leaders who apply ethical intelligence to human and planetary conditions. This vision pays homage to our heritage, and keeps us true to our mission, our prophetic voice, and our calling as a public liberal arts institution.”
Photo Caption: President Sams (second from left) with Chancellor John King, Jr., his wife Frenita Combs-Sams, and SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman Dr. Merryl Tisch moments after he was installed as the sixth president of SUNY Old Westbury.