February 1, 2023... Welcome to all in our community to the start of the Spring 2023 semester.
STRATEGIC PLANNING TO BEGIN
The planning process for the next five years of our institution’s future will ramp up this semester and all on campus are urged to participate and lend their voices and ideas about our campus. Being coordinated by the Strategic Plan Analysis, Assessment and Review committee within the presidential Planning and Budget Committee, this process will span most of 2023 and cover critical aspects of SUNY Old Westbury – both current ones and potential new ones. The first step of this process will be a Visioning Workshop being held on February 10, 2023 from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. under the leadership of Dr. Jo-Ann Robinson. We need 75 members of our community to participate so, if you have not already signed up, consider contacting Dr. Jo-Ann Robinson, executive vice president and chief of staff, via chiefofstaffow@oldwestbury.edu to do so. The strategic planning process will also include various committees who will work across the year. All members of our community can volunteer. TAKE PART! Have your voice heard!
CELEBRATING THE LEADERSHIP PRESIDENT EMERITUS CALVIN O. BUTTS, III
All in our campus community are invited to attend a special event where the campus will remember the contributions of President Emeritus Calvin O. Butts, III, who passed away last fall. A program of reflections and commentary from former faculty, current students, alumni, and friends of the College is planned. If you would like to attend, please RSVP by February 2, 2023, using the online response form.
BUILDING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH BNL
Over the course of the late fall and up to and including a meeting held on campus last week, SUNY Old Westbury is working hard to solidify and expand its relationship with Brookhaven National Laboratory. To say the reception from the leaders and researchers at BNL has been positive would be an understatement. Several of our faculty and some students are already engaged regularly in work with Long Island’s only national laboratory. Building upon their experience to create new pathways and partnerships for student and faculty research and experiences will add to the legacy of STEM success our campus already has. The next steps: the development of a memorandum of understanding between our institutions and the creation of a joint committee to keep these discussions moving and evolving.
PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION SET FOR APRIL 14, 2023
Our campus will come together on Friday, April 14, 2023, to mark my inauguration as the 6th President of SUNY Old Westbury. I have delayed having this activity since my arrival as we navigated challenges with COVID-19 and worked through issues with the campus budget. This spring, we will go ahead with what I expect will be a modest, yet OW-centric" program. Our successful inauguration will unite those with a stake in the future of our institution – students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, friends, and external stakeholders – with a collective understanding of our history, our mission, and our hopes for the future. I appreciate the work of Inauguration Committee Chairs Lisa Chin, of the Public Health Department, and Denee Jenkins, of the Office of the President, and all who are working to bring this to us. Please mark your calendars for April 14th and make plans to attend.
AN ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL AID SUCCESS
I must take a moment to congratulate the professionals in our Admissions and Financial Aid offices. In response to a new SUNY Initiative last fall, the teams in these offices have done yeoman’s work to respond to an influx in activity. So much so, that our admissions acceptances and completed financial aid packaging are tracking higher than any year in recent memory. I say a hearty “thank you” to the staffers in those offices.
STAFF FORUM
I enjoyed hosting January’s breakfast session open to all members of the College’s staff. I heard about some of the challenges they face and the ideas they have for improvement. Going forward, I want our staff members to know that I will be having regularly scheduled “staff forums” to stay abreast of the unique challenges and experiences you have on our campus, and to report back on what is being done with what I learn. Also, I asked Dr. Robinson to work with a group of self-identified professionals interested in facilitating future staff forums and helping us respond to emerging ideas and concerns.
NEW FEDERAL INVESTMENTS ANNOUNCED
While I have announced this previously, I just want to celebrate this one more time – In the past few weeks, SUNY Old Westbury has received notice of two awards from the federal government that total more than $2.7 million to support our students. Most recently, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer announced that $1,870,000 has been awarded to SUNY Old Westbury to launch an inclusive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics career preparatory center -- The Old Westbury STEM Center for Engagement, Entrepreneurship & Inclusion (OW-STEM) – to engage students from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM-related fields and set them on a trajectory towards successful STEM-oriented careers. And, in December, we were awarded a three-year "basic needs grant" in the amount of $878,057 from the U.S. Department of Education to establish Panther Community Care, a center to aid students from underserved backgrounds gain access to services and assistance related to the basic needs of themselves and their families. My thanks and congratulations to those who developed these proposals. For OW-STEM, that would be Assistant Provost for Research and Strategic Academic Initiatives Michael Kavic and, for the Panther Community Care, Assistant Provost for Student Success and Administration Cristina Notaro.
'SHARING' GOVERNANCE OF OUR CAMPUS
Lastly, I want to report that I am working with leadership to create processes that will engage all campus constituents in the “shared governance” of our college. We currently exercise shared governance with faculty through the Faculty Senate. My expectation is to create structures and processes through which faculty, staff, students, and administration participate in the development of policies and in decision-making that affect the institution. This is truly capturing the democratic and inclusive spirit of our mission. In the coming weeks you will be able to hear more about this. Please stay tuned.
Thank you, and best of luck to all for a safe, productive, and enjoyable semester!
Timothy E. Sams
President