College to welcome 1,850 new first-year and transfer students
NEW PALTZ – The State University of New York at New Paltz will welcome 1,155 new first-year students to the College during the annual Moving In Day beginning at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 23.
The new students will be joined for the start of classes on Monday, Aug. 27, by 695 transfer students, for a total of 1,850 new students. This figure is comparable to the number of new students in recent years and consistent with the College’s goal to keep enrollments stable.
According to L. David Eaton, vice president for enrollment management, “The freshman class is academically very strong and diverse ethnically, geographically, and by the wide variety of academic interests they represent. Our transfer class is equally impressive, having been admitted through a highly selective admission process. About one−third of the undergraduate population was admitted as transfer students. They come to New Paltz from the region’s community colleges as well as four-year public and private colleges around the state and the nation.”
Dean of Admissions Lisa Jones said the college is proud of the diversity in the Class of 2016. “New Paltz consistently attracts high-caliber students from diverse backgrounds and under-represented groups, and this year is no exception,” Jones said.
For the 23rd consecutive year, New Paltz had the most applications for admission (15,714) among SUNY’s comprehensive colleges.
Approximately 1,200 graduate students are expected for fall 2012, consistent with last year. Graduate programs are offered in the School of Fine & Performing Arts, known internationally for its Master of Fine Arts programs, the School of Business, School of Education, School of Science & Engineering, and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. This year, the Graduate School will be home to approximately 140 international students who come principally to study the fine arts, business, computer science, and electrical engineering.
Fall Convocation
Students of the Class of 2016 will attend the 26th annual Fall Convocation at the Athletic & Wellness Center on Friday, Aug. 24. This event formally introduces new students to the academic community and to the New Paltz faculty.
Professor Tom Meyer, associate professor of secondary education and director of the Hudson Valley Writing Project, will be the featured speaker. The title of Meyer’s address is “What Would It Take for You to Learn?” Meyer was the recipient of the 2012 Chancellor’s Award for Faculty Service partly due to his contributions in building an award-winning education network in the Hudson Valley and linking that network to a national network that honors the importance of writing and thinking at all ages and in all disciplinary subjects.
“I look forward to celebrating a new academic year and welcoming our newest students to SUNY New Paltz,” Meyer said. “In my Convocation lecture, I hope that by sharing a few anecdotes and thought experiments about learning, students will feel a sense of confidence about making their own learning happen here at the College.”
Meyer has written articles and presented to teachers at local and national conferences, many of which are related to questions of learning. He is a contributing editor to the journal Schools: Studies in Education.
Parking
The College is progressing on its master plan to make the campus more pedestrian friendly and move parking to the exterior of campus to reduce pedestrian and vehicular conflicts. With less interior parking available this fall, faculty, staff, students and visitors to campus will need to adjust their habits and plan to arrive early to accommodate these changes. The College encourages everyone to check the online campus map and pay attention to campus updates and communications concerning construction projects via e-mail and on the College website.
Construction at the Mohonk Walk has permanently removed the parking lot on the north side of Wooster parking Lot 21. Mohonk Lot 24 and the southern portion of Bouton Hall Lot 25 are scheduled to be open on Aug. 26. Coykendall Lot 22 and Resnick Lot 20 are closed to serve as staging areas for the Wooster Science Building renovation project and will remain closed for the duration of the project throughout 2013 and 2014.
Haggerty Lot 15 and the Haggerty Circle parking have been limited this summer by the campus-wide electrical upgrade and the emergency storm drain projects and will re-open Aug. 23.
A portion of College Hall (CH) Parking Lot 19 (southern end) will be out of service from Aug. 27−Nov. 1, 2012, for construction of underground heating lines for the future science building. This work will include underground construction on the south side of College Hall between the new Mohonk Walk East and College Hall building. Temporary, fence-enclosed walks will be provided for entrance to College Hall.
The expansion of the Parking Lot on the east side of Route 32 (known as Lot 28) will begin this fall and will add 138−140 parking spaces for the 2013 spring semester.
In conjunction with plans for a new residence hall on the southwest side of campus, a new resident parking lot is planned for construction this fall. The additional 213-space lot is expected to be open for use in spring 2013. West Lot 37A will remain open until summer 2013, when it will be closed permanently for the construction of the new residence hall.
Plattekill Lot 18 will be permanently closed in January 2013 for the new science building.
Construction Projects
Visitors to campus will encounter a number of current construction projects that are part of the biggest capital investments in SUNY New Paltz since the Rockefeller era.
Construction of the east portion of the Mohonk Walk, which will provide pedestrian access between the campus’ Excelsior Concourse and the site of the future new science building near the campus’ main entrance, is scheduled to be completed before students return to campus. Beautification of the surrounding landscape, which will include lining the walk with oak trees and stone benches, will be completed by December 2012. The remaining segment of Mohonk Walk, which will extend from the Excelsior Concourse to van den Berg Hall, will be constructed next summer and is scheduled to be completed in August 2013.
Work has begun on the renovation of the Sojourner Truth Library. Improvements include a reorganized public services desk, individual and group study areas, better access to technology, a redesigned main floor with increased natural light and views of the Shawangunk Mountains, and a refurbished lobby. The project is scheduled to be completed in winter 2014 and the library will be open during the renovation.
Contractors are on site for the comprehensive renovation of the Wooster Science Building. The building has been vacated and staff relocated. The renovation includes new classrooms, labs, and offices; installation of a food court; and a new student services center on the ground floor of the building to include Financial Aid, Records and Registration, Academic Advising, and Student Accounts. Faculty from the departments of Anthropology, Psychology and Engineering will be housed in Wooster after the renovation, scheduled for completion in summer 2014.
Shop 24
To accommodate students’ desire for increased late night on-campus access to food and convenience items, Campus Auxiliary Services will install a new Shop24 (24-hour) vending machine on the concourse outside the Student Union Building in September.
The machine will dispense a variety of snacks, beverages, sundries, and frozen meals. The project is a collaborative partnership between Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS), Pepsi of the Hudson Valley, and Shop24, a world leader in the automated convenience store market.
“We are open to suggestions from students, faculty and staff about what they’d like to see in our Shop24,” said Steve Deutsch, executive director of CAS. “We will have a good blend of popular items, but we can certainly make enhancements.”
Shop24 accepts several methods of payment including cash, credit cards and Hawk Dollars. “Shop24 offers an extensive array of items for students on the run, and will certainly satisfy those late night cravings,” said Deutsch. “It will also serve our campus community when classes are not in session, a time when our retail and resident dining operations are limited.”
New Leadership
Dr. Philip Mauceri became the new provost and vice president for academic affairs on Aug. 1. He fills a vacancy in the provost position created by Donald Christian’s appointment as interim president in July 2010 and then as president in June 2011. Prior to his appointment at New Paltz, Mauceri served as the dean of the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences and a professor of political science at the University of Northern Iowa.
Dr. Michael S. Rosenberg began his appointment as the new dean of the School of Education on Aug. 3. As dean, he will serve as the chief academic and administrative officer for the School of Education. He comes to New Paltz from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., where he spent 26 years, most recently as the associate dean for research in the School of Education and professor in the Department of Special Education.
Dr. Daniel Freedman will begin this academic year as the new dean of the School of Science & Engineering. His appointment was effective April 2. Freedman served as the interim dean from August 2011 until his appointment. Previously, he was the chair of the chemistry department from 2001-2009.
W. Mark Colvson assumed his responsibilities as the new dean of the Sojourner Truth Library on July 9. In this role, he is responsible for providing strategic leadership for the library; working with faculty, staff, and students to integrate library resources into their academic, research and scholarly pursuits; integration of library technology; and oversight of the ongoing library renovation.
Tanhena Pacheco Dunn has joined New Paltz as its first executive director for compliance and campus climate. She assumed her duties on June 18. Prior to her new position, Pacheco Dunn served as the assistant director of human resources at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.