Nearly 1,200 first-year students and 850 transfer students will join the SUNY New Paltz community this fall, as the College prepares to welcome one of the most diverse and academically qualified incoming classes in its history.
For the third consecutive fall semester, New Paltz will exceed the 2,000 new incoming undergraduate student threshold, the largest numbers in the institution’s history.
“It is a testament to SUNY New Paltz’s reputation and high quality programs that we are able to achieve such recruiting success in today’s highly competitive market for talented students,” said L. David Eaton, vice president for enrollment management. “Our warm and welcoming on- and off-campus communities, high-quality academic and residential spaces, and superior location are important sources of institutional strength.”
This year’s incoming class extends the increasing racial and ethnic diversification of the student population at SUNY New Paltz. About 48 percent of incoming first-year students are from traditionally underrepresented demographic groups, as are about 35 percent of incoming transfers.
For the second year in a row, the College will also see increases in the number of enrolled graduate students. About 400 new full- and part-time graduate students will begin taking the next step in their academic and professional journeys at New Paltz this fall.
The SUNY New Paltz Welcome Week tradition returns with Moving-In Day on Aug. 22 and the Convocation Ceremony and Picnic on Aug. 23, as students, faculty, staff and alumni come together to help new students and their families feel at home on campus. Returning students will continue to arrive through the weekend before classes begin on Aug. 26.
Here’s what else is happening at SUNY New Paltz this fall:
Engineering Innovation Hub opening scheduled for fall
SUNY New Paltz will open a new, state-of-the-art engineering building to students, faculty, staff, public officials and campus visitors at a ribbon-cutting ceremony this fall.
The Engineering Innovation Hub, a 20,000-square-foot building located near Resnick Engineering Hall, was made possible by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s NYSUNY2020 grant competition, in which SUNY New Paltz was awarded $10 million for its plans to improve economic development in New York State.
The building will serve as home to the College’s growing mechanical engineering program and will also house the Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center, one of the most technologically advanced 3D printing labs in the nation.
Campus buildings renamed effective Aug. 5
In early 2019, the SUNY New Paltz College Council and the SUNY Board of Trustees voted to change the names of five residence halls and the campus dining hall. The following new building names took effect on Aug. 5:
- Hasbrouck Dining Hall is now Peregrine Dining Hall
- Bevier Hall is now Minnewaska Hall
- Crispell Hall is now Ashokan Hall
- Deyo Hall is now Awosting Hall
- Dubois Hall is now Mohonk Hall
- Lefevre Hall is now Shawangunk Hall
The decision to rename these buildings followed nearly two years of research and inclusive dialogue, initiated by President Donald P. Christian and led by the Diversity & Inclusion Council. The process involved a broad constituency of students, faculty, staff, alumni, the College Council, campus leadership, and community stakeholders, including Huguenot descendants and Historic Huguenot Street leadership.
The Diversity & Inclusion Council ultimately recommended that changing the building names would position the College to better serve the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. President Christian supported this recommendation and advocated strongly for its approval by the College Council and Board of Trustees.
Consistent with our mission as an academic institution, a contemplative space will be created on campus (fall 2020) to present a more complete history of the College. That includes the history and lasting impacts of slavery, especially northern slavery, the contributions of enslaved Africans and their descendants, the history and legacy of indigenous people before and after European settlement, and the many positive contributions of Huguenot descendants to civic and educational life in New Paltz and beyond.
To learn more about the renaming of Peregrine complex buildings, please visit https://www.newpaltz.edu/renaming.
