President Wheeler’s Nov. 2024 Report to Faculty

Dear Colleagues:

As we enter November, I thank you all for the important work you are doing to support the two pillars of our mission: 1) academic excellence and student success and 2) being a value to the SUNY New Paltz community locally, across our state and beyond. Below are highlights that focus on our 2024-25 priorities (fiscal sustainability, campus climate and culture and strategic planning).

With Election Day upon us, I wish to share multiple civic engagement events planned by students, faculty and staff for our community, consistent with our educational mission. These efforts are a testament to the thoughtful, non-partisan role our University can play in supporting voter participation and civic engagement education. Thanks to the many employees and students who have made these events possible for our learning community.

Election Night Watch Party
Tuesday, Nov. 5, 8 – 10 p.m.
Lecture Center 100
Sponsored by the Center for Student Engagement
Gather with students and Center for Student Engagement staff to watch the electoral results roll in. Free pizza and refreshments included!

“Post-Election Expression thru the Creative Arts” with the Psychological Counseling Center
Wednesday, Nov. 6, 1 – 3 p.m.
Front entrance of the Student Health & Counseling Center
Co-sponsored by the Office of the President
All campus community members are encouraged to stop by and gather for conversation and creative expression at this outdoor event. Attendees will have the opportunity to process their thoughts and feelings and come away with a keepsake that they will have forever. Refreshments will be provided!

Post-Election Civil Conversation
Wednesday, Nov. 6, 5:30 p.m.
Honors Center, College Hall
Sponsored by the Honors Program and Student Association
Join us for an evening of post-election civil conversation. Don’t forget to vote and make your voice heard!

Dinner & Discourse: We Voted. Now What?
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 6 p.m.
Student Union 62/63
Sponsored by the Center for Student Engagement
Join students, faculty and staff for a dinner and discussion surrounding the outcome of the election, how we move forward and the importance of remaining civically engaged.

Strategic Planning
Thanks to all who turned out in person and virtually for the Strategic Planning Process Kickoff event on Oct. 9. Since then, I have selected the following individuals to serve as Tri-Chairs for the Strategic Planning Committee: Shala Mills, Associate Provost for Academic Planning & Learning Innovation; John Reina, Assistant Vice President IT/CIO, and Shelly Wright, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Communication. I have notified all volunteers of their selection to serve on the Strategic Planning Committee. See the committee membership here. I’m grateful to the more than 70 faculty, staff, students, alumni, Foundation Board directors, SUNY New Paltz Council members and other community stakeholders who raised their hands for this important endeavor for our University’s future. Thanks to the 100 or more campus community members who participated in the Trends in Higher Education workshop on Oct. 30. If you missed the session, you can view the video here. I encourage you to consider attending the following critical in-person Strategic Planning events this fall:

• “Defining the Student Experience” workshop on Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the College Terrace. Breakfast and lunch will be served. If you are interested in joining us for this transformative event, please RSVP here by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
• We also are excited to announce the upcoming Strategic Planning Future Summit, a cornerstone event of our strategic planning project at SUNY New Paltz, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Location TBD. (Note: This is different than the Hudson Valley Future Summit scheduled by Development & Alumni Relations for Nov. 13.) Join us for a half-day of innovative discussions and collaborative thinking at this mini-conference designed to bring together the minds of institutional and external stakeholders to forge a path toward our shared future.

Fall Open House Outcomes
We hosted a total of 851 student attendees on Saturday, Nov. 2, for Fall Open House with more than 2,080 total guests on campus. This is a 36 percent increase over the 625 students we hosted in 2023. Of those who attended, 764 were prospective first-year students and 86 were prospective transfer students with one readmit attending.  Of those who attended, 494 have applied to New Paltz. Preliminary survey results are very positive, with 95% of respondents ranking us excellent or good in almost all categories. I’d like to extend my gratitude to all who participated to make the event so successful.

Spring 2025 Registration
The Division of Enrollment Management is preparing for spring 2025 registration with the goal of having all continuing students registered before the semester ends. Graduate student registration for spring 2025 began Nov. 4. Undergraduates register the week of Nov. 11 according to their registration time assignment listed in my.newpaltz.edu. Students must be cleared by their advisor and be free from financial holds to register for spring 2025. The Wooster Hall Welcome Center and Records & Registration will host a registration “drop-in” event on Nov. 14 to support students registering for the first time. There will be staff available from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist students using My Schedule Planner. Please send students who need assistance.

Winter Session 2025 Registration
Winter Session 2025 Registration began on Nov. 4. There are more the 70 classes, offered in more than 30 subject areas, including GE courses, during the 3-week session. Please encourage students to review the offerings and register.

Office of Student Accounts
The Office of Student Accounts has been actively reaching out to more than 400 students by email and text messages with delinquent financial accounts amounting to more than $900,000 in outstanding balances. Students with financial balances have registration holds and are strongly encouraged to meet with staff in Student Accounts to help resolve the holds so that they can register for classes and avoid mounting debt. Please encourage students with registration holds to go to Student Accounts in WH 114 for assistance.

Office of Admission
The Office of Admission reports that transfer applications for spring 2025 are slightly lower than last year at this time. However, accepted student deposits are slightly higher. We are still on track to meet our target of 250 new transfer students for spring 2025. Please note that new transfer student orientation dates are Jan. 7, 9 and 15. For more information, visit the Take Flight website.

Graduate Admission
Graduate Open House will take place on Thursday, Nov. 21, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Wooster Hall. Graduate program coordinators and department faculty will be tabling to promote their programs. Please encourage your junior and senior students to attend.

Accelerated Pathway Programs
Undergraduate juniors have recently received email communications from Graduate Admissions to learn about the Accelerated Pathway Programs, where they can save time and money enroute to a graduate degree. Please check out the new website to learn more about these programs and share this information with students.

Veterans Day Luncheon
The Office of Veteran & Military Services (OVMS) will host a Veterans Day luncheon on Nov. 11 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to honor our veterans, current service members and dependents. All faculty, staff and students are invited to the OVMS office in Student Union 100 South.

Fiscal Sustainability
Thank you for the robust conversation and creative budget ideas shared at and after last month’s budget forum. The President’s Cabinet is reviewing each suggestion, aligning them with my three priorities for 2024-25—fiscal sustainability, campus climate and culture and strategic planning—and with the two pillars of our mission: 1) academic excellence and student success and 2) being a value to the SUNY New Paltz community locally, across our state and beyond. We then will fit them into future discussions and planning. These will be particularly important as we assess them within our strategic planning exercises and determine how to move forward.

By now, all account signatories should have received the Financial Resource Stewardship form from Internal Controls, seeking affirmation for the responsibility for appropriate use of state funds. Please sign them at your earliest convenience and return them to Peter Fairbrother (fairbrop@newpaltz.edu). Affirmations not received by Dec. 31, 2024, will result in suspension of signatory authority for all state procurement.

Development & Alumni Relations
More than 380 alumni and friends attended 40+ Alumni Reunion Weekend 2024 events between Oct. 17-20. Highlights of the weekend included:

• A Heritage and Alumni Awards Celebration that, among other awardees, honored five New Paltz staff members for their service and devotion to the University: Maureen Logan-Bremer ’86 ’92g; Dr. Laurel M. Garrick Duhaney; Dr. Devon C. Duhaney; Niza Cardona ’04g; and Dr. Nancy Campos.
• A moving toast by Ronald Law ’74 at the 50th Anniversary Lantern Society Induction Ceremony celebrating the nearly 30 alumni from 1974 who came back to honor their special milestone.
• Greek celebrations held by Phi Eta Sigma, Sigma Tau Gamma (Delphic Fraternity), Theta Phi Gamma, Clionian Sorority, and Kappa Alpha Psi, followed by the Alpha Kappa Phi Agonian Society’s Centennial Gala, attended by 150 alumni and guests. The First World Celebration was also well attended by current students and alumni who promised to double attendance next year.
• Reunion gatherings held by the Educational Opportunity Program, the Honors Program, and Residence Life; content-rich programs and networking events hosted by several academic departments; campus tours provided by Admissions; plus, the annual Heinz Ahlmeyer Jr. Men’s Soccer Game vs. Buffalo State (Hawks won!).
• Save the dates of October 17-19, 2025, and stay tuned for campus invitations to participate in Reunion 2025!

SUNY New Paltz continues to provide value to New York State and beyond through these and other high value events.

• Distinguished Speaker Series – In October the Distinguished Speaker Series welcomed SUNY New Paltz alumnus Dr. Gary King ’80 ’10 HON, director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University and namesake of The Benjamin Center’s Gary King Visiting Lecturer in Applied Social Research series. In the style of a classroom lecture, King delivered an engaging/interactive talk “Reverse Engineering Chinese Government Information Controls,” on how he worked with Harvard researchers to understand the Chinese government’s censorship of social media posts.
• Hudson Valley Future Summit – Faculty and staff are welcome to register for the Hudson Valley Future Summit on Nov. 13. This day-long summit will host Dr. Kimberly Eddleston, Schulze Distinguished Professor, Northeastern University, to guide family-owned business leaders through succession planning and difficult conversations. “The Multigenerational Business: Charting a Course for Success,” will help answer questions about how to develop a sustainable strategy for long-term planning and viability. The program also features local multigenerational family business speakers and industry experts, workshops, panels, and a closing reception. If you know of a family-owned business or business leader, please share our website. For more information contact Lisa Sandick at sandickl@newpaltz.edu.

Business Dean adds Economic Development & Community Engagement to her duties
Kristin Backhaus has been appointed as the first-ever Director of Economic Development & Community Engagement for SUNY New Paltz, a newly created role dedicated to building stronger connections with a broad array of regional partners. Backhaus will take on these responsibilities while continuing in her role as Dean of the School of Business, which she has held since 2015.

Her work as dean, and specifically her extensive efforts to build partnerships with companies and organizations throughout the Hudson Valley, leaves Backhaus well positioned to extend and formalize this work on behalf of the University. Her leadership of the Hudson Valley Venture Hub and her collaboration with local and regional partners has consistently created and advanced a SUNY New Paltz presence in innovative development ventures across our region. This new position is a wonderful opportunity to continue building synergies with academic and community economic opportunities.

As Director of Economic Development & Community Engagement, Backhaus will report to me as President and manage a portfolio focused on planning and leading strategic engagement with public and private partnerships, in ultimate service of expanding the University’s contributions to economic development, innovation, social impact and workforce development in our local and regional communities.

Campus Climate Survey
This is a reminder to all employees to complete the SUNY DEI Campus Climate Survey, part of a SUNY-wide initiative. Please also encourage your students to complete the survey. Deadline for completion is Nov. 22. The survey link will come in an email from Viewfinder® Campus Climate Surveys and should take about 15 minutes to complete. No personal identifying information will be collected from you. Employees who complete the survey will be entered into a drawing for one of five SUNY New Paltz sweatshirts. Only with robust participation can we maximize the opportunity to learn and reflect as a community.

Save the Date for Science of Reading talk Nov. 20
Kymyona Burk, our Visiting Senior Fellow in the Science of Reading Center, will give a talk on campus on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Please save the date and watch for more details. A widely recognized educational leader and senior policy fellow at the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd), Burk supports states pursuing a comprehensive approach to K-3 reading policy by assisting state leaders in building new or improving existing K-3 reading policies, with a heavy focus on supporting successful policy implementation. She brings a demonstrated history of building teacher capacity and improving student literacy outcomes across a career in teaching, coaching and state-level administration spanning more than 25 years.

I’ll be available to answer your questions about my report or any other topics at the Faculty Senate Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Darrell P. Wheeler
President