[Important Information for Employees] Welcome Back for the Fall Semester

[Office of the President]

Dear Campus Community,

This morning I had the pleasure of welcoming back to campus a full house of
faculty and staff in the Warren Ballrooms, highlighting a year of success
and celebrating the one ahead.

Today was truly a celebration. It was a celebration for you and about you
-- you who devote your professional lives and careers to this wonderful
university. It is a celebration of your colleagues, who partner with you in
our common service to students and to each other. It is a celebration of
the work we each do, the craft, the skill and the academic pursuits that
together make a difference in this community and the North Country region.

Ultimately, it is a celebration of those we serve, our students. They are
the reason we are here, the reason we exist as a university.

It was fitting, then, that a particular highlight of the morning was a new
award singularly centered on the college's most important focus. I was
honored to recognize Dr. Michele Carpentier, who has devoted her life to
this work.

*The Best of Cardinal Spirit*

In reviewing the past year, the campus' successful work through the
COVID-19 pandemic was among the factors critical to our success. As I think
about the work we have done together, I am drawn to your collective efforts
since my arrival on campus in January 2020. While this is my third fall
here, it is the very first one where we could gather together, to share a
meal and speak at tables in the ballroom.

We have been tested, both personally and professionally, over the past two
years. Yet, the best of our campus, the best of Cardinal spirit has shined. You
have never stopped lending a hand to our students on their academic and
life journeys.

The university has continually planned through health requirements and
guidance. Vaccines continue to be required for all students with an
allowance for medical or religious exemptions. The Student Health and
Counseling Center is also tracking the global outbreak of monkeypox,
working closely with the Clinton County Health Department and communicating
with campus.


*Summer of Success, Semester Ahead*
Over the summer, the reaffirmation accreditation by the Middle States
Commission on Higher Education, with a final team report that was positive
and clearly supporting Plattsburgh Next, the college's strategic plan, as
well as the School of Business and Economics received re-accreditation by
the Association to Advance Collegiate Business Schools, a distinction
shared by only five percent of business schools worldwide.

SUNY Plattsburgh has also returned to in-person activities over the summer,
with the Educational Opportunity Program’s (EOP) Summer Institute on campus
with close to 100 students participating, and Upward Bound, with 170 North
Country high school students on campus.

Support for students is also centered on equity and inclusion. Since
December, we have benefited from the skill and wisdom of Dr. Richard
Miller, who has served as our interim vice president for diversity, equity
and inclusion. He has led the division well and laid the groundwork for
continued growth and success with the Truth, Racial Healing and
Transformation campus center.

We intend for our university to be an active place for conversation and for
this center to encompass curriculum across the full campus and wider
communities. I appreciate Dr. Miller’s thoughtful work.

I am excited to welcome Allison Heard, currently director of institutional
diversity and Title IX coordinator at the University of St. Francis in
Joliet, Illinois as the next Vice President of Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion. Allison will be joining us here on October 3. Allison brings a
depth of experience, a wealth of ideas and a background of success to the
position. With a master’s in higher education and student affairs
administration, and a soon-to-be-completed doctorate focusing on the impact
of hiring for mission and its correlation to campus culture and feelings of
belonging, Allison will lead the DEI area well.

*Meeting the Grand Challenge*

Financially, the university closed the 2021-2022 fiscal year at the end of
June. With careful spending and the carryover of federal stimulus dollars
SUNY Plattsburgh grew its operating reserve to better support this year’s
operations and cover our anticipated deficit.

Additionally, federal HEERF Mental Health funds of nearly $400,000 were
secured and are being used for numerous purposes. This includes contracts
for tele-counseling professionals and after-hours crisis counseling,
expanded services from a local mental health service provider agency on our
campus and per diem services to be used during peak times at the end of
each semester.

Additionally, our share of additional SUNY-allocated funds included in the
new state budget will provide $770,009 for similar one-time investments.
The college has also been awarded ongoing $800,000 to support new faculty
lines.

SUNY system just created and shared the criteria with us this week on how
this can be used, so we are beginning to work on this.

On the fundraising front, 2021-2022 was a record-setting year for the
university, with $8 million raised; the previous one-year record was $5.4
million. Half of this is earmarked for student scholarships that will
support all four pillars of the Plattsburgh Next strategic plan.

The new fiscal year includes a new $1 million bequest from the late Muriel
Ferraro, a member of the Class of 1948, just advanced to the Plattsburgh
College Foundation. This is an amazing expression of Muriel’s appreciation
of her alma mater and will also fund scholarships for students. We
celebrate this gift, and all the generous gifts received, and what it will
mean in the years ahead.

With respect to enrollment, the university is on pace to reach its incoming
target for fall. As of this week there are 1,778 deposits, which is above
our budgeted goal. Enrollment, however, is more than incoming students, and
the number of students we serve is our grand challenge, as it is across the
SUNY system and all of higher education today.

Ultimately, our success at SUNY Plattsburgh hinges on the retention of the
students who matriculate, and this is the cornerstone of our strategic
plan. The financial surplus I mentioned goes away quickly without growing
and stabilizing enrollment. Thus, we must have a laser-sharp focus on this
pillar of Plattsburgh Next.


*Faculty Impact, Chancellor's Awards*
I had the opportunity to formally present several awards:

   - *Dr. Julia Davis*, chair and associate professor of Counselor
   Education and coordinator of the Student Affairs Higher Education program,
   was presented the Faculty Impact Award. This annually recognizes faculty,
   current or retired, who have a major and lasting positive impact on the
   life of alumni and is given by the Plattsburgh Alumni Association.

   - *Kerry Chapin-Lavigne*, director of alumni relations in the Office of
   Institutional Advancement, is the recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for
   Professional Service, which recognizes consistently superior professional
   achievement within and beyond the position.

   - *Julia Devine*, adjunct lecturer in English and theater, is a
   recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching,
   which recognizes consistently superior teaching at the graduate,
   undergraduate, or professional level in keeping with the State University's
   commitment to providing its students with instruction of the highest
   quality.

   - *Jack Downs*, lecturer in journalism, is a recipient of the
   Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, this also recognizes
   consistently superior teaching at the graduate, undergraduate, or
   professional level in keeping with the State University's commitment to
   providing its students with instruction of the highest quality.

   - *Rachel Flemming*, director of the Speech and Hearing Center in Sibley
   Hall, is a recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in
   Professional Service, which recognizes consistently superior professional
   achievement within and beyond the position.

   - *Colleen Lemza*, professor and chair of journalism and public
   relations, is a recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in
   Faculty Service, given to State University of New York faculty members who
   have provided outstanding achievement, leadership, outreach, and community
   service over multiple years and a variety of areas.

   - *Dr. Alison Puliatte*, associate professor in teacher education, is
   the recipient of Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, which
   recognizes consistently superior teaching at the graduate, undergraduate,
   or professional level in keeping with the State University's commitment to
   providing its students with instruction of the highest quality.

*Inaugural Dr. Michele Carpentier Award*

As I noted above, the final recognition was a new award. In developing the
criteria, I was less drawn to words than I was to a person. To the life
they have lived and the gifts they have given. In creating any set of
values or centering on a mission, it is important for an organization to
not only craft a clear focus but to also identify those who already embody
what is best about what you do."

Dr. Michele Carpentier is SUNY Plattsburgh at its best. As the first
recipient of this new award, it will be named in her honor.

Michele is a member of the Class of 1977. She was born in the old Champlain
Valley Hospital. As assistant vice president for enrollment and student
success and director of special programs, her work is important and it has
spanned generations. In her role in overseeing the federally funded TRIO
programs, which include Student Support Services, and the Educational
Opportunity Program, she has always been about students.

The Dr. Michele Carpentier Award will annually honor a SUNY Plattsburgh
employee whose investment in the lives of students, over a period of many
years, demonstrates an exemplary level of care, compassion, and
selflessness. Recipients model the truest spirit of what we aspire to as
members of the Cardinal family and reflect our commitment to student
success.

Travis Gorham, named this summer as the university's multicultural student
success coach and a member of the Plattsburgh State Athletic Hall of Fame,
spoke from his heart about Dr. Carpentier's impact on his life and the life
of campus.

"I would be up here all day, probably for weeks, talking about how much of
an impact Michelle has had not only on myself, but thousands of others," he
said.

"I don’t know where I would be had I not met and interacted with Michelle
Carpentier. For all of your selflessness, advocacy, support and everything
that you do for students, we all thank you."

*Where Lives are Changed*

In closing, I want to note that each of us has been given the opportunity
to contribute to the success of an amazing place -- a place where lives are
changed, where ideas are explored and debated, and where students’ hopes
for the future are imagined, prepared for, and realized.

The essence of what happens at SUNY Plattsburgh can be distilled down to a
single phrase: We make students’ educational dreams come true. This is
something we’ve done for over 100 years, and something that will continue
as we move toward our strong future. This is our why.

My best to you for a wonderful fall semester. I hope to see each of you
during this time and thank you again for your contribution to the success
of our students.

Dr. Alexander Enyedi
President
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