[Important Information for Employees] December Campus Message

[Office of the President]

Dear Cardinal Community,

As we conclude the fall semester, I am very grateful for all of the work
each of you has done with our students -- from the first warm move-in days
of August through this week's not-so-winter storm. From my conversations
with many students over the past four months, I know how impactful your
work has been both in and out of the classroom. This work is noticed and
appreciated.

This last week of fall semester is full of celebratory activities, with
events honoring graduates with awards, remarks and visits with parents,
families and friends. One example is the DEI Lavender Ceremony set for
Thursday, a celebration that recognizes LGBTQ students of all races and
ethnicities and acknowledges their leadership, success, and achievements.
However, the range of programs is not limited to students. Docents, who
serve in the Plattsburgh State Art Museum, and our incredible donors who
make a difference in the life of campus will be celebrated as well.

Our Winter Commencement on Saturday is the culmination, with nearly 300
students eligible to graduate. We will also be honoring two people with the
University Council's Distinguished Service Award -- Jackie Madison,
president of the North Country Underground Railroad Association in Ausable
Chasm and Keith Tyo, who served at SUNY Plattsburgh for nearly 23 years,
with the last 14 years in the Office of the President. Our student speaker
will be Andrea Garcia, a nutrition major from Nyack.

I thank all who are volunteering to make this a special day for our
graduates and their families and those who will be walking in regalia with
our students.

*Student Enrollment Update*
As we look toward the spring semester, our current enrollment projection
for spring 2024 is 4,130 students. This is nearly identical with last
spring (4,133 students) and continues our enrollment trend toward
flattening prior declines through improved retention and increased new
student registration. I appreciate all the work that has gone into
recruiting and retaining students for spring, moving each of them closer to
walking across the stage in the Field House gymnasium at a future
commencement ceremony.

With an advanced process in place, we are processing far more fall 2024
acceptances earlier -- 3,921 acceptances to date versus only 643 at this
time last year. We have experienced an 11 percent increase in applications
over a year earlier, and a 50 percent jump from two years ago - these are
both important trends. Transfer applications are a bit lower than this time
last year, with 13 fewer applications, while acceptances are up 22 percent.
After a successful fall travel and visitation season, the focus of the
admissions teams will be building meaningful and engaging relationships
with accepted students and families leading to a greater number of
deposits. Spring events and accepted student receptions are being planned
to increase engagement opportunities and students’ ultimate enrollment.

Graduate acceptances and deposits for fall 2024 are keeping pace with 2023.
Some graduate programs have a February 1 application deadline and will
release decisions after that date, including clinical mental health
counseling, data analytics, school psychology and speech language
pathology. Applications to two graduate programs are twice as high as last
year: speech language pathology (due in large part to joining a national
application) and data analytics (driven by the addition of an online
modality). Graduate admissions is also hosting, with our faculty, five
academic-focused information sessions during the spring semester:


*Vice President Searches*
Our search for the next provost and senior vice president for academic
affairs is taking shape. Vice President Allison Heard is organizing the
search and leading work now on forming the recruitment committee. An academic
search firm will be retained, with requests for quotations due back in
early January. This search will be run during the spring semester with our
expectation of a person to lead in this area ahead of the 2024-2025
academic year.

The fall search for a vice president for administration and finance did not
yield a successful candidate. While this is not the outcome we had aimed
for, it is important for us -- as it is in all searches -- to identify the
best candidate for the position and take the time necessary to make that
happen. Accordingly, we will continue the search for this position in the
spring. With the existing search firm in place, the effort can build on
what has been done and help us make a decision next semester as well.

In the interim, I appreciate the work of both Dr. Brent Carbajal and Todd
Moravec, who have served in interim roles leading these areas. I am
thankful as well for the work of those serving on each search committee. In
2024, we will identify solid, enthusiastic people who will join and help
lead our campus community in these roles.

*Plattsburgh Next*
Our Plattsburgh Next plan has been used well since its creation. With the
pillars of enrollment growth, student success, DEI and community engagement
now embedded -- and consistent with the new SUNY system pillars of focus --
our next stage will be to further develop robust and focused measuring
sticks for each pillar that can be created, shared and tracked clearly.

Our original plan was slated to run 2022-2025, meaning next year is the
time to plan for further development and steps. This will be a focus during
2024.

As we see headlines on colleges and universities across the state and
nation, we can be disappointed and saddened to see the struggles and
challenges across the higher education landscape. We are not immune, as we
have said, but we are working our strategic plan and doing the day to day
steps that are paying dividends for us. We must continue to look for
opportunities, structure ourselves accordingly and be mindful in our
spending. The SUNY system has endorsed our efforts and our financial
planning, giving us a solid foundation from which to build.

I encourage each of you to spend time this holiday season with those you
love and doing what brings you joy. I wish you the best as we conclude this
calendar year.

As you do, please add to your calendar our new spring President's Welcome
event. We will use this time on Friday, Jan. 26 at 8:30 a.m. to kickoff the
spring semester in the Warren Ballrooms and have some special campus
celebrations. I look forward to seeing you there.

All the best,

Alex Enyedi
President
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