Dr. Virginia S. Horvath, (right) President, Fredonia with Dr. Greg Gibbs, (left) President, Fredonia Alumni Association
Best wishes for the new year to all of Fredonia’s alumni and friends! It’s been a mild winter so far in Western New York — a welcome change from the past few years — and even though we haven’t had much snow, it’s been an otherwise typically busy and productive time at Fredonia.
Several changes in leadership make this a time of transition on campus. On Dec. 31, David Tiffany retired as vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the Fredonia College Foundation after more than a decade of important contributions to the campus and foundation. Betty Gossett, ’76, will be serving in the interim role through 2017. David Herman, vice president for Student Affairs, will retire in July, and a search for that position is underway. Rick Johnson has completed his term as chair of the Fredonia College Foundation Board of Directors, which will now be led by Dennis Costello. And David Fountaine has completed his term of service as president of the Alumni Association. Thank you to all of these leaders for their dedication and positive impact on the campus and the students and alumni they serve.
Construction of the Rockefeller Arts Center (RAC) addition is continuing on schedule, and by next fall, you’ll be able to look in the windows and see students and faculty in the new dance, sculpture, ceramics, and acting studios, as well as the costume shop and other production areas. You’ll be able to come into a single, clear entrance to reach all venues in the RAC and Mason Hall, and a connector will allow indoor traffic for audiences and students with instruments. The “zippies,” as they were once called, will no longer have to load instruments into vans to be transported to the King Concert Hall stage! There are still opportunities to name spaces in this wonderful new space, and we hope you’ll consider being part of these successful programs.
The stories in this issue of The Statement show the talent and collaborative spirit of Fredonia students, faculty and alumni. If you followed CBS’ “Big Brother 17” or the news coming from the COP21 Conference in Paris, you saw Fredonians making us proud. The research of Fredonia faculty makes a difference in their fields, in public understanding, and even in policies that affect all of our lives. Fredonia students continue to develop leadership skills that lead to entrepreneurship, community engagement and effective understandings of the differences and similarities among people. Most of all, we see that faculty and staff are committed to student learning — in the classroom, in laboratories, in studios, in field placements, and in many internships and service learning opportunities each semester. Their dedication ensures that Fredonia graduates are ready for the first steps in their careers, and, as this issue shows, the first steps of those alumni lead to amazing journeys.
Dr. Virginia S. Horvath, President, Fredonia
Dr. Greg Gibbs, President, Fredonia Alumni Association
