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  • May 9, 2011
  • Christine Davis Mantai

Memorandum

TO: Faculty and Staff

FROM: Dennis L. Hefner
President

SUBJECT: Upcoming Budget Meeting & Several Topics

DATE: Thursday, May 5, 2011

Four weeks ago, I promised to have a campus-wide budget meeting before the end of the semester to provide you with the latest budget information and to share some of the thinking about how we could and should address next year’s cuts. The budget meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 10 at 4:00 p.m. in Marvel Theatre.

The situation in Albany continues to be fluid, but rest assured that planning on this campus is geared toward achieving two priorities: ensuring students have access to necessary classes, and avoiding layoffs. Also, you can show your personal support for the 5-year SUNY tuition plan, recently introduced in both houses of the state legislature, by using your home computer (not a state computer, please) to log onto sunyadvocates and follow the directions--only a minute of your time! 

Below are a few non-budget, end-of-year items I want to share with you:

1. Yo-Yo Ma. In stunning fashion, Yo-Yo Ma general admission tickets, which were set at the highest price ever for an event held on campus, sold out in less than 6 ½ hours. This level of interest was beyond anything imagined. It will be exciting to have such a distinguished and accomplished musician on campus for nearly two full days in December, serving as a Williams Visiting Artist, working with our music students, and being the featured soloist with our College Symphony. Kudos to the School of Music for this significant accomplishment.

2. Chancellor’s Award for Excellence. Three members of the campus community were recently named recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence: Dr. Kathleen Gradel (Language, Learning & Leadership) for Teaching; Dr Stephen Kershnar (Philosophy) for Scholarship and Creative Activities; and Clifton Wheeler (University Police) for Classified Service.

3. Convocation. Just a reminder that the 2011-12 convocation keynote speaker is Karthik Bala, an entrepreneur who invented the “Guitar Hero” line of video games. He will be speaking on Thursday, September 15 in King Concert Hall at 3:00 p.m.

4. Construction. Two large construction projects begin this summer: (1) renovation of the William Center, which will result in the first and second floors being unavailable for 15 months—food court in lower area will be open during the next academic year, and (2) construction of the Science Center, which will alter driving patterns on campus for a two-year period. Your patience with any associated inconveniences is appreciated. Given the loss of the Houghton Hall parking lot, come fall you are encouraged to use the Park & Ride system whenever possible.

5. Professional Development Center. Recent personnel losses negatively impacted the PDC, but the Academic Affairs division is fully committed to continuing the Center’s programming through next year and beyond.

6. All-Campus Meeting. The Fall All-Campus meeting will be held on Friday, August 19 at 9:00 a.m. in Rosch Recital Hall.

7. All-Campus Party. The annual All-Campus party is scheduled for Friday, August 26 from 7:00-10:00 p.m. in the backyard of the President’s Residence.

As we prepare for graduation, I want to thank all of you for moving SUNY Fredonia forward this past year. It is heart-warming to know that so many worked so hard to ensure we achieve our enrollment target (which we have!), to see the results from more than 350 student/faculty collaborations on display at the recent Student Expo for Scholarship and Creative Activities, to know donations from our alumni and friends will push our $15 million “Doors to Success” fund-raising campaign to a successful completion months before the campaign’s official end, and to acknowledge the many individual and programmatic accomplishments of our faculty, staff, and departments.

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