College President Steven Poskanzer will deliver the State of the College address to academic and professional faculty at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, in Lecture Center 102.
In addition to outlining the college’s major accomplishments over the past year and discussing plans for the future at the first Academic and Profession Faculty Meeting of the year, Poskanzer will review the college’s eight major goals:
• Continue to raise the academic quality and selectivity of New Paltz students;
• Hire and retain faculty serious about their scholarship and teaching;
• Teach a curriculum that prepares students for their careers and lives;
• Link student intellectual growth with faculty scholarship;
• Residential character must reinforce educational goals;
• Meeting students needs;
• Address regional economic and schooling needs;
• Be a cultural and intellectual hub for the mid-Hudson region.
New academic and professional faculty members hired over the last year will be formally introduced following the presentation. A reception in the Lecture Center lobby will follow.
Classified Staff presentation
On Friday, Oct. 9, at 1:30 p.m., the president will also share the State of the College with members of the Classified Staff in Lecture Center 102.
New Classified Staff members who have joined the campus community during the past 12 months will be introduced at the meeting, as well. A reception will be held in the Lecture Center lobby following the president’s presentation.
Scene from New York premiere of documentary film “This Land May Be Profitable to Those That Will Adventure It” on Sept. 9. Photo submitted
The New York City premiere of the documentary film “This Land May Be Profitable to Those That Will Adventure It” on Sept. 9 celebrated the collaborative efforts of students and faculty from New Paltz and the University of Noord Holland.
“I am thrilled with the final project. It holds a lot of cultural significance for both institutions from Holland and New York State,” said Gregory Bray (Communication and Media), faculty adviser to the project. “The SUNY students were true ambassadors for the college.”
With support from Bruce Sillner, dean of the Center for International Programs, the collaboration was established as a part of the celebration of the Hudson River Quadricentennial. The project resulted in three live, interactive Web programs; a Web video report on the event PICNIC New York, which celebrates Dutch enterprises in the United States; and the longer-form documentary.
“The experience made us bond together and after the first project things went along swimmingly,” said Dan Barry ’10 (Communication and Media).
Bray said that the new era of media includes creating content streamed to the web and having an understanding of international connections.
Students learned from hands-on experiences and were encouraged to experiment. “You just have to be willing to give it a go and fail,” said Bray. “When things went wrong, we laughed and then figured it out.”
Jaimie Pattipeilohy, an international exchange student from Haarlem, Netherlands, attended the premiere of the film, which was held on the rooftop terrace of Rievtvel Architects in the Film Center Building, on 46th Street and 9th Avenue, New York.
“The opportunities that projects like these open up to students and faculties alike in both nations are awesome,” said Pattiepeilohy. “And the people that you meet are energetic, creative, and like-minded. It is a really positive thing to be involved in.”
Other New Paltz Communication and Media students involved in the project were:
• Jarred Thomas ’09
• Mellisa Misner ’10
• Emily Myett ’10
• Adam Schwartz ’10
• Cat Tosiello ’10
• Tina Warren ’10
Daniel Butler ’10g (English), ’08 (Communication and Media) and Joseph Vlachos (Communication and Media) also worked on the project.
The Art and the River project is the museum’s contribution to the Hudson River Quadricentennial taking place this year.
An opening reception will be held for “The Hudson River” and “Inscription” from 4 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19.
“The artists behind ‘The Hudson River’ and ‘Inscription’ invested a great deal of time exploring the region in order to create their beautiful and haunting images,” said Sara Pasti, the Neil C. Trager Director of the museum.
Untitled 2004, (still image from video), by Philippine Hoegen and Carolien Stikker
“The Hudson River: A Great American Treasure” is the second Art and the River project show by Orange County, N.Y.-based photographer Greg Miller. The newest exhibition presents 20 recent color photographs of Hudson Valley landscapes by Miller, whose panoramic photograph of the Hudson River is on display at the museum through Dec. 13. The photographs in “The Hudson River” depict views of the river and its valleys from New York City’s George Washington Bridge to the river’s small upstate tributaries.
For “Inscription,” the Dorsky Museum commissioned Amsterdam artists Philippine Hoegen and Carolien Stikker to produce a short film about the river. The artists, who work together and maintain solo careers, visited the campus in May and June of 2009 to explore the Hudson River and its tributaries. During that time, they made film, videotape and digital audio recordings under the working title “Riverbank.”
There are four works in the exhibition: a video projection, “Crossing;” a slide and video projection installation, “Smoke no smoke;” and hybrid photographic videos, both untitled. In addition, a book, titled “Superstructure,” will be published by the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art and SUNY Press to coincide with the exhibition.
The college will host an international symposium in late September focused on the history of the Hudson River Valley’s settlement and how the subject is presented in the classroom.
“Henry Hudson, New Netherland and Atlantic History” is sponsored by the college’s Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach and takes place Sept. 25-26 in Lecture Center 100. The event is open to the public and members of the campus community.
The symposium will be led by L.H. Roper (History) and Dennis Maika, a professional historian and teacher at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, N.Y.
“It will be a unique opportunity for teachers and anyone interested in the voyages of Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain and the history of the European colonization of our region to interact with leading historians for an exciting, intensive discussion of early 17th-century North America,” said Roper.
The majority of the day’s events will be devoted to the settlement of the region. Top scholars from the Netherlands, Germany and France will be among the speakers. At the end of each day, Maika will lead a discussion about how these issues are taught in the schools.
The keynote speakers for the event will be Tim Shannon of Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, who is an expert in Colonial New York and will be speaking at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, and Charles Gehring of the New Netherland Project in Albany, who will speak at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Roper said the dialogue started at the symposium will be continued after the event through the program’s Web page and social media presence.
Registration is encouraged. For more information, visit the Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach’s Web site or call x2901.
The new faculty members arrived on campus on Aug. 19 for an orientation session held at the College Terrace. The new group includes (from left to right): Mona Ali (Economics), Roberto Velez-Velez (Sociology), Amy Forestell (Physics), Jennifer Woodin (Art), Montserrat Gimeno (Music), Navin Viswanathan (Psychology), David Richardson (Biology), Kathleen Lord (Elementary Education), Edith Kuiper (Economics), Alexis Chestnut-Andrews (Elementary Education), Daniel Labbato (Communication and Media) and Jessica Poser (Art). Missing from the photo is Mary Ellen Bafumo (Elementary Education) and Linda Scheetz (Nursing).
There will be more than 1,800 new faces on campus when the 2009-2010 semester begins next week.
On Aug. 20, first-year students living on campus moved into the college’s 14 residence halls. Transfer and returning students arrive on campus over the weekend before classes start on Monday, Aug. 24.
The Class of 2013 is comprised of 1,100 first-year students selected from a record-breaking applicant pool of 15,426. They will be joined by 675 transfer students.
David Eaton, vice president for enrollment management, said the college continues to draw a large number of the very best applicants. This fall, the college accepted only 34 percent of its freshman applicants and 36 percent of its transfer applicants.
In addition, Eaton said that the quality of the students the college attracts continues to rise. One hundred percent of the accepted first-year students come from the top two of five State University of New York quality groups.
Offices related to student services have extended their hours and will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Aug. 20 to 27. They include the ID/Meal Plan Office, Financial Aid, Parking, Records and Registration and Telecommunications.
The campus also welcomed 14 faculty members to the community at an Aug. 19 orientation. The new cohort, which includes full- and part-time professors from eight disciplines, is made up of the following:
Mona Ali (Economics)
Mary Ellen Bafumo (Elementary Education)
Alexis Chestnut-Andrews (Elementary Education)
Amy Forestell (Physics)
Montserrat Gimeno (Music)
Edith Kuiper (Economics)
Daniel Labbato (Communication and Media)
Kathleen Lord (Elementary Education)
Jessica Poser (Art)
David Richardson (Biology)
Linda Scheetz (Nursing)
Roberto Velez-Velez (Sociology)
Navin Viswanathan (Psychology)
Jennifer Woodin (Art)
With the new students and faculty on campus, the college will officially kick off the new academic year with Fall Convocation, which takes place at noon on Friday, Aug. 21, in the Athletic and Wellness Center.
The campus community will mark the start of the academic year with its 23rd annual Fall Convocation ceremony.
This year’s event takes place at noon on Friday, Aug. 21, in the Athletic and Wellness Center.
President Steven Poskanzer will open the ceremony. The program features remarks from Provost Donald Christian, the college’s new academic leader. He will be speaking to the new students about what matters in a college education.
Faculty members also play a prominent role in the first official event of the academic year. More than 40 professors and instructors from across the disciplines are encouraged to join the event’s procession in full academic regalia. Kris Backhaus (Business) is the keynote speaker.
“I think it is one of the most important events that I have been involved with,” she said. “It is a great honor and responsibility to be asked to address students on their first day at New Paltz.”
In her speech, titled “Here and Now,” Backhaus said she aims to make the students feel welcome and excited about their new school. She will also encourage them to get involved on campus right from the start.
“The more they engage in their community, the better they will like college,” she said.
Returning students Melissa Pelino ’10 (Music) and Emily Murphy ’10 (Music) will perform the National Anthem and the college’s alma mater.
The formal ceremony is followed by an all-campus picnic on the lawn outside of the Athletic and Wellness Center.
The view from the lower level of the Student Union. Haggerty Administation Building is in the background.
Over the summer, the Facilities Design and Construction staff worked on more than $30 million worth of projects all across campus.
“I am very pleased with the exceptional effort our staff put forth completing an extraordinary amount of projects this summer under very tight time constraints,” said John Shupe, assistant vice president for facilities management.
Highlights of the construction taking place include:
New dining destinations
Oscar’s, the late-night eatery in Hasbrouck Dining Hall, will reopen this fall as the Hawk Street Station, a subway-inspired eatery featuring items, such as burgers, wings and pasta entrees. The shop will also sell convenience items, such as cereal, chips and ramen noodles. The Watch Me DVD store has been converted to a sandwich outlet, The S Stop.
Smolen Observatory constructed on campus
Construction of a 320-square-foot observatory, located near the Alumni Soccer Field, will be complete in September. Built as a bequest from Muriel Smolen, in honor of her husband, Jack Smolen, the Smolen Observatory is a sturdy shed with a slide-off roof. Inside will be a telescope permanently mounted on a pedestal. Additional telescopes can be stored, and used on specially built stands outside the structure. A wireless data-link will eventually allow for automated data collection from other instruments. When not used for classes, the observatory will be available to the public.
High-temperature, hot water nears completion
The work on the third phase of the high-temperature, hot-water replacement project will continue into the fall. Phase III, which began earlier this summer, stretches from Scudder Hall to Bouton Hall, as well as between the Humanities Building and the Jacobson Faculty Tower. When it is complete, more than two miles of pipe will have been installed during the three-year, three-phase project.
Residence halls renovations
A number of improvements to the residence halls have been made this summer including renovation of the interiors of College, Shango, Bouton and Scudder halls; installation of the sprinkler system in Gage Hall; replacement of roofs on College and Shango halls, Hasbrouck Dining Hall and the Service Building; replacement of the windows and curtain walls in Gage Hall; and replacement of oven hoods in the kitchenettes.
Walkways and pavement improvements
Upgrades are being made to the campus’s pavements and walkways around the Campus Pond, south of the Student Union, as well as near Bouton Hall and the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.
Student Union status
The Student Union addition is moving ahead. The steel frame of the new section began going up the first week of August and should take five weeks. The next phase is laying down flooring and enclosing the building’s frame. Project completion is scheduled for mid-2010.
Old Main renovation continues
The renovation of the Old Main Building continues. Walls are being constructed throughout the building and then utilities and services, including wiring, plumbing and telecommunication, will be installed. The building is scheduled to reopen in fall 2011.
Humanities smart classrooms
Nine smart classrooms are being installed on the third floor of the Humanities Building in conjunction with the Instructional Media Services staff. The Humanities Building is now, with the exception of two rooms, completely outfitted with technology-enhanced classrooms. Each new room will feature a computer with network connection, ceiling-mounted data projector and speakers, power screen, document camera, laptop connection, Crestron push button control panel and larger whiteboards.
Looking ahead, there are a number of projects heading into the design phase, most notably are the first two phases of the campus’s Site and Landscape Master Plan.
Facilities Master Plan
Proposed in 2008, the Site and Landscape Master Plan is a comprehensive, 15-year design outline, divided into three parts. Phases I and II include the creation of Mohonk Walk; a redesign of the Academic Concourse; extension of the Route 32 parking lot; renovation of the Hasbrouck Complex landscape; and improvements to the Campus Pond. Shupe said work on the Academic Concourse and Hasbrouck Complex could begin as soon as next summer.
Wooster Science Building renovation
Key elements to the Wooster Science Building renovation involve a programmatic needs assessment to the entire facility, which, in part, includes absorbing offices from the Faculty Office Building as recommended by the Landscape Master Plan. There are also plans to put a food court and dining hall on the ground floor of the building. The renovation committee is in the process of selecting an architectural project consultant.
Sojourner Truth Library renovation
The goal is to restructure, reorganize and renovate the current Sojourner Truth Library building in order to meet the campus’ current and future needs. A site visit and walk through took place in late July with the top five architectural firms. The design phase will take place once an architectural firm is selected.
Congressman Maurice Hinchey '68, '70g at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art on Aug. 13 for a reception recognizing his contributions to the college's "Hudson River to Niagara Falls" show.
Congressman Maurice Hinchey ’68, ’70g (D-NY) was the guest of honor at an Aug. 13 reception at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.
Hinchey was recognized for his contributions to the museum’s “Hudson River to Niagara Falls: 19th-century American Landscape Paintings from the New-York Historical Society” exhibition, which is on display through Dec. 13.
The congressman and New Paltz alumnus secured $143,449 in federal funding to support the exhibition, which is the college’s contribution to the Hudson River Quadricentennial taking place through the region this year. The 45 paintings come from the New-York Historical Society’s permanent collection. The funds were also used to conserve four paintings in the show.
In attendance were College President Steven Poskanzer, the Neil C. Trager Director of the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art Sara Pasti, and chair of the SUNY New Paltz Foundation, Noah Dorsky, as well as other campus and local officials.
Provost Donald Christian (right), seen here with his wife, Sandy, is speaking to Robert Michael, dean of the School of Education, at the faculty/staff barbecue on May 19.
Provost Donald Christian began his work at the college on Aug. 1.
Christian said, “After many months of transition, I am excited to be on campus, beginning my work as Provost and learning all the things I need to help make a great college be even better. I look forward to meeting and working with faculty, staff, and students here, and hope that people will introduce themselves to me as we cross paths on campus or in town in the coming months.”
As provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, he is the chief academic office of the college overseeing five instructional divisions and six departments.
A full interview with Christian will appear in the Aug. 17 issue of News Pulse.
“I am excited to come into work every day and seeing what the day brings,” she said, sitting in her office in College Theater.
Her July 1 arrival on campus coincided with a number of fine and performing art events on campus, including the opening of the “Hudson River to Niagara Falls: 19th-Century American Landscape Paintings from the New-York Historical Society” exhibition at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art and the PianoSummer festival.
“It’s been a great introduction once again to the wonderful programs we’re organizing here,” she said.
Prior to her appointment as dean, Hafeli was director of the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at the Maryland Institute College of Art from 2007 to 2009. She was also a professor in the department from 2005 to 2009. At New Paltz, she was director of the Art Education Program from 1999 to 2003 and associate dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts from 2003 to 2005.
“There is no question that what I was coming into was something I already knew was of high quality and I had already been accustomed to,” she said.
Her return to the college has involved working with departing Provost David Lavallee, who Hafeli worked with during her first tenure at the college. She considers him a mentor. She is looking forward to working with incoming provost Donald Christian (who arrived on campus this week). She is also meeting with her fellow deans individually. Most of all she is looking forward to “seeing the campus full of students.”
One major change she noticed about the college upon her return was the public recognition the college has received over the past couple of years. “We all knew about the great things that were taking place on campus, but now everyone knows it,” she said.
