A Message from the President

Dear Colleagues, 

March has arrived and the sun is (finally) shining. I have loved the opportunity to get out and play in the snow, including going on my first East Coast ski adventure at Gore Mountain in North Creek, NY a couple weekends ago. I just love the mountains and feel thankful to have the Adirondacks nearby.  

I am excited for our upcoming All College gathering. The agenda is packed: we will be changing our institutional name to Empire State University, launching our strategic planning framework, and celebrating our new chapter together. Kelly Corrigan is speaking on March 22, and on March 23 we will hold the inauguration ceremony followed by festivities (complete with a Latin jazz quartet and a DJ). Don’t forget your dancing shoes! 

For the institutional name change, please be sure to read our FAQs, and to refer students to the site. We have watched other colleges make the shift, so we have some idea about what questions to anticipate. If you have other ideas about what we should be posting, please let us know.

Also, every spring we take the opportunity to remind everybody at the college of the important role we play as stewards of public resources. To that end, later this week I will send a message about internal controls and how we can ensure that we are working together to steward our resources appropriately.

I want to end with a message of heartfelt gratitude for everyone at SUNY Empire. The work we do in service to our students every day is helping to shape a more inclusive society in New York and beyond. Thank you for your deep commitment to quality, access, and transformative impact.  

Warmly, 

Lisa Vollendorf 

President