Dear Colleagues,
I am delighted to write you this morning on my first official day as Chancellor of the State University of New York. Today and the days ahead will be filled with excitement – for me and hopefully for you as well – as we join together to make SUNY the best it can be and a model not only for the nation but for the world.
My eagerness to get started comes with tremendous optimism and also with a great sense of humility. During my career in public higher education as a faculty member, administrator and campus leader, I have been a SUNY watcher, fan, and admirer. But I am new to New York and to the SUNY system and hope all of you will share your insights, ideas, guidance, and feedback.
I will spend much of the next few months listening and learning as I tour all 64 campuses between now and Labor Day to meet with colleagues, constituencies and friends in all the communities that SUNY calls home. Rest assured this will be no passive exercise; it is a time of action as we lay the groundwork for a strategic plan that positions SUNY for the era to come.
Public higher education is endowed with a special mission founded on three building blocks – excellence, access, and value. Our mission leads us to great research, great teaching and great contributions to New York’s economy and quality of life.
I see SUNY as a system filled with wonderful opportunities – to grow and strengthen our academic programs and research, to be an economic engine for the whole state, and to be the best possible steward of our noble public mission as the largest comprehensive public higher education system in the world.
Yes, we face challenges. But those are challenges we can meet together by agreeing that each of us has a great contribution to make in moving SUNY forward. That means collaborating, working in partnership and sharing our best ideas in the knowledge that SUNY belongs to all of us.
I believe strongly in open, honest, two-way communications. I intend to keep you fully informed as our mutual goals and implementation strategies emerge. I hope you will share with me your thoughts on how we’re doing and your ideas for how we can do better.
All of this is part of a SUNY-wide strategic planning process that begins with these conversations and moves into full gear in September. This will be the most comprehensive and inclusive strategic planning process in the State University’s 60-year history.
This dialogue with the entire SUNY family starts today with a system-wide webcast at 11 am. Please join us. You can access the webcast by visiting www.suny.edu and clicking Chancellor Webcasts starting at 11 am. It will also be posted later today at suny.edu and on YouTube.
Again, let me simply say how honored I am to serve as the 12th Chancellor of SUNY and how eager I am to get to work with all of you.
Sincerely,
Nancy Zimpher
Chancellor, The State University of New York
06/01/2009 |