October 20, 1993

WILLIAM C. MERWIN, PRESIDENT

INTRODUCTION

As we began the 1993-94 academic year, I had the pleasure of speaking to you on several occasions to welcome you and share our exciting plans for Potsdam College's future. On the most recent occasion, I was extremely proud and pleased to be able to see our Master Plan begin to take shape and become reality. A great deal of hard work has gone into this project, and I am grateful to all of you who contributed your extensive talents and expertise to this exciting effort, particularly Jack Riordan, who spearheaded the Master Plan development on campus. This Master Plan represents a tangible realization of the vision for Potsdam College for the next century. Exciting stuff indeed!

Because we had the opportunity to hear the Master Plan presentation by Ken Gifford, SUNY's campus master planner, I decided that I would save my State of the College Address and instead "deliver" it to you in printed form. This report reaffirms our goals and contains important information that we all need in order to meet those goals which we established together some four years ago as I began my presidency.

I would like to commend you for your wonderful enthusiasm, and the sense of pride that you take in your work and in our College. That pride is very evident to all of our new students and their parents, and to our new faculty and staff who have recently joined the Potsdam College family. I hope that you will keep that "opening day" enthusiasm throughout the year, and that you will continue to take great pride in what you do. Our students need - and deserve - our very best.

As I mentioned at the opening day breakfast on August 30, we are off to a reasonably good start this year in regard to our new student enrollment. All of you who helped in the recruiting effort should feel proud of your contributions. While I will discuss enrollment details later in this report, I want to make clear a very critical point: although it is possible that we may have met the enrollment goal thus far, we cannot become comfortable in that knowledge because we still face the serious challenge of maintaining our enrollment. We have no margin for error in our retention efforts this year!

The retention challenge belongs to each one of us. We are all responsible for keeping our students here - for taking care to notice, and for trying to help, those students who are having trouble. Last year, between semesters, we lost nearly 300 students who left not because they were being dismissed, but because we were unable to meet their academic, personal or financial needs. Granted, some of those students left because they were not doing well academically. However, if we do not improve our retention results, we will again have to pay very dearly; not only will we have to return funding to SUNY if we do not meet our goal (our enrollment is measured by averaging the number of FTEs enrolled both fall and spring semesters), but we will also pay the price of losing students who may express their dissatisfaction to others as well. We simply cannot afford either.

As you will see from the material in this report, much effort is being invested to meet the many challenges ahead of us. As always, I welcome your advice, and I applaud those of you who are working so hard to help our students succeed.

COLLEGE MISSION, PRIORITIES AND GOALS

I continue to believe firmly that a key to a successful enrollment program resides in the accomplishment of our major goals: Effective Management and Stewardship, Diversity, Student-Centeredness, Effective Teaching and Learning and Public Outreach. Although each is important to our success, I have chosen to address first those issues which are critical to our very existence: Effective Management and Stewardship through Enrollment Management, Budget, Information Management, Affirmative Action and Strategic Planning.

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND STEWARDSHIP

ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT

Potsdam College is not alone in its struggle to maintain sufficient enrollment - many colleges and universities throughout the nation are experiencing enrollment difficulties. In New York State, the size of high school graduation classes declined steadily between 1988 and 1992, an alarming drop of 13 percent over the past two years. Although 1994 classes show a slight increase, the picture remains grim: there are a lot fewer "college-age" students being sought after by a great many schools, creating a "buyer's market" for students seeking high quality education at minimal cost.

Last year, all of the arts and sciences colleges within SUNY experienced a decline in total applications from freshmen and transfer students. At Potsdam College, we saw a 13 percent decrease in new student applications. In the previous year, however, Potsdam's decline was much smaller: from 1991 to 1992, our loss was only 1.4 percent, while the decline at some other SUNY arts and sciences colleges was significantly larger during that same time period.

The enrollment target as established by SUNY was 1,101 new students this year - 785 freshmen and 316 transfers. We accepted 74 percent of our applicant pool, resulting in 650 freshmen and 391 transfers (a total of 1,041) being enrolled. Additionally, we have enrolled 143 undergraduate and 149 graduate non-matriculated students.

While Potsdam College increased its acceptance rate by 6 percent in the past year, we are by no means the only SUNY campus to do so. Potsdam College's increase was in the middle of the spectrum among the 13 SUNY arts and sciences colleges. The lowest increase in acceptance rates was +1.0 percent, while the highest increase was +13.0.

In terms of standards for acceptance, Potsdam College has not dramatically lowered its requirements for admission, as some had feared. SAT scores dropped only slightly. In 1992, the mean SAT score for entering freshmen was 983, while in 1993, it was 981 - a mere 2-point drop (the 2-point drop was in math scores). Potsdam College's entering freshmen GPA has remained a consistent standard criterion at 85.0 for the past three years.

Four-year colleges throughout the SUNY system are experiencing similar enrollment problems. More students are opting for two-year community colleges for financial reasons, choosing to stay close to home for their first two years of school before transferring to a four-year college to obtain their bachelor's degree.

Because this trend is likely to continue, we are currently developing and strengthening programs to accommodate this shift in student population. These programs include stronger articulation agreements with primary two-year college markets, evaluation of course availability, orientation and open house sessions focused on transfer students, faculty advising tailored to transfer needs, and re-evaluation of degree requirements as they apply to transfer credits.

Clearly, in order to be able to meet enrollment targets without losing selectivity, we are going to have to bolster our efforts to increase the number of applications to Potsdam College. Every department on campus must contribute to this goal if we are to thrive and prosper.

A number of initiatives are being developed that should help us become more competitive in the college marketplace. Our research indicates that the primary reason students choose not to attend Potsdam College, and the number one reason that enrolled students choose to leave the College, is that Potsdam does not have the program they wish to study. To address that shortfall, I have asked Provost Janet Dudley-Eshbach to make her first priority the development of new curricular offerings that reflect the demands of today's career-oriented students. These programs are primarily in the areas of human services, environmental studies, business and health sciences.

Specifically, in The School of Liberal Studies, we are developing a minor program in environmental studies, an effort spearheaded by Dr. Robert Badger of the Department of Geology. Another environment-related offering is a new interdisciplinary program on the theme of "The Adirondacks" which will allow up to 50 new students next year to study the environment from an art, literature, sociology and science perspective. The program is the result of a $109,539 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Dr. Dudley-Eshbach has also begun discussions with our faculty in the Department of Economics and with Canton College officials to examine the feasibility of a joint degree program in business. Another discussion in progress involves academic officials from SUNY-Oswego and Empire State College, who are willing to explore with us the possibility of offering a joint four-year degree program in the Watertown area in human services.

Other plans include offering several courses at the 100 level in the late June-July summer session to appeal to graduating high school seniors who may be college-bound. A marketing campaign to serve this group is being developed at this time.

In addition to offering programs related to student demand, we are also striving to become more competitive by offering more financial aid to prospective students. In order for us to be able to attract top-notch students, we must be able to offer them significant financial aid packages, closer to the level of assistance offered by our private competitors.

Currently, we are awarding more scholarships to our students than ever before. We have made progress in the past year - our alumni and friends gave Potsdam students an additional $49,000 for four-year scholarships. However, if we offer a student $1,000 each year for four years, the additional funding we raised last year would be enough for only about 12 more students. While we have made progress, I'm afraid those dollars aren't going very far. Thus, I have requested the volunteer board of the Potsdam College Foundation to focus their energies on providing more financial aid, with the goal of increasing the scholarship fund by $100,000 over the next four years.

Although the job of increasing the College's endowment for scholarships is primarily that of the College Advancement staff, with much support from the College Relations area, I am asking all of you to join in this most important team effort. Your contributions, both in terms of financial gifts and volunteer activities, are greatly appreciated, and they represent the sense of pride and confidence you have in Potsdam College.

Equally important are our actions in regard to retention, with several initiatives being developed to address the problem. A Student Satisfaction Survey will be given to any undergraduate requesting that a transcript be sent to another college. A similar version of the survey will be given to all sophomores and juniors to try to help dissatisfied students before they decide to leave Potsdam. Transfer students who entered the College as undeclared and have not yet declared a major will be invited to special career/major counseling sessions (undeclared transfers are a high-risk group), and Mary Lou Retelle will develop a cadre of professional staff to interview those students.

We are also in the process of revising the current early-warning system, which we believe may be an effective tool in retaining students. The revised plan would encourage students to seek frequent and prompt feedback so that they can get help in a timely manner.

BUDGET

While we hope the deep budget cuts of the past several years are behind us, we are still faced with a great many challenges in trying to maintain the quality of our programs within the limits of a state budget that is barely at the break even point.

Last year (1992-93), with our base budget at $23,121,800, we lost 33 FTE in Personal Service Regular, funding and another eight lines in temporary service and seven percent of the campus's Other Than Personal Service (OTPS) dollars. In addition, we had to cut overtime and holiday pay budgets and imposed delays in filling vacancies throughout the campus.

This year's budget (1993-94) allows us very little, if any, breathing room. The total budget for 1993-94 is $24,017,000, an increase of $895,200 over the 1992-93 total. Most of this increase, however, was used to cover negotiated salary increases totaling $1,029,500 and anticipated utility commitments. At the same time, Potsdam College's share of a SUNY-wide $11.8 million lump sum reduction meant that we lost $134,300 - a relatively small cut amounting to .6 percent of our total state appropriation. (Potsdam's cut was below the average charged to SUNY arts and science colleges. The cuts were calculated using SUNY's benchmark formulas, with totals ranging from 0 percent to 1.3 percent.) The campus OTPS contingency reserve was used to make up for the shortfall.

With careful management of resources, however, we were able to fund numerous requests for programs that were necessary to further the goals of the institution. For instance, we increased allocations for programs such as tutoring and Learning to Learn as well as for Admissions and Financial Aid. The careful fiscal management that made these allocations possible involved miscellaneous program changes, a sizable early retirement contingent, a reduction in the use of temporary service, and a conservative approach to spend end-of-year lapsing dollars.

This year's budget requires us to be thrifty, spend wisely and carefully, and recover savings at every opportunity. As we did last year, we plan to continue limiting holiday and overtime pay, maintain the hiring delay policy and carefully review promotion and leave requests.

We must also carefully manage our other essential operating units such as residence halls, health services, parking and miscellaneous IFR accounts which suffer when enrollment, and thus revenue, is low. These programs are also limited by increased expenses and caps on the amount we can charge for these services. And, we must make the best use of our other resources, particularly the gifts from alumni and friends, and we must increase our outreach to those who can provide essential private gifts to the College.

But being careful in our spending is only part of the challenge. We must still all work toward achieving our enrollment goals, and continue our advocacy efforts toward securing sufficient funding from the State of New York. This year is an election year, and we will be requesting significant increases in support from the Governor and the New York State Legislature. In an effort to guide this advocacy effort I will again constitute an Advocacy Advisory Committee composed of students, faculty, staff and community representatives. We will be asking each of you for letters of support to both the Executive Office and the Legislature.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Several significant achievements in the area of information management have resulted in more efficient and effective ways to serve our students, faculty and staff. Perhaps the most important accomplishment in this area is the conversion and transition to the integrated campus software system, BANNER. All departments are now using the same data base, which means that the same information is being used by everyone on campus.

For example, the academic history of every student is now on the new BANNER system so that faculty can now advise students more effectively by means of their own computer. Plans are also being made to complete the degree audit module, which will allow faculty to know instantly what courses a student needs in order to complete degree requirements in a timely fashion. A survey of faculty who used BANNER to register new students at summer orientation showed a very high level of satisfaction with the process.

BANNER is also being used by Admissions, Financial Aid, Bursar, Registrar, Health Services, Academic Services, Residence Life, EOP, College Relations, College Advancement/Alumni Relations and Graduate and Continuing Education to manage their information more effectively.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Dr. Laura Skandera-Trombley, chair of the Affirmative Action Committee, and Diana Budhai, our affirmative action officer, are working closely with the other committee members to address several issues of concern to faculty, staff and students. One such issue is that of sexual harassment.

It is my goal to ensure that all members of the Potsdam College community fully understand that sexual harassment is against the law, and it will not be tolerated on our campus. I believe that education is the first, most important step toward understanding and ultimately solving this problem.

To that end, the Affirmative Action Committee has turned this important event over to the Diversity Training and Programming Committee, which has named November 16 as Sexual Harassment Awareness Day. The committee is planning programs designed to encourage us to examine our cultural messages about sexuality and the status of women. The goal is to promote open discussion about what constitutes sexual harassment, and about what we can do to change those attitudes we have that jeopardize our ability to work and learn together in a non-threatening environment. If we do not respect and appreciate each others' talents and abilities, then the actions of the courts alone, or more restrictions on our conduct, will make little difference.

I urge all of you to participate in this most important program.

Other numerous equity issues will be addressed by the Affirmative Action Committee and the Assistant Vice President for Diversity, Diana Budhai. Additionally, a salary equity study will be run under the direction of Kathy Perry, Director of the Office of Human Resources Development.

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Very positive steps were taken last year to improve and update the College's strategic planning process. The Goals and Planning Committee of the Faculty Assembly and the President's Planning Committee were merged into a single entity and made a permanent committee of the Assembly. The new College Planning Committee, composed of faculty, staff and students, was charged with coordinating the preparation of a three- to five-year Strategic Plan for the College.

Over the past year, the Planning Committee met regularly to evaluate key planning documents, institutional research data, college self-study reports and SUNY Central guidelines, including the SUNY 2000 plan. The Committee also conducted numerous campus surveys, led focus group analyses and reviewed other College committee reports. Their objective was to prepare a draft of a new Strategic Plan, which will be distributed to the campus for review and comment later in this academic year.

They will utilize this information to prepare a new Strategic Plan, one that will serve as the foundation of the College's request to SUNY for funding for new programs and initiatives that advance the SUNY 2000 goals and enhance the future of the College.

DIVERSITY

Potsdam College continues to strive for diversity in our student population as well as in our hiring and promotion practices.

The goal of creating a diverse campus that welcomes and celebrates people of a multitude of cultural backgrounds belongs to everyone at Potsdam College. In fact, members of the campus community now serve on a number of new diversity committees and are working to develop plans to further the College's efforts in this area.

Many of these efforts are coordinated by the Office of Diversity and include an increasing number of events and long-term programming: concerts, exhibits, lectures, curriculum, student organizations, support groups, social gatherings, panel discussions and staff development programs.

Potsdam College continues to lead the Northern Consortium of Native Americans in New York State, with 11 colleges convening here twice each year to address issues of concern to Native Americans in the area. Other programs include a Native American Advisory Council of chiefs, educators and parents, and a series of extension courses taught at the Salmon River Central School to serve the district's teachers and the people of the Akwesasne Reservation.

Also, we continue to make strides toward diversifying the curriculum. Last year marked the first time that the Mohawk language was taught on campus, and plans are being formulated to reinstate the Native American Studies minor. We are also expanding program initiatives in the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), the Potsdam Akwesasne Talent Search (PATS) and Project Future. We continue to coordinate internships and learning experiences for our C-STEP (Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program) that has tripled in size. Our EOP program continues to be one of the most successful in the state in terms of the percentage of students who are still attending college after eight semesters.

In the School of Liberal Studies, new courses dealing with diversity issues were offered, including Women in Native American Culture, Anthropology of Gender, Native American Religions and The Image of Woman in French Cinema.

Diversity in our student population continues to involve not only recruiting efforts but retention as well. Without the presence and strong support of multicultural students as well as faculty and staff, we will not be successful in attracting - and keeping - students or staff members of diverse backgrounds.

Our current student profile indicates that 5.4 percent, or 240 of our students, have identified themselves as being of a multicultural background. (These backgrounds include Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American and Non-resident alien.) Five years ago, the percentage of minority students at Potsdam College was 3.5 percent.

Our staffing profile continues to improve in the area of diversity. In the past five years, the number of multicultural teaching faculty has increased from 12 in 1988 to 25 in 1993. In all staffing categories, the number of multicultural employees increased from 3 percent in 1988 to 5.4 percent in 1993. And, as of July 1, 1993, six out of the 28 new full-time faculty and professional staff are people of multicultural background (four of them are male and two are female).

The Office of College Advancement has also devoted considerable support to diversity programs at the College. One such program was "Onkwehonwe: Native American Educational Opportunities," which brought 300 Native American high school students to campus, representing all eight nations in New York State. College Advancement secured gifts totaling $3,600 from Kodak and various businesses on the Akwesasne-Mohawk Reservation. Another gift in the sum of $7,000 was received from ALCOA Foundation to support a Native American concert called "Circle of Faith" to be presented at Potsdam College in April.

EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING

Excellence in teaching has always been central to the mission of Potsdam College, dating back 177 years to the founding of the St. Lawrence Academy. Our teacher-scholars are exceptional because they believe in getting involved in their students' learning. They believe that to build a true learning community, they must themselves be scholars as well, continuing to learn and develop their talents as teachers. Teaching and scholarship must continue to be integrated in principle and practice. The accountability demands of modern society preclude the luxury of an either-or environment. Teaching, learning and scholarship continue to be campus-wide priorities. Under the leadership of our new Provost, Dr. Janet Dudley-Eshbach, I am confident that our commitment to excellence in teaching, learning and scholarship will become even stronger.

The General Education Committee, under the direction of Professor John Omohundro, is seeking faculty opinion regarding refinements to the existing program. The reform of the General Education Program is an ongoing effort. Its goal is not only to reflect what our faculty think the Potsdam College graduate should know, but to prepare our students for their futures in a rapidly changing world. Another General Education Committee initiative is a series of question-and-answer articles in the Racquette called "Dear Gen Ed" in which students' questions about the program are answered in a humorous but helpful manner.

The Crane School of Music has initiated several new programs this year, one of which is an exchange program with The St. Lucia School of Music in the West Indies between a Crane student and faculty string quartet and the music lab ensemble at St. Lucia. Other exchange programs continue with Southwest Texas State University, Birmingham University in England, Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia and the University of Potsdam, Germany.

Students and faculty will also have the opportunity to learn from several eminent artists this year such as Margaret Hillis, conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, as well as a host of outstanding performers as part of the Community Performance Series.

Students in the School of Liberal Studies continued to be involved in scholarly research. Student papers were presented at the Geological Society of America Meeting and the Northeastern Anthropological Association Annual Meetings. Students also attended conferences such as the North American Symposium on Bat Research, the Undergraduate Chemistry Research Symposium and the meeting of the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies.

The School of Professional Studies faces a great many challenges - as well as opportunities - this year, which is, unfortunately, the last for the Campus Learning Center. For more than 100 years, the Campus School has been an integral part not only of our teacher education program but of the entire community. Although this is a sad occasion for us, it also marks a new beginning, and an opportunity to develop new programs to facilitate the change from a campus-focused teacher preparation program to one that is field-based.

To effect that change, the Teacher Education Department is reorganizing the curriculum to provide larger blocks of time for students to be able to travel to public school sites for observation and participation. Also, the faculty will work with public schools to develop sites that provide model experiences for students in elementary, secondary and special education.

The School is also working on other initiatives: establishing a teaching materials center, improving and increasing the College's program offerings throughout the North Country, and developing a more multicultural and global curriculum in cooperation with the School of Liberal Studies.

The Academic Services area continues to be a vital part of our efforts to help students succeed in their coursework. We have expanded our offerings of Learning to Learn to be able to accommodate all freshmen and transfers who wish to take the course. This semester more than 350 students are registered for the course. The results of this program have been remarkable: the average increase in grade point average for continuing students was .8 - from a 1.85 to 2.66 - for the semester they are enrolled in the program.

Academic Services also helps students through its Tutoring Center. Last year over 1,000 tutoring assignments were made through its Learning Skills Centers in the residence halls.

Through recent innovations in technology, Potsdam College faculty now have the opportunity to teach using state-of-the-art computer equipment. In Kellas Hall, for instance, an instructor's station has been built, allowing integration of voice, data and video to enhance instruction. Faculty in the School of Professional Studies also have use of a multi-media lab, while the Economics Department has received funding from the NSF to establish a new DOS/Windows lab.

The College Advancement staff has increased efforts toward supporting effective teaching and learning. Last year, College Advancement completed a very successful Annual Fund program, receiving nearly $290,000 from alumni and friends to help us meet our academic goals. In addition, we reached our $840,000 goal for the National Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Development Fund in support of humanities education at Potsdam College. This year we will continue to focus on obtaining such gifts, which are so critical to the continuation of our quality academic programs.

STUDENT-CENTERED CAMPUS

Never has the goal of a student-centered campus been more important than it is today. Simply stated, being student-centered means recognizing, respecting and accepting our students. It means offering each of them, regardless of their circumstance, the chance to grow and seek their fullest potential. It means that we respect and care for individuals with dignity and sensitivity, and we strive to serve anyone who requests our help.

Again, it is everyone's duty to serve students well, regardless of the nature of our work. I have said many times, and will continue to do so, that students are the reason for our existence.

Leading the efforts to provide a safe and welcoming environment for our students is the Division of Student Life, formerly named Student Affairs. Along with the division's name change has come a renewed commitment to better understanding and serving our students.

One of the changes this year is the creation of the Office of Student Life, with Chip Morris as director. One of Chip's primary responsibilities is to help foster pride in Potsdam College, which our students feel has been missing as of late. To that end, a group of staff and students is organizing our first Homecoming Weekend, scheduled for November 12 and 13. The weekend is designed to involve current students, and to attract recent alumni back to campus to visit friends and rekindle their pride in Potsdam College.

Another significant initiative toward a more student-centered campus involves the cooperative efforts of our Public Safety Department, the student escort service CEASE and the campus EMS program. The student leadership of these two organizations is very strong, and they are already working very hard to increase their level of service to the campus

community.

In the areas of residence life, student development, counseling, health services and student activities, we continue to develop new programs to help students deal with a myriad of issues they face, from health and safety concerns to relationships, from developing study skills to organizing a successful event. Our First Year Experience students in Draime Hall are fortunate to have Professor Rick Bunting from The Crane School of Music as the faculty-in-residence. He has already made a positive difference in the lives of the young students who live there.

Many other areas on campus are also committed to student-centeredness. One of our emerging success stories is in the Registrar's area, which has reorganized its services to better accommodate students' needs. The report card is a good one: student surveys indicate that they are much more satisfied with that area's service than in the past.

Service to students is also a primary objective of the Information Services area, including computing, telecommunications and the library. Specifically, each residence hall is now equipped with a telephone set wired to the College's new digital PBX, enabling students to call anywhere on campus at no charge. They may also subscribe to telephone service that provides capabilities for voice mail, a feature that students find is extremely helpful in communicating with faculty and staff outside of the classroom. While many of the technical "bugs" are still being worked out on campus, our new phone service, which is the first program to offer service to the College at no cost, is being emulated by other SUNY schools and others as well.

Potsdam College is making strides in the area of library technology, most notably with the new on-line catalog dubbed "BearCat." This new service will allow users to access Potsdam's catalog by computer, and, through SUNYNet, they can also access the catalogs at Canton College of Technology, Jefferson Community College, Morrisville College of Agriculture and Technology, and Schenectady County Community College.

Students are also being served well through Distributed Computing. Through a series of workshops and expert technical assistance, students are learning how to take advantage of the multitude of computer services available to them, both locally and through the Internet, such as the campus network public server, electronic mail and electronic news services.

PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

Potsdam College's Rural Services Institute is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for the people of the North Country. Established on campus in 1990, the institute seeks to develop partnerships between the College and the community, providing services such as technical assistance, training, seminars and conferences, student internships and funding for faculty research on North Country issues.

The outreach activities of the RSI are well-integrated into the College's primary mission of teaching and learning. One such activity is the newly established internship program, which pairs Potsdam College students with agencies in the community in need of assistance. During the first year of the program, computer science majors assisted several nonprofit organizations, while an economics major worked with the Massena Economic Development Corporation.

Other partnerships that benefit both College and community include the Potsdam College Faculty Research Program, which provides financial support to individuals who are studying issues of concern to North Country residents. The program is coordinated by the RSI and the Office of Faculty Scholarship and Grants. The RSI has also established the A.C. Walker Foundation North Country Research Fellowship, open to teaching faculty from all colleges and universities located in the North Country.

The RSI has also been extensively involved in bringing people together to study the issues of health care in the North Country, local government challenges in "tough times," the "ABCs of First-Time Home Buying," funded by the St. Lawrence County Bankers Association, and "The Basics of Grant Writing."

Recently, the RSI has been recognized for its exemplary work in providing training and resources in the area of social services. The RSI receives funding from the New York State Department of Social Services to provide training to over 300 social services staff members from six counties in northern New York. A proposal is also being developed to establish a regional satellite office of the DSS at Potsdam College.

In addition to the RSI, the Office of Graduate and Continuing Education, under the direction of Connie Zelinski, continues its primary mission of outreach and public service. In addition to serving nearly 600 graduate students each semester, new initiatives for undergraduates have begun in the Watertown area. A computer and information sciences course, requested by education officials at Fort Drum, is being offered this fall on the Base. Also being offered is an upper division economics course in collaboration with SUNY Oswego's Outreach bachelor of science in business degree program. And, to serve Jefferson Community College students who transfer to Potsdam College, a drug studies course is being taught on a regular basis on the JCC campus.

These efforts reflect Potsdam College's continuing presence in the Fort Drum Educational Services Consortium, a group of six SUNY colleges serving the military. Plans for the future include a joint bachelor's degree offered by Potsdam, Oswego and Empire State.

Additionally, graduate students from the Akwesasne and Fort Covington areas are taking advantage of two courses offered at the Salmon River Central School. Continuing initiatives include a three-year plan to serve students from the Akwesasne-Mohawk Reservation.

Also, a graduate course planned for spring 1994 will use interactive television to serve students at three sites: Edwards-Knox, Gouverneur and Canton. A professor from the Teacher Education Department will lecture from the studio at Canton BOCES, and students at the other two sites will be able to interact with the professor over the television/fiber optics system. This is the first step toward providing distance learning to serve residents in rural areas throughout the state.

The New York State Sociological Association held its annual meeting at Potsdam College and attracted over 100 participants from around the country. As well, the North Country School Study Council is planning at least ten professional development workshops and seminars for teachers and administrators in Northern New York. Many of the programs will focus on the New Compact for Learning.

I urge every member of the Potsdam College family to get involved in at least one outreach project. To improve the quality of life in the North Country is a responsibility taken seriously at this "University of the North Country."

CONCLUDING REMARKS

In closing, I would like to present to you a "Vision of Potsdam College - 2000," a vision that I believe we all share, and one which will indeed become reality if we hold true to our mission of teaching, scholarship and service:

As we prepare to enter the twenty-first century, I envision a Potsdam College that is a diverse, thriving, vital force, enriching the lives of thousands of citizens in New York State. The institution is selective yet accessible to scholars of all ages and diverse backgrounds, welcoming all who seek to better themselves through higher education. Known for its inviting and friendly campus, Potsdam College is referred to as the university for public outreach to the North Country, offering a wealth of career-oriented programs on both the undergraduate and graduate level. Potsdam College is also an important cultural center, well known for its advancement of the humanities and the fine and performing arts. The College continues to build on its rich heritage of nearly two centuries, remaining secure in its liberal arts and science foundation with strong specialties in music and teacher education. As in the past, Potsdam College will continue to adapt to societal changes - demographic, economic and technological - and to be recognized for its innovation and effectiveness in teaching, scholarship and public service. Teaching and scholarship continue to be integrated in principle and practice. Regardless of their field of study, Potsdam College students are more than simply "computer literate" - they understand and apply the technology of their academic discipline and, with their broad based education in the liberal arts, possess the knowledge and skills that will continue to be essential in this rapidly changing world. Above all, the College places its students first, taking care to guide them well as they strive to reach their full potential in life. Potsdam College is well prepared to enter the twenty-first century, steadfast in its mission to foster knowledge, civility and human potential.

Let us then build upon our strengths, using all of our talents and abilities to ensure that Potsdam College will remain strong. At the same time, let us also honestly evaluate our shortcomings as well, and enact change where it is needed. We do have the ability to face all of the challenges ahead of us, and I know that you will continue to see those challenges not as insurmountable obstacles, but rather as an opportunity to make Potsdam College even stronger.

I thank you for all that you give to make Potsdam College the special place that it is. I appreciate your efforts in governance, planning, recruitment and retention, assistance in fund raising and advocacy on our behalf. All of these efforts do make a very positive difference to our students and others we serve.

Thank you very much.