The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/377200
A12 the college guide 2014 You may think you know all about what's going on at local campuses. But how much do you really know? From the President: This is an exciting year for SUNY Oneonta. We are celebrating our 125th anniversary with a series of activities. The kickoff event is on Sept. 5 — known as "Red Day" — where students wear red and eat birthday cake in commemoration of the founding of the college. If you are free around lunch hour on the 5th, stop by the quad and join in the fun. On Oct. 29, we will welcome Marjane Satrapi, author of "Persepolis," the book about her childhood in Iran that our first-year students are reading as this year's com- mon read. Ms. Satrapi will deliver the endowed Mills Distinguished Lecture, which is free and open to the public. Then on Nov. 6, John Cronin, CEO of Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuar- ies, will be the guest speaker for the Cornell, Gladstone, Hanlon, Kaufman Lecture on Environmental Education and Communication. This year marks the final year of our capital campaign, "Possibilities Full of Promise," another way in which we are observing our 125th anniversary. We are 80 percent of the way to our goal of $12.5 million in new money. We expect that the funds raised by the campaign, when added to our current endowment, will bring the total to the $50 million mark this year. These philanthropic gifts sup- port our students and faculty mem- bers through scholarships as well as grants for research, travel, and pro- fessional development. I'd like to elaborate for a moment on the terrific impact that scholar- ships and other student support have on the lives and educational success of our students. We currently award scholarships to more than 1,000 stu- dents — one in six — per year, rep- resenting an investment of $3.5 mil- lion annually. Students may receive scholarships on the basis of their grades, field of study, financial need, and even area of residence. In fact, we have several endowed scholarships dedicated to students from The Daily Star reading area, including Otsego, Delaware and Chenango counties. As a result, our students have to borrow less to finance their studies, and SUNY Oneonta has been recognized as a national leader among colleges whose graduates have the lowest burden of debt upon graduation. If you have visited campus lately, you can see that we are doing a lot of building renovation. The recently reopened Fitzelle Hall is not only strikingly beautiful but also a first- rate, modern facility for teaching and learning. In addition, with its sustainability features, the hall meets the standard for a Silver rating from LEED, the Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design association. The next big project is an overhaul of the Physical Science Building, which will house Chemistry, Physics, An- thropology, and the Science Discov- ery Center. And within the year we will be working on a new Welcome Center for prospective students and other visitors. Looking to the future, we are preparing to develop a new strate- gic plan to help guide the college through the next three to five years. By careful planning and resource al- location, we will be able to further strengthen the teaching and learning environment, help students complete their degrees as expeditiously as pos- sible, and launch them with fulfilling careers. As our national rankings show, SUNY Oneonta provides a high-quality, personal education at an affordable cost. — Dr. Nancy Kleniewski fast facts student population: 5,820 faculty: 492 (274 full-time, 218 part-time) staff: 583 Full-time, 81 part-time full-time tuition (in-state): $6,170 part-time tuition (per credit hour, in-state): $257 dormitory cost (per year, basic double room): $7,060 board: $4,040 degree programs: 76 Projected number of graduates: 1,370 Here's some info about the institutions that swell our populations, keep pizza joints in business and give locals something to complain about. From the President: Hartwick College will soon welcome returning students and the Class of 2018. The Hartwick experience is transformational for our students, and our students help to shape the community Hartwick College is proud to call home. As the only private college located in Otsego County, for more than 200 years Hartwick has been a leading economic contributor to Central New York, the County, and the City of Oneonta. As well as being the county's seventh largest employer, Hartwick is a chief purchaser of goods and services. Of course, our students and employees volunteer time that helps to make our community strong. Here are a few examples. Hartwick's capital spending of $5.5M over the last three years has had a direct impact on our local economy. Our new, state-of-the-art William V. Campbell H'10 Fitness Center is one example of how partnership with a local firm – in this case, Eastman Construction – was a win-win for the college and the greater Oneonta community. Our annual direct spending in the greater Oneonta area exceeds $44 million, and Hartwick's total annual economic impact is estimated to be more than $116 million when including payroll, non-payroll, and annual spending by Hartwick students, their families, and our alumni. Our visitors happily lodge in area hotels, dine in local restaurants, and use local transportation services. We are proud that our impact on the community extends well beyond the direct employment of our 422 employees and into the businesses, large and small, that combine to create the backbone of our local economy. Hartwick's investment in this community takes other forms as well: • Every year, more than 1,200 students, faculty and staff contribute over 50,000 volunteer hours to 300 nonprofit community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, the March of Dimes, and local organizations such as Saturday's Bread, Athelas Therapeutic Riding, and Springbrook's Special Olympics program. • Approximately 2,000 pounds of food is contributed to the Salvation Army through our Food2Share program. • Hartwick collaborates with local school districts in outreach programs to K-12 students. • Hartwick employees serve on boards and organizations such as Main Street Oneonta and The Chamber of Commerce, and committees such as the Otsego County Chamber's Tri-County Young Professionals Committee and the Oneonta Human Rights/Community Relations Committee. • In 2013-14, 601 students participated in community-based service learning courses at Hartwick. These courses include outreach to organizations in the area to address local community needs. • In 2013-14, 85 Hartwick student interns worked around New York state – including 35 with entities in Oneonta — contributing approximately 3,200 hours of direct, hands-on support to local economic and community-based activities. • Hartwick faculty and the College play an important role in helping to position the state for future economic growth through faculty research and scholarship leading to new businesses and programs. Finally, we all prize the quality of life in our city, town, and the region. Hartwick is pleased to function as an intellectual and cultural hub for our community by presenting more than 200 lectures, musical performances, plays, films, art exhibitions, and dance performances each year – most of which are offered free to the public. The Stevens-German Library, The Yager Museum of Art & Culture, Pine Lake Environmental Campus, and Hartwick's athletic facilities are accessible to all in our community, either through membership or without charge. The contours or our beautiful campus can be enjoyed by anyone with the completion of a simple registration form. Why does Hartwick embrace its relationship with the region with such enthusiasm? It's because we believe that engaging other members of our community – through contractual services, volunteer services, and the sharing of our intellectual capital and beautiful campus - is the best way for Hartwick to enhance and strengthen the local community and the region for our citizens and those who may look to the area as a place to work and live. When our students flow onto our campus in late August, and then out into the city and town, we will be able to tell them that the strategic partnership between the College and the local community is one that works, and that it is a partnership that they should honor, support and contribute to. We fully expect that they will. — Dr. Margaret L. Drugovich fast facts student population: 1,576 faculty: 201 (112 full-time) staff: 184 full-time, 18 part-time years: four (three-year option) full-time tuition: $39,260 per year dormitory cost: $5,680 per year (double occupancy) board: $5,120 year founded: 1797 campus size: 425-acre main campus; Pine Lake environmental campus degree programs: 31 graduation date: May 23 projected number of graduates: 373 student-faculty ratio: 11.2 : 1 average class size: 18