November 2023 Update From President Soboyejo
Four Themes of the SUNY Poly Strategic Plan
1. Support Our Students
- Enhance student services, including academic support and advising; accessibility, equity, and inclusion; and quality of student life.
- Improve the student experience, from pre-collegiate to current students to alumni, including job placement and career growth.
- Offer professional development for faculty and staff to better support our students.
2. Grow Our Brand and External Partnerships
- Build community and formalize external partnerships to develop and invest in student projects, internships and co-ops, translational and applied research, training and education.
- Engage with our community to develop and position SUNY Poly and the Mohawk Valley as a premier destination for the 4th Industrial Revolution (a time of rapid technological advancement in the 21st century, including artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, advanced manufacturing, and semi-conductor manufacturing).
- Refine SUNY Poly’s identity, increase the visibility, and raise the reputation of SUNY Poly as the State’s and nation’s premier public polytechnic.
3. Improve Our Campus Infrastructure
- Expand multidisciplinary STEM research and educational facilities.
- Prioritize facilities for workforce training in semiconductors, advanced manufacturing & robotics, healthcare, and digital technologies.
- Enhance, maintain, and repair existing campus spaces and infrastructure.
4. Invest in Academic Excellence
- Establish interdisciplinary Centers of Excellence.
- Develop and scale distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as impactful workforce development programs.
- Support faculty achievement
Workgroups & Members
| Group 1: Support Our Students | Group 3: Improve Our Campus Infrastructure |
| Dr. Mark Montgomery (chair) | Mary Ellen Burdick (chair) |
| Rhonda Haines | Sean Ireland |
| Dr. Adam McLain | Dave Mancini |
| Marybeth Lyons | Dr. Mike Carpenter |
| Dr. Carlie Phipps | Andrea LaGatta |
| Dr. Joanne Joseph | Jennifer Adams |
| Group 2: Grow Our Brand & External Partnerships | Group 4: Invest in Academic Excellence |
| Wayne Westervelt (chair) | Dr. Andrew Russell (chair) |
| Dr. Joanne Joseph | Dr. Mark Montgomery |
| Dr. Mike Carpenter | Dr. Carlie Phipps |
| Andrea LaGatta | Dr. Mike Carpenter |
| Mike Badolato | Dr. Joanne Joseph |
| Sean Ireland | Dr. Arthur Lu |
Spring 2023
In the Spring 2023 semester, SUNY Poly developed a framework that will serve as the foundation for a new SUNY Poly Strategic Plan. This framework emerged from a collaborative and consultative process, led by Officer-in-Charge Andrew Russell and a Strategic Planning Steering Committee, co-chaired by Jennifer Adams, Timothy Busch, and Heather Hage. The framework is described in a March 20, 2023, memo to the campus community, which identifies five themes that have been identified by our community as central to our mission and strategic direction. These five themes, and specific detail related to them, include:
- Human capital to nurture community and enable growth
- Robust external partnerships
- Campus infrastructure
- Academic programs, research, and scholarship
- Renewal of SUNY Poly’s identity
These five themes grew out of the charge to the campus to put forward recommendations that would advance SUNY Poly along four core strategic priorities:
- Academic programs and educational experiences that are accessible and support regional needs;
- Dynamic external partnerships that serve the Mohawk Valley and New York State;
- Research and scholarship at the leading edge of science, technology, engineering, and health sciences; and
- Student success, driven by an inclusive, all-campus approach.
The next steps for SUNY Poly’s 2023 strategic planning process include the definition of SUNY Poly’s Core Values, the refinement of strategic themes, the development of an implementation plan, and the definition of metrics to evaluate progress toward strategic goals. We anticipate releasing a draft of the full strategic plan during the Fall 2023 semester.
We invite comments and inquiries on the framework and strategic planning process via the SUNY Poly Strategic Plan Comment and Inquiry Form.
Background
On December 13, 2022, the SUNY Board of Trustees approved a resolution that initiated “the process to transfer the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), presently under the administrative authority of the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly), to the State University of New York at Albany (UAlbany).”
The same resolution also authorized and directed the Officer-in-Charge of SUNY Poly to “begin the process of creating a robust strategic plan along with local stakeholders strengthening the future of SUNY Poly Utica as the premier public Polytech school in the state and nation without CNSE under its administrative authority, including a consideration to partner with all levels of educational institutions and economic development partners, to be completed no later than December 2023.”
For more information, see Steering Committee and Timeline.
