Letter from the President

am pleased to be writing this letter to all of the alumni and friends of SUNY Potsdam. Although my wife, Anne, and I have only been on campus for a few months, we are so impressed by the wonderful faculty and staff and the truly impressive alumni that we have already had the opportunity to meet. We instantly felt at home and have discovered numerous personal links to the campus and community. Anne lived in Watertown for a few years as a child and it has been fun reconnecting with folks she knew then.

Over the years, we have been through many transitions and changes. Each of these has come with an immediate sense of trepidation, but soon followed by joy and satisfaction with the outcome. Undoubtedly our own liberal arts education has held us in good stead as we moved around the world and from state to state here in the U.S. I tell new first-year students, although they will probably change careers several times in their lifetimes, the skills they acquire at Potsdam will provide them with a solid foundation for whatever may arise.

In preparation for our campus festival next April titled “Connections and Intersections: Our Changing Landscapes” we prepare to welcome speakers from all disciplines and cultures and reflect upon the connections and intersections here at Potsdam. The Potsdam education provides students with the manifold perspectives on the world from which to develop into well-rounded persons. One of the hallmarks of our liberal arts education is the integration of knowledge. What we learn in a history course seems to have an almost immediate application in a sociology course. What we learned in a foreign language course comes back to help us 15 years later. The interconnectedness of music, mathematics and science is undeniable. The integration of knowledge and its application to life as we live it demonstrates to me the centrality of the liberal education.

The state and campus have gone through several lean years. The campus and alumni responded admirably in dealing with the situations and we have emerged strengthened by the experience and ready to move forward. Potsdam is ranked 12th in the nation in alumni participation, and second in the entire SUNY system, among our peer institutions. We awarded over $1.8 million in scholarships last year alone. For this we thank you.

The campus has undertaken a series of strategic planning programs with a newly revised mission statement awaiting approval along with other initiatives. Armed with the rich and deep traditions of the College and facing a new and bright future, this will be a period of great excitement on campus. Again, the strength of the College, like that of the liberally educated person, is to make the connections between tradition and what lies ahead, between our history and our future. I invite each of you to take part as we make Potsdam an even stronger and richer place for all students, faculty, staff and alumni.

I am positively thrilled to be here at Potsdam and very excited about what lies ahead.

Dr. John Schwaller