President’s Newsletter

Friday, May 1, 2020
May 2020 Newsletter

Dear Brockport Community:

We have completed the most unique and challenging semester of a lifetime. Our faculty, staff and students have overcome obstacles by demonstrating both grit and creativity. But today is also a reminder of what we’ve lost. The campus should have been bustling these last two days with Commencement activities. Instead, it’s eerily quiet.

We have, however, found an innovative way to celebrate the Class of 2020. Please join us for a Virtual Toast at 4 pm on our Instagram account @brockport. For those unfamiliar with Instagram, instructions can be found in the Daily Eagle. This short program can never hope to replace what might have taken place today, but it is our effort to honor our graduates until we can celebrate them in-person on a date to-be-determined.

We are all eagerly awaiting the day we can gather together on campus. As I’ve shared previously, we have created a “Bringing Brockport Back” committee to examine various scenarios for the Fall 2020 semester. I’ve noted that the committee will present a preliminary report to me on June 1, outlining the case for each of the three scenarios we will face from fully remote learning as we are now, to the other end of the spectrum, which is near normal density on campus. While I would like to be able to assure you that we’ll have all the answers we need on June 1, I cannot promise this; as Governor Cuomo said this week, when asked whether SUNY would follow the Cal State System in going fully on line for the fall, we need “more data, more information.”

We will continue to work with and receive guidance from New York State, SUNY, and local leaders to help us determine when and how we resume instruction in the fall. The Bringing Brockport Back committee is doing crucial work to prepare us for all eventualities. We expect each scenario to have pros and cons. The committee, as well as many others across the College, will be working throughout the summer to build on our strengths and help mitigate our weaknesses in each scenario. I’m confident that SUNY Brockport will be prepared to implement the appropriate option, and deliver the high-quality educational experience that our students expect from us.

Many individuals continue to offer us their expertise and ideas, and several of you have written to me directly, or to the chairs of the subcommittees, outlining your thoughts or offering to join the committees. We have therefore set up this portal to collect these ideas centrally to ensure that they get due attention. If your idea is one that we have not already addressed in our planning, or for which we need more information, we will contact you to have a longer discussions. I want to thank you in advance for offering us our collective wisdom.

In closing, thank you once again for all you’ve done to bring this semester to a successful close. We have much work to do as we move forward. COVID-19 has presented new challenges, especially around how we can continue the vital work on strengthening our campus climate. But I believe in this community, and I know that together, we will, collectively, Build a Better Brockport.