UAlbany Welcomes Class of 2016: Themed Living-Learning Communities Double as Students Seek Like-Minded Learners

Classes begin at UAlbany on August 27 for the 2,550 Incoming Freshman and 45 New Faculty

UAlbany welcomes 2,550 freshmen as part of the Class of 2016. (Photo Mark Schmidt)

ALBANY, N.Y. (August 23, 2012) -- The University at Albany welcomes the Class of 2016 with expanded living-learning opportunities, new faculty, and extensive renovation and construction projects.

UAlbany has doubled the number of on-campus living-learning communities from eight to 17 to meet the demand of students who seek a unique experience that connects classroom learning with residential life. Students enjoy the usual advantages of living on campus in a residence hall, with the added benefit of living among students who share similar academic goals and interests.

The new living-learning residence communities this year include accounting, writing, art, computing and information, fitness and recreation, and Jewish life and culture. In addition, UAlbany opened a second pre-health learning community, the World of Health Care Careers. Pre-health communities are the most popular, as a great number of UAlbany freshmen enroll in a pre-health curriculum.

UAlbany Welcomes New Faculty

UAlbany will welcome 45 new full-time teaching faculty to the campus in the 2012-13 academic year. There are 35 tenure-track faculty, including 21 women, and 20 persons of color.

The appointments include new faculty in Accounting, Africana Studies, Anthropology, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Criminal Justice, Economics, English, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health Policy, Management & Behavior, History, Information Studies, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Spanish, and Social Welfare.

More than 20 percent of entering freshmen come from the top 10 percent of their high school class. (Photo Mark Schmidt)

Additional fall 2012 highlights include:

• The University will enroll 17,615 students: 13,020 undergraduates and 4,595 graduate students.
• More than 20 percent of entering freshmen come from the top 10 percent of their high school class, up two percent from last year.
• The 2,550 freshmen come from an applicant pool of more than 20,000.
• For new freshmen, the combined number of Presidential and Frederick Douglass scholars are 186 - up 15.5 percent from a year ago. These scholars achieved a 90 or greater grade point average, a score of 1250 or greater combined on the SAT (Critical Reading + Math) or a score of 28 or greater on ACT testing, and were ranked in the top quarter of their graduating class.

All Around Albany

On Saturday, August 25, nearly 1,000 UAlbany students will take a bus tour of downtown Albany, sample local food, listen to live music, and visit more than 30 local businesses as part of the second annual All Around Albany event. While the bus tours are a long-standing tradition, the stops are new each year, expanding the exposure of area businesses.

Extensive Campus Construction

The University at Albany continues to renovate its main campus, designed in the early 1960s by architect Edward Durell Stone. Campus enhancements active during the summer months encompassing academic centers, student housing, athletic fields and facilities, green pedestrian areas, major gut renovations such as Mohawk Tower and the Fountain, and the Purple Path -- a walking/jogging trail circumventing the entire campus—total more than $398 million. By the first day of classes, much of the campus entry work will be completed, and students and the community-at-large will be able to enjoy the extension of the Purple Path.

“The massive structural enhancements occurring across our campus are in preparation for the next generation of students,” said UAlbany President George M. Philip. “Our overarching goal is to provide an environment that fully supports our students’ success.”

Liberty Terrace, a new environmentally sustainable apartment-style housing complex for 500 upperclassmen was formally dedicated on Aug. 20. The facility is on track to receive the University’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

Construction also continues on the new building to house the School of Business, scheduled to open in summer 2013.

The University has also unveiled plans for a new data center, scheduled for completion in 2014. The data center is designed to LEED Silver standards for energy efficiency and sustainability.

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