UAlbany Class of 2017: Academically Advanced, Diverse

55 New Full-Time Faculty Join the University

The University at Albany will commence its 2013-14 academic year by welcoming an academically accomplished incoming freshman class of 2,550. (Photo by Mark Schmidt)

ALBANY, N.Y. (August 26, 2013) – The University at Albany will commence its 2013-14 academic year by welcoming an academically accomplished incoming freshman class of 2,550, enrolled from an applicant pool of more than 21,500. The students will be joined by 55 new full-time faculty members, many hired through Governor Cuomo's NYSUNY 2020 challenge grant.

Students within the Class of 2017 boast an average high school grade of 90.1, against an admission rate of 55.7 percent. Some 200 freshmen are enrolled as Presidential Scholars, including Frederick Douglass Scholars, while the University's Honors College becomes home to 133 new students. UAlbany’s freshman class is one of the more diverse to enter the University, with 41.9 percent students of color among its ranks.

Overall during the 2013-14 academic year, UAlbany will help pave a path of success for 17,740 students - 13,145 undergraduates and 4,595 graduate students.

Providing Students the Best Experience Possible
Continuing its mission to provide students with the best possible higher education experience, University living-learning communities (LLCs) have grown this year. LLCs provide students a unique opportunity to connect classroom learning with residential life by pairing on-campus housing with students who share similar academic goals and interests. New living-learning residence communities include biology, chemistry, East Asian studies and history, joining already thriving LLCs in accounting, writing, art, computing and information, fitness and recreation, and Jewish life and culture.

New in 2013 is the Writing and Critical Inquiry (WCI) Program which introduces new students to intellectual inquiry with a focus on academic writing. Associate Professor Robert Yagelski will direct the new writing program, and along with 16 new instructors to facilitate the program. The course is required for students matriculating in fall 2013 and thereafter. The new course emphasizes the essential role of writing in students’ lives as citizens, workers and productive members of their communities.

UAlbany will also introduce a new Digital Forensics Program in its School of Business, as well as a new undergraduate minor in Sustainability and an undergraduate major in Biomedical Instrumentation. The graduate curriculum will offer a new Environmental Health track in the doctoral degree program at the School of Public Health on UAlbany’s East Campus.

UAlbany will also be offering its first course based on a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
"Literacies for Lifelong Learning," a joint offering of the University Libraries and Empire State College, will blend elements of online learning with scholars across the world, with live webinars, class sessions, and in-person class meetings.

Expanded Faculty, Many of Result of Cuomo’s NYSUNY 2020
Some 55 new full-time faculty members will join UAlbany in 2013, including researchers and tenure-track appointments in every school and college, many hired through Governor Cuomo's NYSUNY 2020 challenge grant. The NYSUNY 2020 grant program is an initiative designed to make UAlbany a leading catalyst for job growth in New York State while strengthening the University's academic and research programs.

Welcoming new faculty are the departments of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences; Biological Sciences; Biomedical Sciences; Chemistry; Computer Science; Communication; Criminal Justice; Economics; Educational & Counseling Psychology; English; Geography & Planning; Health Policy, Management & Behavior; History; Information Technology Management; Languages, Literatures & Cultures; Physics; Political Science; Psychology; Public Administration & Policy; Reading; Social Welfare; Sociology; and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies.

Celebrate & Advance UAlbany
From September 21 – 28, the University will host “Celebrate & Advance UAlbany,” a series of events designed to honor UAlbany’s past while advancing its future. The celebration offers departments from across the University an opportunity to host special events highlighting and demonstrating its notable strengths in research and scholarship, vibrant academic and campus life, diversity that enriches learning, and community engagement and humanitarianism. The week will culminate with the official installation of UAlbany’s 19th president, Robert J. Jones, on Saturday, September 28.

Building a 21st Century Campus
The University at Albany, built in the mid-1960s, has seen its campus swell from 10,000 students to as many as 18,000, with commensurate changes and expansion in structure and facilities. The 2013-14 academic year will see the completion of many new facility enhancements designed to make UAlbany a 21st century campus.

The University’s new 8,500-seat multi-sports complex for football, soccer, and University events, as well as a renovated varsity track, will be premiered at a season-opening football game on September 14 when the Great Danes take on the University of Rhode Island Rams on the new Bob Ford Field.

UAlbany’s new School of Business building, next to the Grand Entry Plaza, opened its doors in August. The 96,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art learning and teaching center features technologically advanced classrooms and meeting spaces, breakout rooms for team projects, expanded space for career services, student reception areas, collaborative research centers in technological and social entrepreneurship, cyber-security, and institutional investment management, and additional graduate assistant work space. The building boasts a first floor trading room equipped with Bloomberg terminals.

The central water tower and main fountain area’s rehabilitation will also be completed in fall 2013. The 248-foot iconic water tower, which hosts the University's Carillon, includes a 311,000 gallon water tank that provides both water volume and pressure for the domestic, sprinkler, and standpipe systems for all uptown buildings, most notably the campus’s 24-story residence towers. The rehabilitation will replace the campus's main fountain, creating an energy-efficient, four-season area with new seating, landscaping, and lighting to enhance the experience of the fountain for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Also included in the rehab will be major renovations to the adjacent lecture center corridors, including complete window replacement.

New Campus Center Offerings
This semester, new and returning students will be treated to an expanded array of Campus Center eatery options aimed at diverse tastes. The offerings will include more local flavors, including area businesses Cusato’s Pizzeria & Deli of Rotterdam and the Albany coffeehouse Uncommon Grounds. Two well-known national chains, Auntie Anne’s and Mein Bowl, are now onsite as well. Other features offered by our campus’s new food services supplier Sodexo include expanded kosher and halal options, as well as Fair Trade and organic coffee available campus wide. In addition, the Campus Center will become home to Damien’s, offering deli fare, freshly made kettle chips, and campus-made pickles, and sandwich shop Subconnection featuring freshly made breads.

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