Compassion, Commitment and a Plan  

President Rodríguez updates UAlbany initiatives at his Fall University Address

 ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 1, 2018) — The University is well on its way to putting its new strategic plan into action, President Havidán Rodríguez told the University’s faculty and staff Tuesday in the Campus Center Ballroom.

“Accelerator Initiatives” have been instituted in each of the five key priority areas – plans to put the mission of the strategic plan into action, the president said. These include developing plans to increase scholarships for international students, develop a research accelerator to focus on multidisciplinary grants, and begin a mentorship program for faculty of color.

The president began his address with a call for unity and compassion for the entire university community. “Given the recent events and a disturbing climate of intolerance and divisiveness at the national level there has never been more of a critical time for us to come together as a community,” Rodríguez said. “We must stand together and reaffirm our values and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

The president went on to thank the UAlbany community for their dedication, hard work and involvement. He updated the audience on the search for a new provost and senior vice president for academic affairs to succeed James Stellar, who is returning to the faculty in January, and on plans for the University to become entirely tobacco free early next year.

The presidential address comes amid follow-up listening and learning visits with schools and colleges across the three campuses.

You can listen to the entire address here.

For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds