Welcome Back Message

Dear UAlbany Community,

I want to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year and to welcome you to the 2018 spring semester! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that you are ready for an exciting, engaging, and productive year.

I can tell you that every day I spend on the job as UAlbany’s 20th President, I become more enthusiastic about our collective future. One of the reasons for my great optimism is the excellent progress we have made on the draft Strategic Plan, which has engaged over 100 faculty, staff, and students, and is now available to the campus community. As described by Strategic Plan Committee (SPC) co-chairs Jim Stellar and Mike Christakis in a message to the campus last week, we have embarked on a “Road Show” across our schools, colleges, and administrative units to present the draft to the community.

I encourage you to take a close look at the draft and share your feedback through our web-based form. I would like to thank the SPC members for their dedication to this process and for producing a draft plan that will guide our work and progress over the next five years. This is our UAlbany and this is our plan. Strategic planning is a collaborative process—so your input is extremely important.

A critical element of our success lies in one of the core priorities identified in our draft Strategic Plan: Diversity and Inclusion. At the University at Albany, we are committed to continuing to develop a campus climate where everyone feels welcomed—regardless of background, experience, or perspective. We also strive to ensure the safety and well-being of our campus community.  We must all reaffirm our commitment to excellence, diversity, and inclusion; we are a better institution because these strong values are embedded within our community.

Over the course of the semester, I will continue my Listening and Learning tour with stakeholders across the institution and with the external community. The tour has been very successful thus far, and I want to thank everyone who has engaged and will engage in these very important conversations.

I’m looking forward to our continued collaborations and to discuss what is on your mind, whether it is at our outstanding food court in the Campus Center, at one of the University’s many cultural events, or cheering on our Great Danes athletic teams.

I wish you all the best with your work, your studies, and all of your activities. As always, thank you for everything you do and all that you will continue to do to keep UAlbany moving forward. Go Great Danes!
 

Sincerely, 

Havidán Rodríguez
President