University at Albany Undergraduate Bulletin - 2004-2005: General Information

General Information

Officers

Interim President:
John R. Ryan
Vice Presidents:
Jeryl L. Mumpower, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Lynn Videka, Interim Vice President for Research
Kathryn Lowery, Vice President for Finance and Business
James P. Doellefeld, Vice President for Student Affairs
David Gilbert, Vice President for Economic Outreach
John T. Wolff, Chief Advancement Officer
University Council:
Pierre L. Alric, Albany
Kevin M. Bronner, Loudonville
John R. Fallon, Jr., Esq., New York City
Frank T. Gargano, Jr., Esq., Melville
Dr. Thomas J. Malesky, Schuylerville
Michael A. Montario, Howes Cave
George M. Philip, Esq., (Chair), Albany
Daniel C. Tomson, Esq., New York City
Daniel Fingerman (undergraduate student representative)
Brian M. Levine (graduate student representative)
Professor Steven F. Messner (faculty representative)
Anthony Giardina, Esq. (alumnae/i representative).

Undergraduate Education:
Dr. Sue R. Faerman
Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Dr. Carson Carr, Jr.
Associate Dean of Academic Support Services and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Judith E. Johnson
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Honors Programs
Dr. Anne Hildreth
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Director of the General Education Program
Mr. Richard L. Collier
Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Editor, UNDERGRADUATE BULLETIN

The University at Albany, State University of New York, is the senior campus of the SUNY system. One of SUNY�s four university centers, UAlbany offers undergraduate and graduate education in a broad range of academic fields at the bachelor�s, master�s, and doctoral degree levels.
Three traditional responsibilities guide UAlbany: teaching, research, and service.
Instructional excellence is assured through the quality of the faculty and a design of academic programs that affords students the greatest opportunity for intellectual growth. A challenging curriculum also provides students with thorough training for meeting career objectives. Students are encouraged to challenge themselves, to explore the world about them, and then to accept the responsibility that comes with scholarship and freedom.
An active research program reflects aware-ness of the responsibility of contributing to the expansion of knowledge and understanding, and to enhancing the economic vitality of the state and region. The University assists and en�cour�ages undergraduate students as well as faculty to participate in scholarly and creative research and to make their results widely available. UAlbany enjoys a Carnegie Re�search Extensive University rating. Last year, the campus received approximately $193 million in external funding through its Research Foundation and Health Research, Inc.
The University also understands its special role as an intellectual, economic and cultural resource for the region. Faculty and student scholars are encouraged to share their intellectual expertise as speakers and consultants, and the University regularly invites the community to use its resources and facilities, and to attend the many seminars, exhibits and events that fill the UAlbany calendar.
To meet each of these responsibilities, UAlbany maintains a wholehearted commitment to excellence.

The University is ranked 17th in research and scholarship among the nation's top public universities. (Source: The Rise of American Research Universities.)
Nationally ranked programs include:

Information Technology — # 4 (US News)
Public Finance — # 9 (US News)
Public Administration — # 6 (US News)
Public Affairs — # 10 (US News)
Public Policy — # 25 (US News)
Clinical Psychology — # 38 (US News)
Social Welfare — # 19 (US News)
Sociology — # 24 (US News)
Education — # 36 (US News)
Library Science — # 15 (US News)

Additionally, the National Research Council (NRC) ranks the following programs in the first quartile on objective measures, such as publications and citations per faculty, percentage of program faculty publishing, or in percentage of faculty supported by external funding:

Anthropology

Psychology

Sociology

Cell and developmental biology

Geology and evolutionary behavior

Genetics

Functional genomics

Location: Located in the state capital, UAlbany is within minutes of the State Legislature, the courts, and headquarters for all service agencies of the largest state government in the nation. The city itself is a vibrant center for culture and entertainment. Its centerpiece is the Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza, a governmental center that includes the New York State Museum and Library and major performing arts and convention facilities. Albany is also home to the Pepsi Arena, a 15,000-seat venue for major entertainment and sporting events.

The Capital Region (Albany, Schenectady, and Troy), with a population of 750,000, is near Saratoga, the Berkshires, the Catskills, and the Adirondack Mountains, areas famed for recreational and cultural opportunities.
The University is 150 miles from New York City, 165 miles from Boston, and 242 miles from Montreal. The main campus is located near the intersection of the New York State Thruway, the Adirondack Northway, and Interstate 90. Within five miles of the campus are an AMTRAK rail station, the Greyhound and Trailways bus depots, and Albany International Airport, served by several major airlines.

Unless otherwise noted, the information provided in this bulletin should be utilized in the following manner:
Academic regulations are in effect for all students during 2004-2005. Courses are described as they will be offered during 2004-2005.
The general degree requirements, requirements for majors and minors are effective for students who matriculate during 2004-2005.
The University at Albany does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, marital status, national origin, race, or sex. Inquiries concerning this policy should be directed to the Affirmative Action Office.
The calendars, curricula, and fees described in this bulletin are subject to change at any time by official action of the University at Albany.

Description: The University at Albany, the largest of 15 colleges in the Capital Region, enrolls approximately 17,000 students, including more than 5,200 graduate students. More than two-thirds of the University�s undergraduate students pursue post-baccalaureate study. The University now awards more than 150 doctorates a year in disciplines in the arts and sciences and professions.
Nationally and internationally renowned scholars are among the more than 920 faculty members who are committed to maintaining the high academic standards which have characterized Albany since its founding in 1844. A large number of our faculty have earned the rank of Distinguished Professor, the highest academic honor for a faculty member in the State University of New York System. Additionally, many of the academic departments have gained national prominence. Finally, many of the faculty are integrally involved in meaningful community service efforts in the Capital Region and throughout the state.

Accreditation: The University is chartered by the Board of Regents of New York State, which has registered all of its degrees and programs and fully approved its professional programs through the State Education Department. Albany is also a member of the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States. It is fully accredited by:

The Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
American Psychological Association
Council on Rehabilitation Education
The Council on Social Work Education
The American Chemical Society
The American Library Association
The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business
The American Board on Counseling Services, Inc.
Its graduates are recognized by the American Association of University Women.

Organization: The University enrolls students in nine degree-granting schools and colleges. The College Arts and Sciences and the Schools of Business, Criminal Justice, Education, Information Science and Policy, Public Affairs, and Social Welfare offer undergraduate and graduate programs. The School of Public Health offers graduate programs only. Several opportunities exist for joint degrees between schools and with other graduate programs. In 2004 Albany established its new College of Nanoscale Sciences and Engineering, which will begin offering graduate degree programs in Fall 2004.
The Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Office of the Vice President for Research jointly work with the academic units in curricular and research areas.
On the undergraduate level, the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies is responsible for the coordination of the academic experience of undergraduate students and works closely with the deans and faculty of the individual schools and colleges in developing, coordinating, and implementing undergraduate academic policy and curricula. Nondegree study at the undergraduate level is coordinated by the Office of General Studies.

The Campus: The Uptown Campus, de�signed by noted architect Edward Durell Stone and completed in the mid 1960s, is located on the western side of the city. The setting is highlighted by the �Academic Podium:� 13 academic buildings on a com�mon platform, all connected by a continuous roof and a lower-level corridor. In recent years, an aggressive program of new construction has expanded the Uptown Campus. An additional library and new buildings for environmental science and technology management, the life sciences, and sculpture, as well as residence halls have recently been completed or are under construction.
Several schools and departments are located on the Downtown Campus, a classic Georgian-style complex, recently renovated, that served from 1909-66 as the main cam�pus. In 1996, Albany expanded to Rensselaer County with the opening of the 58-acre East Campus. It is home to the School of Public Health, the Center for Comparative Functional Genomics, and a burgeoning business incubator program.
In addition to the Uptown Campus�s classrooms and laboratories, there are two University Libraries and the Performing Arts Center - boasting several theatres, recital halls, and rehearsal instructional space. The Fine Arts Building houses one of the finest museums in the Northeast. The new sculpture building opened in 2002.
Five residence quadrangles on the Uptown Campus, each housing approximately 1,200 students, include eight three-story halls and a 23-story tower. Each quadrangle has lounges, recreation areas, and dining facilities. Nearby Freedom Quadrangle has apartment-style living, and Empire Commons provides single-room apartment-style living for 1,200 students. Housing is also available on Alumni Quadrangle, located near the Downtown Campus.
Other special facilities on the campus include a National Weather Service meteorological laboratory, a Computing Center, and a linear accelerator for physics research.
The hub of student activity is the Campus Center and its new extension, opened in September 1994. It includes lounges, meeting and dining rooms, a ballroom, a cafeteria, a barbershop, banking facilities, a convenience store, a Barnes & Noble bookstore, a computer store, and a variety of fast-food eateries.
Outdoor recreation facilities include 24 tennis courts (12 with lights), 4 basketball and 6 volleyball courts, an all-weather running track, and several multipurpose playing areas.
Indoor athletic facilities are dominated the Recreation and Convocation Center (RACC). With an arena seating capacity of nearly 4,800, the facility is home to NCAA Division I Great Dane basketball, and also houses a running track, a modern fitness center, a fully equipped athletic training complex with whirlpools and other rehabilitative equipment, four handball/ racquetball courts, four squash courts, two main locker rooms, and ten smaller team locker rooms. All facilities are handicapped accessible and have designated seating areas for handicapped spectators. In the Physical Education Center are a pool, locker rooms, and several basketball, handball and squash courts.

Libraries: The University maintains three libraries. Two located on the Uptown Campus, the University Library and the New Library Building, and on the Downtown Campus, the Dewey Graduate Library. All three libraries offer orientations, instruction, study carrels and study rooms. The libraries subscribe to numerous electronic and hard copy journals and texts, and have more than two million book volumes. Access to electronic resources and services, the book collection, and general information is through the Libraries web page http://library.albany.edu/.
The University Library contains the largest collection of circulating volumes, the Interactive Media Center, a collection of computer hardware and software that support the curriculum, and the Government Documents Collection, a selective depository for U.S. documents.
The New Library Building houses the M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives and the Science Library.
The Dewey Graduate Library on the Downtown Campus supports graduate research in the fields of public affairs, public administration and policy, criminal justice, political science, social welfare and information science and policy.

Information Technology Services: Information Technology Services: ITS provides technology systems and support for the University community. ITS is composed of 6 units which report to the Chief Information Officer: Client Support Services, Extended Learning, Research IT, Systems Management and Operations, Telecommunications and University Applications Development.
ITS provides an extensive array of information technology tools and support. Visit the ITS website at www.albany.edu/its for an overview of products and services available for students, faculty and staff. This site contains extensive information about email and LAN services, ITS accounts, technology-equipped facilities, training opportunities, ITS policies and additional technology services available to the University community. Alerts and notices of service interruptions, as well as items of special interest are provided on the web. There is also more information about the individual units that make up the ITS organization and the services they provide.
To learn more about our student, faculty and staff self-service web site MyUAlbany go to www.albany.edu/myualbany. This is the �portal� through which students and faculty access information in the student records database. Students use MyUAlbany to enroll in courses, add or drop classes, view their academic record and update personal information. Faculty can use MyUAlbany to generate class rosters, enter grades and view advisee information. All Staff can update their demographic information, and professional staff can submit leave information to Time Records online.
The HelpDesk located in LC-27 is available to assist with specific questions about technology. The HelpDesk can be contacted by phone at 442-3700. Faculty and staff can direct email questions to [email protected]; students can send email to Student HelpDesk at [email protected]

U-Kids Child Care Center: U-Kids Child Care Center: U-Kids Child Care Center is a satellite of Campus Children's Center, Inc. and is located on UAlbany's Uptown Campus. Its mission is to provide the University community with the highest quality care. The Center provides a diverse, educational, friendly, nutritional, and safe environment that meets the needs of its children. The Center's atmosphere encourages children to learn through discovery, providing care with concern for each individual child's needs, interests, and ability levels. Qualities of independence and interdependence are fostered as the children are guided through a program rich with stimulating learning centers and creative activities. A special emphasis is made to foster these qualities in a culturally, socially, and economically diverse environment.
The Center operates Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. For further information, please call 518-442-2660, or write to U-Kids Child Care Center, 1400 Washington Avenue, Dutch Quad, Albany, NY 12222.

"JUST COMMUNITY" PRINCIPLES:

�The University at Albany, State University of New York, is an academic community dedicated to the ideals of justice. A university is above all a place where intellectual life is central and where faculty, staff, and students strive together for excellence in the pursuit of knowledge. It is a particular kind of community with special purposes. Moreover, this academic community, if it is to support our broader ideals, must also be just.
�There is no definitive theory of justice. The differences in these theories are to be respected. However, among all democratic theories of justice, the principles of equality and liberty are basic. These principles are no less central to a free university.
�In a just community, the dignity of the individual and respect for diversity are fundamental. Members of a just community are committed to raising awareness of common ground and to the principles of respect, integrity, innovation, openness, justice and responsibility.
�Equality is a necessary part of any univer�sity that claims to be a democratic institution. Distinctions based on irrelevant differences are ruled out. Ascriptive characteristics including but not limited to race, religion, gender, class, disability, ethnic background, sexual orientation, age or disability determine neither the value of individuals nor the legitimacy of their views. Only the merit of the individual as a participant in the life of the academic community is worthy of consideration. Bigotry in any form is antithetical to the University�s ideals on intellectual political, and moral grounds and must be challenged and rejected.
�Liberty is an equally precious academic principle because the free expression of ideas is the central part of university life. To sustain the advancement and dissemination of knowledge and understanding, the University must allow the free expression of ideas, no matter how outrageous. Protecting speech in all its forms, however, does not mean condoning all ideas or actions. The University sets high standards for itself and denounces the violation of these standards in unequivocal terms. Harassment and other behavior that intrudes upon the rights of others are unacceptable and subject to action under the guidelines of the institution.
�There is no guarantee that the principles of justice, once stated, are realized. The University must constantly remind itself that its mission and ethos must evolve within the context of justice. A just community is always on guard against injustice, always struggling to move closer to the ideals of justice, always asserting its dedication to justice. The assertion of justice takes place in every part of the community: in the class�room, the lecture hall, the library, the residence hall, wherever members of the University come together. It is the responsi�bility of all faculty, staff and students to keep the ideals of justice uppermost in the minds of the members of the University so that they may be achieved.� (Approved 1990; revised April 3, 2001 - University Senate)

KEY DATES

1844 Founded as the New York State Normal School
1909 Downtown campus opened
1935 First residence halls opened, Pierce and Sayles
1962 Designated SUNY University Center
1967 Uptown campus opened
1976 Renamed University at Albany
1983 NYS Writers Institute established
1992 Recreation and Convocation Center opened
1996 University Foundation acquires new East Campus for School of Public Health, biotechnology and high-tech start-up businesses
For more information concerning the rich history, traditions and achievements of the University at Albany, please visit the University's web page: https://www.albany.edu.