About the University
Executive Committee
James R. Stellar, Interim President
Darrell P. Wheeler, Interim Provost
Bruce P. Szelest, Chief of Staff
Simeon Ananou, Vice President for Information Technology Services and CIO
Mark Benson, Director of Athletics
Joseph A. Brennan, Vice President for Communications and Marketing
Michael N. Christakis, Vice President for Student Affairs
James A. Dias, Vice President for Research
Tamra Minor, Chief Diversity Officer and Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
John H. Reilly, Senior Counsel
Fardin Sanai, Vice President for University Development and Executive Director of the UAlbany Foundation
Laura Schweitzer, Vice President for Health Sciences and Biomedical Initiatives
James R. Van Voorst, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Leanne Wirkkula, Vice President for Planning, Policy and Compliance
2016-2017 University Council Members
Michael J. Castellana, (Chair) Guilderland
Robert P. Balachandran, Esq., New York City
Nancy M. Burton, Albany
Patricia A. Caldwell, New York City
James M. Clancy, Delmar
Mark N. Eagan, Menands
John R. Fallon, Jr., Esq., New York City
James O. Jackson, Albany
Abner JeanPierre, Latham
Marc Cohen (Student Member), Williamsville
Faculty Representative
Karin B. Reinhold, Delmar
Graduate Student Representative
Stanley De La Cruz, Bronx
Alumni Representative
Joseph N. Garba, New York City
Undergraduate Education
Jeanette Altarriba, Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education
Hui-Ching Chang, Dean of the Honors College
Robert P. Yagelski, Associate Vice Provost and Program in Writing and Critical Inquiry Director
Suraj Commuri, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Research
Richard S. Fogarty, Associate Dean for General Education
Linda M. Krzykowski, Assistant Vice Provost for Student Engagement
About the University
Located in New York's capital city, the University at Albany offers its more than 17,300 students the expansive opportunities of a comprehensive public research university in an environment designed to foster success.
Students choose from 120 undergraduate majors and minors and more than 125 graduate programs that prepare them to succeed in a wide range of fields.
Life-Enhancing Research and Scholarship
In every area of study, students are instructed by faculty who are world-class scholars and teachers ─ many actively engaged in life-enhancing research that contributes profoundly to the public good. As mentors, they provide numerous student-research opportunities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, inspiring students to advance their skills and aspirations.
More than 600 Ways to Study Abroad
UAlbany students take advantage of the more than 600 study abroad opportunities in over 50 countries available through both UAlbany and SUNY networks. These are valuable opportunities for young scholars to enhance their education, increase independence and self-awareness, and gain international perspective that prepares them for today's global marketplace.
Diversity that Enriches Learning
The varied perspectives and life experiences of a student body and faculty which represent more than 100 nations provide a diversity that enriches learning at UAlbany.
Excellence at a Great Value
The excellence of a UAlbany education is recognized by many independent sources, such as the rankings published yearly by U.S. News & World Report. Its great value results from the world of opportunities that are available to students at an affordable price.
Strategic Location
The University's location in the state capital of New York provides students with limitless opportunities for internships and public service through which they gain experience, test their skills, and prepare to launch successful careers. The area is also a vibrant center for culture and entertainment. Among its attractions are the New York State Museum and Library and the Times Union Center, a major Northeast entertainment and sports venue. Close by are the Berkshire, Catskill, and Adirondack Mountains, as well as Saratoga Springs, areas famed for recreational and cultural opportunities.
Nationally Renowned Programs
U.S. News & World Report rankings consistently place many of our graduate programs among the top 50 in the United States. This includes programs in clinical psychology, criminal justice, library and information studies, public affairs, public health, sociology and social work.
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. UAlbany is also a member of the Council of Graduate Schools in the U.S., and is fully accredited by Middle States Commission on Higher Education. UAlbany also holds specialized program accreditation from the following accreditors:
- American Chemical Society
- American Library Association
- American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
- Council on Education for Public Health
- Council on Social Work Education
- National Association of School Psychologists
- Network of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
- New York State Office of Professions
- Planning Accreditation Board
- Teacher Education Accreditation Council, Accreditation Committee, now merged into the Council for the Accreditation of Education Preparation.
Organization
The University enrolls students in nine degree-granting schools and colleges including its Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity; the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy; and its Schools of Business, Criminal Justice, Education, Public Health, and Social Welfare. Both the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Research work jointly with the academic units in curricular and research areas.
The Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education 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. Non-degree study at the undergraduate level is coordinated by the Office of General Studies.
The Campuses
The Uptown Campus, the University’s main campus, is located at 1400 Washington Avenue in Albany, and has been described as “a distinctive work of modern art.” Designed in 1961-62 by renowned American architect Edward Durell Stone (1902-1978), the campus reflects Stone’s signature style of bold unified design, expressed by its towers, domes, fountains, soaring colonnades and sweeping canopy. The result is dramatically different from the dispersed buildings and disparate architectural styles of most traditional university campuses.
A consistent flow of new construction has expanded the Uptown Campus in the last decade, adding new science and art facilities and administration building. A new home for the School of Business, awarded a LEED gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, opened in the fall of 2013. Expansion and major renovations have completely refurbished the University's Entry Plaza, main fountain and 20-story Carillon, with a major expansion of the Campus Center currently underway.
The Uptown Campus also features the Performing Arts Center, boasting several theatres, recital halls, and rehearsal instructional space; the University Art Museum, one of the finest regional museums in the Northeast; and the New York State Writers Institute, a broad educational base for readers and writing students promoting the literary arts.
Each of four residence quadrangles on the Uptown Campus house approximately 1,200 students and include eight, three-story halls and a 23-story tower. Each quadrangle includes lounges, recreational areas and dining facilities. Nearby Freedom Apartments has apartment-style living, and Empire Commons provides single-room apartment-style living for 1,200 students. Liberty Terrace, an architecturally award-winning, environmentally friendly living complex, provides another 500 apartment-style beds. Housing is also available on Alumni Quadrangle, located near the Downtown Campus.
Other special facilities on the Uptown Campus include a National Weather Service meteorological laboratory, a linear accelerator for physics research, and a cutting-edge data center that supports high-performance computing and networking. The hub of student activity is the Campus Center, which is being expanded by 76,000 square feet. It currently includes lounges, meeting and dining rooms, a ballroom, a cafeteria, banking facilities, a convenience store, a Barnes & Noble bookstore, and a variety of both fast-food and healthy food options.
Outdoor recreational facilities include lighted tennis courts, basketball and volleyball courts, and several multipurpose playing areas, including a multi-use synthetic turf field for student recreational and intramural use.
Indoor athletic facilities are dominated by the SEFCU Arena. 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, two main locker rooms, and several smaller team locker rooms. All facilities are handicapped accessible and have designated seating areas for handicapped spectators. The Physical Education Center includes a pool, locker rooms, weight and wrestling rooms, a dance studio, and basketball, handball and squash courts.
A new 8,500-seat multi-sports stadium, home to football and men's and women's soccer, opened in the fall of 2013. The new home venue for UAlbany's championship track and field program opened in 2014. It features a nine-lane track surface, and complete reconditioning of the natural turf infield for field events.
The Downtown Campus, located at 135 Western Avenue in Albany, is a classic Georgian-style complex that served from 1909-66 as the main campus. Recently renovated, it houses the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, the School of Criminal Justice, and the School of Social Welfare, as well as the new College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, formerly known as the College of Computing and Information.
The Health Sciences Campus, a former pharmaceutical complex purchased in 1996 and located at One University Place in Rensselaer, is one of the region's booming bioscience research and high-tech centers. Its academic anchor is the School of Public Health, and its research facilities include the Cancer Research Center, home to the Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics, and the Center for Functional Genomics.
Libraries
Three campus libraries comprise the University Libraries, which house more than two million print volumes and provide access to hundreds of thousands of online resources. As a member of the Association of Research Libraries, UAlbany's Libraries rank among the largest and most comprehensive research libraries in North America. Users from around the world access services and collections through the Libraries' online systems and website, library.albany.edu. The Libraries offer a program of information literacy and user-education with instruction that ranges from a focus on traditional bibliographic access to collaborative classes integrated into the curriculum.
Two of the campus libraries, the University Library and the Science Library, are located on the Uptown Campus. The third, the Dewey Graduate Library, is on the Downtown Campus.
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 Science Library houses the M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives. The Dewey Graduate Library 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 (ITS)
Information Technology Services offers a sophisticated IT environment commensurate with UAlbany's position as a nationally recognized comprehensive public research university. This environment includes an extensive array of technology systems, services, tools and training for students, faculty and staff. These resources are designed to enrich learning experiences and advance UAlbany's teaching, service, and research programs. ITS manages UAlbany's state-of-the-art data center.
For more information, visit the ITS website at www.albany.edu/its. Requests for assistance can be directed to the ITS HelpDesk. Visit LC 27, submit a Help Request electronically at www.albany.edu/its/svc_help.php or call (518) 442-3700.
For more information concerning the rich history, traditions and achievements of the University at Albany, please visit the University’s website: www.albany.edu.
