About the University
Executive Council
The president’s Executive Council includes the vice presidents and other senior level direct reports.
Havidán Rodríguez, President
Edelgard Wulfert, Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Mark Benson, Director of Athletics
Michael N. Christakis, Vice President for Student Affairs
James A. Dias, Vice President for Research
Todd D. Foreman, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Tamra Minor, Chief Diversity Officer and Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
Janet M. Thayer, Senior Managing Counsel
Fardin Sanai, Vice President for University Advancement and Executive Director of the University at Albany Foundation
Sheila Seery, Vice President, Government and Community Relations
Bruce Szelest, Chief of Staff
State University of New York at Albany
Located in New York’s capital city, the University at Albany is the premier public research University in the Capital Region and offers more than 17,600 students the expansive opportunities of a large university in an environment designed to foster individual success.
Academic Excellence
Students choose from over 150 undergraduate programs and more than 125 graduate programs that prepare them to succeed in a wide range of fields.
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.
Nationally Renowned Programs
The excellence of a UAlbany education is recognized by many independent sources. UAlbany is ranked among the top universities in Forbes’ “America’s Best Public Colleges,” and U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks many of our graduate programs among the top 50 in the United States, including clinical psychology, criminal justice, library and information studies, public affairs, public health, sociology, and social work.
Strategic Location
The Capital Region of New York State has the highest employment rate in Upstate New York, and is home to bustling industries like government, technology, business, healthcare and education. The University's location 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. The University is only two hours from NYC, Boston and Montreal.
Career Preparation
UAlbany prepares students to pursue careers in a wide range of professions and enter top graduate, law, and medical schools. Students have access to internships and career preparation in every field, including Fortune 500 businesses, plus early assurance options with Albany Medical Center and a unique partnership with Albany Law School. Recent additions to the University's academic offerings include some of the most in-demand programs today, such as computer engineering, homeland security, emergency preparedness, digital forensics, financial market regulation, and public health.
Global Perspectives
In today’s world, global awareness and knowledge are crucial to success in business, education, research, and public policy. At UAlbany students can expand their world view with more than 1,000 study abroad programs available through UAlbany and SUNY networks.
UAlbany’s student body and faculty represent more than 100 nations. Their varied perspectives and life experiences greatly enrich the international dimensions of campus learning.
21st Century Facilities
State-of-the-art facilities support the excellence of the University's programs. The Life Sciences Research Building and Cancer Research Center offer laboratories and high-tech instruments that advance learning and research in the sciences. The School of Business offers a world-class learning and entrepreneurial environment.
A Vibrant and Engaged Community
Public engagement is deeply embedded in the University’s culture, and those efforts have earned national recognition. More than 7,400 students perform some kind of community service either through courses or personal volunteerism.
UAlbany offers 250-plus student-run clubs and organizations – everything from pre-professional organizations to Ultimate Frisbee and everything in between.
An Alumni Network 176,000+ Strong
Since its founding in 1844, UAlbany has graduated generations of leaders in all fields. Alumni include Monte and Avery Lipman, founders, CEO, and COO of one of the world’s premier recording labels (Jesse J, Florida Georgia Line, Drake), Republic Records; Secretary of the Army John McHugh; and trailblazing neuroscientist Sheila Nirenberg, winner of a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant.” Today UAlbany has a global network of more than 176,000 alumni making a difference around the world.
Intercollegiate Athletics
UAlbany’s intercollegiate athletics program, with 18 sports and 490 student-athletes competing at the NCAA Division I level, has achieved increasing success. UAlbany Athletics is a member of the America East Conference, Colonial Athletic Association (Football) and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Women’s Golf).
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 for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation
- 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
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 recently completed.
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. It includes lounges, meeting and dining rooms, a ballroom, exercise classrooms, banking facilities, a convenience store, a Barnes & Noble bookstore, and a variety of both fast-food and healthy food options in an expansive food court.
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 as the main campus from 1909-1966. 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 and the new College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity.
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, University 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 Service Desk. 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.
