It seems like there’s always construction somewhere on campus at SUNY New Paltz. That fact can slip under the radar because what’s built on state land isn’t subject to Planning Board review like every other project in New Paltz, because local zoning rules do not have to be considered in any way. In recent years, all of that construction has been in service to a vision that unifies the many architectural styles, reduces the carbon footprint and reinforces a pedestrian-focused design. Much of that transformation has been headed up by John Shupe, who oversees facilities on the SUNY New Paltz campus, but with Shupe’s retirement imminent it was Megan Smailer who provided an update at the October 21 College Council meeting. Smailer is director of the department where all the design and construction is managed. Smailer’s update is the first formal report in two years, most of which has been under pandemic conditions that have impacted both the ability to work on construction and the availability of building materials to get those jobs done.
Smailer highlighted a renovation in the Student Union Building; the fourth floor now has updated meeting rooms and offices for several student operations, including the newspaper and radio station. There’s a room for meditation, another for mothers and numerous other updates. Getting around campus shall be easier now that new steps and ramps have been completed at the main entry and at other locations. Accessibility has been improved in a number of ways, such as through updating vestibules to allow for easier entry and also by creating more single-use gender-irrelevant bathrooms. Every time a dormitory is renovated, those old-style group bathrooms are being replaced with facilities that support privacy over efficiency. Another part of recent construction efforts is the installation of more signage to help visitors get around, while also reinforcing the “branding” of this public institution.
When Awosting Hall gets renovated, a fourth floor for housing will be added. That’s apparently not going to be adding more housing overall, though, because both College and Shango halls are going to be removed from the dormitory business altogether and converted to academic use. Council president Eli Basch said in support of this concept that the university “is going to continue to expand” as it has historically. Excelsior Concourse, for example, was once Excelsior Avenue before it was absorbed onto campus and the houses were either torn down or relocated to other streets. Echoing that sentiment, President Donald Christian noted that the campus is short some 500,000 square feet of non-residential space by some measures, suggesting that expansion in some form is indeed desired. As taking over more private land may be more difficult than in the past, this may continue to take the form of taller buildings. The height requirements in force in the surrounding Village are not in force on campus, according to current state law. The shift around Shango and College will take at least five years, according to Smailer.
Search for new president
A search committee has been seated to work on replacing Donald Christian as president. Christian will be retiring in June of 2020. Donald Christian has been president of the college since 2012, after serving as interim president in 2010-11 and as the College’s Vice President of Academic Affairs from 2009-10.
Headed by College Council member Ron Law, the 18-member committee includes representatives of faculty and other staff members, someone from the Chancellor’s Office and numerous other stakeholders. One of the group’s first collective acts was to hire a consultant to do the bulk of the work of describing and advertising the position, as well as screening candidates. Law expects a list of candidates to be considered will be ready by Thanksgiving.
Students on board with pandemic rules
There are no COVID-19 cases on campus, and it appears that the students are to blame. Christian told College Council members at their October 21 meeting that “not even midterms are dampening enthusiasm” of students to again be learning on campus, and their high rate of compliance with rules and restrictions are evidence that they prefer to stay there. Only seven students have been dis-enrolled because they furnished neither proof of vaccination, nor evidence to support an exemption. All told, the vaccination rate is 97% among students and nearly 80% for staff members. There is “very high compliance” with the mask requirement and the number of cases on campus remains in the single digits. Moreover, there is “zero evidence of in-class transmission,” Christian said.
University deficit expected to widen
The current pandemic can be characterized as having an amplifying effect on existing problems, such as weaknesses in the areas of health care and social justice in the wider world. At SUNY New Paltz, the sudden shift to virtual instruction and stopping a lot of economic activity did nothing to improve a budget deficit projected for this year, although it did change many of the details of what was spent and how money was obtained. Michele Halstead reminded College Council members last week that a $3 million deficit was expected, but that number came in at $2.7 million instead. For the next year, though, a deficit of $8.1 million is projected.
Changes to last year’s accounting included not only a large drop in revenue for housing, but also reductions in payroll and utilities. Indeed, Village officials scrambled to keep their own finances straight because the water revenue from the College was needed to pay off the loans made to pay for significant treatment plant upgrades, which are largely needed due to the presence of the College within the Village. While $3.3 million in tuition was lost during the academic year, that came with a drop of $17.5 million in rent for those dorm rooms. Budget deficits are made up from university reserves.
There is more aid coming down the pike, but there are also expenses now being triggered. A hiring freeze in place for the early part of the pandemic has been lifted and contractual raises that were held in abeyance have been triggered. More money is being used on mental health and student outreach programs.
Halstead and Christian noted that these financial issues are compounded by the fact that both tuition rates and state aid are not being increased. Tuition has been frozen, and state legislators have not raised the amount of aid for the state’s university system since 2013.
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