The Future of SUNY on Display at Purchase College [VIDEO]

From pooling resources and creating energy efficiency to utilizing combined thoughts and ideas, SUNY leaders met in Purchase to discuss the future of the State University of New York.

Representatives from seven area schools displayed ideas that will promote SUNY's "six big ideas" initiative, which hopes to collaborate the state's 64 schools toward six key goals.

• The Entrepreneurial Century
• The Seamless Educational Pipeline
• Healthier New York
• Energy-Smart New York
• The Vibrant Community
• The World

Colleges setup tables on the Purchase campus to promote their school's vision moving toward the future, from using more efficient power systems to programs reaching out to surrounding communities. Each of the ideas coincided with one of the "big six" ideas.

"The Power of SUNY resides on each and every one of our campuses and through the personal energy of our faculty, our staff, our students, our retirees and our alumni. That's a lot of power," SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher said to an audience of school leaders.

The SUNY strategic plan was first presented in 2009 and has outlined the next 10 years of goals for the SUNY system. The meeting at Purchase is the second of 10 presentations scheduled throughout the state to discuss the ambitious plans with college leaders throughout the state.

For local college presidents, the meeting is an opportunity to show the projects SUNY schools in a particular region are capable of.

"Within a region you have tremendous ranges of opportunities and I think that's really what (Chancellor Zimpher) is trying to demonstrate," said Rockland Community College President Cliff Wood.

If brought to fruition, the idea of combining resources could have wide-reaching affects on the entire state, SUNY officials said.

"I think the goal of the strategic plan is to improve the lives of all New Yorkers and I think higher education can do that," said Dutchess County Community College President David Conklin. "By committing ourselves and focusing our energies, we think that in these six areas we are really going to be able to have a significant impact."