SUNY Unveils Ambitious Project at Purchase College

PURCHASE - SUNY Purchase hosted a launch event Thursday afternoon where State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor Nancy Zimpher presented a strategic plan that she says will guide the entire SUNY system for the next ten years.

The new plan will evaluate six "big ideas" that include creating a healthier and greener state, creating closer ties between colleges and local communities and extending the reach of the SUNY system to a global level. Zimpher said she has been told that the plan is one of the most ambitious since the creation of the SUNY system decades ago.

The new plan is aimed at propelling the SUNY system to the forefront of resolving large-scale New York issues including health care and economic recovery.

The current launching phase is the third phase of the plan. In the first phase Zimpher visited all 64 of the state's SUNY schools from Long Island to Buffalo. The second phase featured eight statewide conversations between faculty, staff and community leaders. Thursday's event is one of nine launching events planned before the end of the month.

Launches will all be hosted on SUNY campuses.

"This whole process has been about students, faculty staff, community leaders, so it just seemed important to return the favor," said Zimpher. "They have spent so much time, hours of time, giving us input so this was the right place to launch."

Zimpher said that although the state school system is expecting nearly $500,000 in state cuts, now is the time for new ideas and improvements in SUNY system.

"Out of the challenges of this economic environment, we as the State University of New York have found our highest calling validated over and over again," said Zimpher. "During the 64 campus tour was the notion that the State University of New York can and should be the economic engine for the revitalization of New York's economy and its enhanced quality of life."

She added that it is important to invest in growth in education, even in the worst of economic times.

"Everybody knows that when you're down and out you have to invest in growth," she said.

Several speakers took the podium during the hour-long presentation, including Mark Svensson, a Rockland County Community College student who was one of 20 community college students nationwide selected to the All-America Academic Team.

Svensson said he likes the chancellor's approach to large scale improvement.

"All of these ideas are tremendous because everything in the world today is intertwined," he said. "To bring SUNY to a bigger level, to work with other institutions across the country and take it to a global level, I really think is the way to go and I think she is on the track to success."

Other speakers shared stories ranging from personal achievements within the SUNY system to the value of education as a whole. Almost all speakers ended their time at the podium by citing "the power of SUNY," as a source of inspiration.

The public launches for the plan will wrap up by the end of April, after that leaders of the SUNY system will have the summer to begin implementing the six ideas. In the fall, there will be an evaluation of the progress of each.

"I think we have been needing for a long time to better connect the dots, and I say over and over again that SUNY the whole is greater than the sum of the parts," said Zimpher. "Imagine what we'll be like if we put that capacity together."