The new State University of New York chancellor, whose reign began on the first of June, visited Binghamton University on June 6 on her tour of 64 state universities, according to SUNY spokesman David Henahan.
With New York state in its present financial crisis, Chancellor Nancy Zimpher already had plans to combat and reform the ailing SUNY system.
“The tour marks the first step in the creation of a SUNY-wide strategic plan, which will be completed next spring,” Zimpher said. “The planning process will be a model for state-wide collaborations — gathering suggestions, ideas and comments from thousands of stakeholders through town hall meetings, online conferences and other outreach.”
According to public relations spokeswoman Gail Glover of Binghamton University, the chancellor’s arrival was warmly received.
“The day’s activities included a brief tour of the campus, which included a visit to the Memorial Courtyard,” Glover said. “President DeFleur and Chancellor Zimpher laid a wreath at the Peace Pole in the Memorial Courtyard to pay respect to those affected by the recent shooting incident at the American Civic Association.”
Shortly after, the chancellor attended a luncheon held by Binghamton University. She met with more than 60 members of the campus community, including faculty, students and staff.
BU senior Jade Gardener asked the chancellor for “reassurance that Binghamton would continue to thrive so that she could be as proud to be an alumna of Binghamton in 10 years as she is to be a student today,” Glover said.
“We’re about building the equity of your degree and it will continue to get better and better and our role is to make sure the world knows what that means,” Zimpher responded. “It’s all about building excellence, quality and audacious goals; you’ll do part of it and we’ll do the rest.”
Zimpher toured campus and attended a Binghamton University Forum dinner. There she spoke with with political and community leaders and met more than 200 community members.
“President DeFleur took the opportunity to once again tout the University’s academic and research achievements, including its economic development efforts, such as expanded research that has produced start-up companies and a growing number of patents,” Glover said.
The chancellor’s visit to Binghamton University was a “great success,” Henahan said.
“Chancellor Zimpher was able to gain a broader understanding of Binghamton’s educational excellence, as well as the crucial role the University plays in strengthening our local community,” Glover said. “By sharing our goals and visions with Chancellor Zimpher during this visit, we were able to impress upon her the important role that the budget and adequate support plays in helping Binghamton maintain its excellence.”
The SUNY budget was one of the issues covered during the chancellor’s visit. According to Henahan, one year of undergraduate tuition at SUNY is $4,970. He said that tuition and fees at SUNY, which total less that $6,200, are “far below” the 2008 averages of New England at $8,602, middle states at $7,565 and midwestern states at $7,785.
“By demonstrating the value of SUNY to the state legislature, the chancellor’s hope is to maximize SUNY’s share of state resources,” he said.
Zimpher, SUNY’s first female chancellor, was elected with a substantial wage increase. Henahan said that presidential salary increases only come after performance reviews and when a hike is merited.
“She has already visited seven campuses and met with many elected officials and administrative leaders in Albany, New York City and Washington, D.C.,” he said, adding that the chancellor’s tour is the first step of a strategic plan for the SUNY system.
“We certainly hope to welcome Chancellor Zimpher back to our campus in the coming months but there are no immediate plans for a second trip,” Glover said. “President DeFleur also presented Chancellor Zimpher with a Bearcats jacket to help her transition from being a Cincinnati Bearcat to being a Binghamton Bearcat.”
Visit suny.edu/chancellor/followthetour.cfm to follow the chancellor’s tour.