The Binghamton University Council met Friday morning in the Couper Administration Building to discuss current events and plans for the upcoming school year.
The state of the athletic department and admissions were among the topics discussed, along with reports from BU President Harvey Stenger and BU Council student representative Ryan Sheppard, a first-year graduate student in accounting.
Stenger began his remarks with news of record-breaking Family Weekend and Homecoming Weekend registration numbers. Family Weekend had 5,000 people registered to return to campus, 400 of which were alumni and parents of current students, while Homecoming Weekend had 1,400 alumni registered. Stenger also focused on a visit from one alum in particular, Sierra Club President Aaron Mair.
“[Mair] was also an EOP student here,” Stenger said. “[He is] an outstanding speaker, very passionate person about the environment and gave a very good presentation.”
He also discussed the BU Excellence Awards, the WHRW anniversary, the Zurak Family High-Technology Collaboration Center, the anonymous baseball donation and funding for the alumni lounge.
Stenger closed his remarks with mention of Terrell Strayhorn, a professor at The Ohio State University. Strayhorn spoke at resident assistant training over the summer, as well as to faculty, about a sense of belonging on a college campus. Stenger said he appreciated Strayhorn’s emphasis on belonging and said he believes a focus on this connection will improve life for students at BU.
“[We want to] kind of understand how this sense of belonging, which is really the connection between students, but also between students and faculty, greatly improves the success of students,” Stenger said. “It’s just a hard thing to create, but he’s been giving us some ideas on how you can improve that kind of belongingness on campus.”
Sheppard covered a variety of issues, including the Graduate Student Organization and their lack of a central location for its office, as well as its frustration over a lack of representation and employment opportunities at the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development. Sheppard also touched on the Harpur Dean Search Committee, which will now include a student representative after Sheppard and Stenger came to an agreement about the matter. They discussed possible student options, but left the ultimate decision up to the hiring supervisor, provost Donald Nieman.
Sheppard discussed the recent change of services by Off Campus College Transport (OCCT), which moved stops from Leroy Street to Riverside Drive. Any plan will take time, he said, but one proposal included having the DCR turn down Beethoven Street instead of West End Drive, as many students complained about the route change.
“Because there are so many [students], the buses tend to get crowded really easily,” Sheppard said. “What the biggest need is, and what I’ll be working with OCCT on, is restoring the DCL as soon as possible.”
Patrick Elliott, BU’s director of athletics, gave the annual athletics report. Elliott focused not only on the athletic successes of this past season, but also on the academic achievements of student-athletes. Twenty-six student-athletes, spanning 13 different teams, reported a 4.0 GPA, the highest it has been in many years.
Elliott discussed the Athletics Alumni Giving Challenge, which pitted BU sports teams against one another in a competition to raise money from their respective alumni. Elliott said he realizes the importance of fundraising from alumni, especially in athletics.
“New donors are critical, and alumni giving, in general, is critical,” Elliott said. “We have to create a culture of giving within athletics.”
Greg Delviscio, the associate vice president for communications and marketing, and Donald Loewen, vice provost for undergraduate education and enrollment, gave a presentation on admissions and communication, which focused on attracting new students in a highly competitive time for college recruitment.
The Council approved the reports and dismissed the meeting without any new business. The next meeting will be held on Nov. 18.