Binghamton University President Anne D’Alleva has spent the first month of her new administration meeting with students, faculty, administrators and alumni as part of her “Listening to Lead” tour.

After officially assuming duties on Nov. 1, D’Alleva began the tour four days later with a visit to the University’s College of Community and Public Affairs. In a statement to Pipe Dream, D’Alleva said her listening tour had two major objectives.

“The first is allowing me to meet as many members of the University community as possible and gain a full picture of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners in government and the community,” D’Alleva said. “The second goal is beginning to formulate a foundation for a new strategic plan for Binghamton, a process that will take place during the spring 2026 semester.”

On Aug. 19, the SUNY Board of Trustees named D’Alleva as the next president [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/anne-dalleva-selected-president/168300/], over 10 months after former University President Harvey Stenger announced his intent to step down. D’Alleva spent the last 26 years at the University of Connecticut as an art history professor. She became UConn’s first female provost in 2022 and served as dean of its School of Fine Arts for the previous seven years. At UConn, D’Alleva also served as the executive vice president for academic affairs.

Among the stops on her listening tour were visits with multicultural organizations and staff from the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. At a press conference held before her first BU Council meeting, D’Alleva told Pipe Dream that embracing people from diverse backgrounds and communities was “important to the health and welfare of our University community.”

Multicultural organizations, she added, help students find community and a “sense of belonging.”

“However, we do need to work hard to ensure that these groups have the resources and the space they need to continue making a difference in the lives of students,” D’Alleva wrote on Nov. 13 in her blog reflection. “I’m looking forward to meeting with these student leaders again in the future and getting a full sense of what they do at their events.”

All of D’Alleva’s visiting sessions are available on the University’s website. A link to the listening tour blog is also posted on her Instagram account.

On Tuesday, the listening tour took D’Alleva to Washington, D.C., where she met with three University alumni: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ‘92, Rep. John Mannion ‘90 and Rep. Eugene Vindman ‘97. She also met with Rep. Josh Riley, who represents the Greater Binghamton area in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In early November, D’Alleva met with the Student Association’s Executive Board and discussed some of the challenges students are facing, including a lack of access to mental health support.

“Our meeting with Anne was very productive,” the SA E-Board said in a statement to Pipe Dream. “We spoke about a variety of topics, ranging from why we chose Binghamton to several issues currently affecting our student body, including the dining service’s climate and the counseling center’s accessibility.”

Many students have recently voiced concerns about the state campus dining. With the University’s contract with Sodexo set to expire, BU’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America launched a dining campaign last semester [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/students-share-dining-related-grievances-during-town-hall/164802/] calling for changes like implementing a meal swipe system and greater access to halal and kosher food options. The organization hosted a rally on Nov. 21 [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/our-money-our-voice-ydsa-organizes-march-for-campus-dining-reform/173415/] and delivered a signed petition to Mike Majewski, assistant director of auxiliary services, outlining the demands.

Over the past five years, numerous health violations [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/auto-draft-1673/172425/] were found at all four campus dining halls. The SA Congress unanimously passed a resolution [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/sa-unanimously-passes-resolution-calling-for-campus-dining-reforms/172526/] calling for the University to secure changes in its next contract to improve food safety.

D’Alleva also met with three members from the Graduate Student Organization as part of her tour.

Listening sessions were hosted for faculty and students in the University’s six schools: Harpur College of Arts and Sciences; Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science; Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences; the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; College of Community and Public Affairs; and the School of Management.

Feedback from the tour will help inform D’Alleva and other administrators when “forming a foundation for the University’s next strategic plan,” D’Alleva wrote in her letter to the campus community after becoming president. The plan is expected to be announced in the fall 2026 semester.

Boosting research is “certainly going to be a topic of interest” during next year’s planning process, D’Alleva wrote. She met with the University’s Division of Research on Nov. 12. When asked if next year’s strategic plan will draw inspiration from Stenger’s Road Map Initiative, D’Alleva told Pipe Dream she was thankful for Stenger’s “strong culture of strategic planning here at the University.”

“My goal for the Listening Tour is to make it a broad, transparent, and open conversation among the entire University community that pushes us to dream big and strategize before our next steps,” D’Alleva wrote to Pipe Dream.