Chancellor's Corner

Chancellor Zimpher Concludes 64-Campus Tour in her first 100 days

September 3, 2009

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Albany – State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher today held an outdoor press event on the lawn at SUNY Plaza.  The chancellor then left for Sullivan County Community College to conclude her tour of all 64 SUNY campuses and the first phase of the strategic plan for the university.

Chancellor Zimpher began her tour the week of June 1, with trips to the SUNY campuses at Cornell University, the University at Albany, Mohawk Valley Community College and Binghamton University.

“SUNY’s responsibility is to support our campus-community connections. We must seek to serve each community’s needs and do what it takes to keep our gifted and well educated students within the region upon graduation,” said Chancellor Zimpher.

This week’s visits include Herkimer County Community College, Niagara County Community College, Nassau and Suffolk County Community Colleges as well as Sullivan County Community College.

Since June 1, less than 100 days into her tenure as chancellor, Zimpher has crisscrossed New York State visiting each of the SUNY research centers, health science centers and hospitals, community colleges, comprehensive and technical colleges.

“Being a campus president twice in my career, I think I was just following my intuition to meet the presidents and hear the voices of the faculty, staff and community supporters," said Chancellor Zimpher. "As the president of a university, you could do this on a golf cart; it's not that easy when you're touring New York State."

By the time Chancellor Zimpher has returned from her visit at Sullivan County Community College, she will have driven 6,703 miles, flown 780 miles, and sailed 24 nautical miles for a grand total of 7,507 miles over land, sea and air in 95 days.

“Academics see themselves as citizens of the world. They seek national and international recognition for their work," said Chancellor Zimpher. "But the greatest pathway to national and international recognition is to serve your state, and I just think that's an important way of thinking about our work."

Throughout the tour, SUNY campus presidents and the chancellor have held meetings, open forums and receptions with faculty, students, staff, elected officials, alumni, community and business leaders, members of community college boards of trustees, foundation board members, parents of students, friends and others.

"These are tough times, and the last thing in the world we want to do is challenge the pocketbooks of our students and their families," said Chancellor Zimpher. "That's a partnership we have with the state and all the elected officials I meet are just as committed to affordability as I am."

As part of the strategic planning process, results of the interaction with the greater SUNY community and the chancellor will be posted to the SUNY Web site for comment, suggestions and ideas, which will be followed by a series of forums held in regions around the state.

“Our goal is to present a plan that makes it clear that when considering the SUNY institutions, the whole system is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Additional information about Chancellor Zimpher’s 64-campus tour is available here.

Chancellor Zimpher’s biography and downloadable headshot are available here.

About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating nearly 440,000 students in 7,669 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu

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