Dr. Nancy Zimpher Visits Campus as Part of SUNY-Wide Tour
SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher visited Farmingdale State College on July 8 as part of her tour of the 64-campus SUNY system, meeting with students and discussing the college’s progress and growth with administrators and faculty. The Chancellor was also hosted at a reception in the College’s renowned Horticultural Teaching Gardens where she was introduced to representatives of state legislators and from the offices of New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as community and business leaders.
Dr. Zimpher was named SUNY Chancellor in February, after serving as president of the University of Cincinnati, where she received extensive praise during her six-year tenure for increasing enrollment, investing in research, and the launching of a $1 billion fund-raising campaign.
The tour of Farmingdale State included stops at the Institute for Research and Technology Transfer, the new Dental Hygiene Care Center, and a bioscience laboratory. Dr. Zimpher also met with members of the media.
“I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen at Farmingdale,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Students, faculty, staff, alumni, elected officials and friends take great pride in the college and I look forward to working with them and with President Keen in developing a strategic plan for SUNY so that together we can make Farmingdale State College the best it can be.”
“We are deeply appreciative that the Chancellor came to learn more about Farmingdale,” said President W. Hubert Keen. “She has extraordinary credentials in higher education and we look forward to working closely with her. The college is on an upward trajectory with increasing enrollment, new academic programs, and the modernization and renovation of our campus. Farmingdale is also critical to the economic development of the Long Island region. Those were among the messages we conveyed.”
With 6,850 students, Farmingdale is the largest college of applied science and technology in the SUNY system, and the second-largest SUNY institution in the Long Island/New York City region. The college has enjoyed a 62 per cent enrollment increase in full-time students since 2000, a 36 per cent enrollment increase overall in that span, and a 72 per cent increase in applications.
In addition, Farmingdale is spending $185 million in new construction projects and renovation. The college will break ground on a new Campus Center later this year, a new building to contain the School of Business is being designed, a new Information Commons is being planned, and funding has been secured for a new Child Care Center. Recent improvements include the renovation of academic buildings and laboratories, as well as the construction of new athletics facilities—including a baseball stadium, lacrosse/soccer field, and tennis courts.
Farmingdale is also establishing a Green Buildings Institute to educate and train municipalities and the public in green design, construction, and materials, and is a partner with LIPA and Stony Brook University in a Smart Energy Grid project to create energy efficiency along the Route 110 corridor.
