Opening Convocation Address: "Geneseo for Generations"

2024 Opening Convocation Address by President Denise A. Battles, August 23, 2024

I appreciate your attendance at today’s Opening Convocation, during which I traditionally deliver the annual State of the College Address. This is my tenth such Address, a bit of a milestone that prompted some special reflection on my part. At my first convocation, I referenced the concept of Sankofa and its underlying principles. At that time, Sankofa wasn’t among Geneseo’s traditions, and so I explained its significance. Specifically, Sankofa derives from the Ghanian Akan language and is literally translated as "to go back and get it." The concept is typically symbolized by a mythical bird that is flying forward while gazing behind to pick an egg - representing wisdom - from its back. As I explained in 2015, "The apparent paradox of the bird looking back while still moving forward suggests that progress relies upon an understanding of the past, which informs the way ahead."

When I began penning this 10th Convocation Address, that notion – the importance of reflecting back so as to shape our pathway forward – seemed apt. It’s also in keeping with another of my Convocation themes, one I expressed on the occasion of our 150th anniversary: the desirability of taking the long view when considering our status and progress. And so let’s use this opportunity to consider some of our achievements over that nearly decade-long period, as a baseline that will inform our actions. We’ll do so in video format. 

Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement

It’s important that we consider our collective achievements, as they will inform our pathway forward as we respond to our present circumstances. Let’s now consider our challenges and opportunities for enhancement.

One of the most pressing challenges we face is well-known and being felt across all higher education: maintaining stable enrollment. As those of you who have attended prior Opening Convocations or campus open fora on the subject will recall, our State – like many others across the nation – is no longer experiencing the steady growth in the population of college-bound traditional-age high school graduates. New York reached its peak production of high school graduates a full decade ago and is projected to experience a substantial overall decline for another decade-plus.

This "demographic cliff" has manifested in profound impacts within academe, with many campuses losing enrollment and even prompting the closure of particularly vulnerable - generally small, poorly resourced private - schools. The sharp drop in the pool of prospective students has proved especially difficult for Geneseo, as our high selectivity pits us firmly against other selective liberal arts colleges - many with far larger endowments that can support increased scholarships - for a diminishing supply of academically stellar students.

Geneseo’s work to achieve enrollment stability is also affected by another demographic change, this one involving the rapid diversification of the prospective pool of students by race and ethnicity. Simply stated, the fact that the diversity among our student body lags that of our increasingly diverse State – something we have worked hard to address – also challenges Geneseo’s enrollment efforts.

A new factor which emerged over the past year and has severely exacerbated the enrollment management landscape was the federal government’s rollout of the redesigned Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The FAFSA changes were well-intended, a long-awaited streamlining and simplification of a cumbersome process that proved a barrier to many, including those most underserved by higher education. Regrettably, those positive intentions did not translate into smooth execution; the transition was deeply flawed, impeding many individuals’ ability to complete accurate and timely FAFSA forms, the gateway to financial aid on which so many students rely. Through June 28, 2024, a full eight weeks after the traditional May 1 College Decision Day, our state’s FAFSA completions were running 12.8% behind that of the prior year. In response to this crisis, many campuses, including our own, extended application deadlines while quickly implementing new programs to assist prospective students struggling with FAFSA completion. Although our Enrollment Management colleagues undertook impressive efforts to address this federally imposed challenge, the impacts for our College and those across the nation are undeniable. Worryingly, it remains unclear if the U.S. Department of Education has resolved the FAFSA issues for the coming year.

Transfer students are an important constituency at Geneseo and – when viewed through an equity-centered lens – a particularly welcome one. Just 15 years ago, transfer students composed more than 40% of our entering class.

Here too, external conditions have disadvantaged us; a major downturn in New York State community college enrollments has translated to a smaller recruitment pool for Geneseo. It’s to our credit that we have undertaken a number of efforts, including a revised, transfer-friendly baccalaureate curriculum, to offset those challenges and thereby help stabilize our total headcount.

The companion to student recruitment – retention – also plays a critical role in maintaining a stable enrollment. Despite our focused attention on student success, the regrettable slip in our retention numbers has additionally challenged our enrollment stabilization efforts.

The net effect of these multiple factors is that Geneseo – like so many of our sister institutions – has seen a sizable drop in our student headcount since a decade ago, in our case totaling 30%.

For an institution like ours that is highly enrollment-dependent, such a sizable decline translates to financial stress. That’s because most of our operating revenues derive from tuition, fees, room rents, and the like. As many of you are aware, in recent budget cycles, our State has significantly augmented SUNY’s operating support, both for general operations and restricted use. We are deeply appreciative of this historic infusion of much-needed funds, which for Geneseo amounts to nearly 4.2 million in ongoing dollars. That said, I’ll highlight Chancellor King’s observation that additional funding for SUNY is required (and I quote) "in order to cover growing costs, including the costs of paying for our people" (end quote). As he explained (and I quote again), "that means either dollars would have to come from the state, or the state would have to think about a tuition increase" (end quote). Simply stated, the additional State funds Geneseo has received to date are insufficient to address the approximately $10 million structural budget gap.

Our collective work to address the College’s financial challenges has been ongoing and multi-pronged, targeting both revenue generation and expense reduction. In the first category, our strategic addition of mission-aligned, in-demand new academic programs is serving us well. Our focused retention work likewise benefits both our students and our financial health. These efforts are supporting the stabilization of our enrollment, and while the official census date is still weeks away, we’re cautiously optimistic that our fall 2024 headcount will be on par with that of last year, which is to say, just below 4,000. As well, we have benefited through our actions to generate bridge funds such as through the sale of Main Street properties, increase grant support, and governmental advocacy. Our expense reduction efforts - some of which, like the hiring freeze, are painful - have likewise helped our bottom line. While there is much to praise in our multipronged approach to financial stability, the confluence of the factors I’ve identified amid a highly inflationary market has hindered our success. As expected, in the fiscal year just ended we applied the majority of our reserves to operations. Given our structural deficit, this highlights our need to accelerate our efforts.

Inherent to our equity-centered honors college aspiration is the notion that Geneseo will offer an environment that is welcoming to all. Indeed, that aim was central to our endorsement of "belonging" as the newest Geneseo value. However, as I’ve noted, our College’s diversity lags that of New York State, a barrier to our equity-centered public honors college ambitions. Just as worrisome is that campus climate data, such as that derived from the recent survey of students, have identified concerning gaps between the experiences and perceptions of underserved and majority students. While our commitment to enhancing our campus climate is sincere, these results signal the need for heightened efforts.

I’ll also touch on another point of challenge for Geneseo, one that my Cabinet colleagues and I have given significant attention in recent months. In reviewing our activities over the past decade or so, you may have been struck by the level of activity – the amount of change – we at Geneseo have experienced over that time. We’ve had a major overhaul and implementation of our undergraduate curriculum; significant refinements of our academic program portfolio; a series of large-scale facilities renovation projects; a new equity-centered vision and a myriad of vision-aligned initiatives; and a vastly altered enrollment and financial environment...not to mention a profoundly impactful and sustained public health crisis. That’s a lot of change, and academe generally -- and Geneseo too -- is not known for enthusiastically embracing change. Change can be hard, and wearying. My colleagues and I have reflected on the cumulative impact of our dynamic environment, particularly in considering the findings of our Employee Opinion Survey which – like that of our students – signals the need for improvement. And to that point, I want to thank those of you who took the time to respond so very thoughtfully to that survey. I want you to know that we hear your feedback, and the Cabinet and I are committed to continued partnership with our colleagues to improve our environment. I additionally want to express my gratitude to our faculty and staff colleagues who accepted the invitation to serve on the Campus Culture Committee that will help guide our response.

To sum up, our cumulative achievements since 2015 are remarkable, even as we – and higher education more broadly – navigate an increasingly complex environment.

Let’s now turn our attention to our collective work ahead.

Our Work Ahead: Geneseo for Generations

Our comprehensive fundraising campaign theme – Opportunities Rising: Geneseo for Generations – provides a useful framework for considering the work we will undertake. The origin of and rationale for that theme may merit some explanation. In anticipation of the public launch of our $45 million campaign, our largest ever, my Cabinet colleagues and I spent considerable time contemplating the campaign’s theme. It needed to be succinct, relevant, inspirational, and capture Geneseo’s ethos. In exploring our options, we benefited from the thought-partnership of someone who knows our College well – an alum with expertise in advertising, marketing, and PR. Opportunities Rising: Geneseo for Generations evoked our bold vision and outstanding outcomes as well as the notion that this College transcends a given moment, the four-year student experience, or even the duration of a Geneseo career. Indeed, when viewed over the College’s more than 150-year existence, and envisioning those to come, what we do here – our impact – is generational.

I’ll invite you to consider that Geneseo for Generations mindset as we discuss our work to come, organized – as always – around our Strategic Plan.

Access is the first of our Strategic Plan’s four focus areas and central to our equity-centered public honors college vision.

Our plan calls for increased enrollment, in particular among students from underserved communities, with an emphasis on accessibility and affordability. An exciting opportunity to advance Geneseo’s enrollment pipeline and access more broadly that has recently emerged relates to the globally renowned International Baccalaureate Program, or IB. IB, which per its mission (and I quote) "aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural, understanding and respect" (end quote), offers educational programming to nearly 2 million students from ages 3-19 in over 160 countries, including the U.S. Students who pursue an IB education in high school (or the international equivalent) are high-achieving, rigorously assessed, globally aware scholars who are well-prepared for their college experience. Recognizing the strong alignment of Geneseo’s mission and curriculum with those of IB, Chancellor King facilitated our connection to the IB organization. In his Keynote Address at last month’s IB Global Conference, he highlighted our capacity for an expanded partnership, recognizing Geneseo’s (and I quote) "deep commitment to the IB" (end quote) and touting our status as a (quote) "liberal arts college providing the kind of experience that so many elite private colleges in New England provide at literally 10 times the cost" (end quote). We are excited by the potential to attract IB scholars from across our state, nation, and the globe through a focused and comprehensive strategy, and I encourage your participation in this initiative’s development.

Our work to regain our share of transfer students, including through new or refreshed articulation agreements with community college partners, will continue. We’ve also revised our approach to awarding institutional aid, to better address the financial needs of potential transfer students. Accessibility is also promoted through our First-Generation initiative, which includes programming, a new living-learning community, and enhanced scholarship opportunities to grow this population. We’ve augmented awareness of our College among underserved high school students through a multi-year agreement to host the State’s Camp College summer program.

Student Experience is the second focus area of our Strategic Plan, calling for us to build on and enhance our already strong base to provide an honors experience for all Geneseo learners. Consistent with our vision, the promotion of DEIB and well-being within the student experience is prioritized.

I’ve noted the impressive enrollment outcomes associated with the establishment of new, mission-aligned academic programs, efforts we will continue to foster. We will also seek to expand delivery modalities and learning options to serve a broader range of learners. The proposed MS in Accounting for non-accounting majors, the approval of which is pending at NYSED, as well as the recently launched non-credit data analytics micro-credential, are great examples. I’ve referenced the launch of our new baccalaureate curriculum, and look forward to important supporting measures, such as the piloting of assessment activities and implementation of pathways to complete the curriculum’s Integrative and Applied Learning requirement.

We will expand on our commitment to support student success through continued enhancement of New Student Orientation with programming focused on underserved individuals; refining the first-year experience; and tapping SUNY Incremental and Transformation funds to augment the staffing and services offered in the Office of Accessibility and learning centers. This work will be guided by the findings from our participation in the National Institute for Student Success assessment process.

Expanded summer programming represents an especially promising opportunity for Geneseo. Not only is there potential to offer augmented learning experiences for our current students, opportunities abound to increase learning, training, enhancement, and athletic experiences for broader audiences. For example, summer academic and athletic camps for pre-college-age students can respond to existing interests in our greater community and expose potential future students to our campus while supporting revenue-generation. In the coming year, we will work to increase our engagement in such programming. Our efforts to expand non-credit learning opportunities are also being advanced through our deployment of SUNY Transformation Funds to support continuing education at Geneseo. We’ll support our students’ overall well-being through continued utilization of SUNY Incremental funds for basic needs like food and mental health as well as that of our broader campus community through the work of the Well-Being Collective.

I’ve mentioned that DEIB figures prominently in our student experience work. Our recent recruitment of two Multicultural Student Success Coaches using SUNY Transformation Funds will expand our ability to support students' holistic wellbeing and connect them with resources that support their success. As a new AAC&U Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Center, we look forward to launching pilot initiatives that will positively benefit our overall campus climate.

We’re proactively planning for these dynamic and sometimes divisive times, in keeping with our mission as a public liberal arts-focused institution that values civil discourse and engagement. Doing so includes refreshing our policies and procedures as well as offering a robust set of programming to meaningfully and supportively help our students and broader community navigate the upcoming election season and challenging world events. As our faculty and staff, I invite you to consider how you can contribute, through your varied campus roles, to this vitally important work.

We’re also piloting and assessing the efficacy of a Spring Travel After Commencement program that enables students to access their full spring financial aid package for participation in short-term study abroad experiences, thereby enhancing their affordability and accessibility.

The third focus area of our strategic plan deals with Outcomes, both for students and our community more broadly, with special attention to developing equitable support systems. Outcomes are a traditional area of strength for Geneseo yet they can always be enhanced.

One of our greatest opportunities to do so is in student advisement. SUNY Transformation Funds have enabled the recruitment of a full-time pre-health career advisor in the Career Design Center, as well as a corporate partnerships and career education specialist in the School of Business. We’re also working to enhance our deployment of the EAB Navigate student success system, a powerful resource in support of our goals to increase retention and graduation rates.

Recognizing the importance of equitable systems for faculty personnel evaluations and advancement, we will continue our response to recommendations emerging from the faculty working group charged with this analysis. We’ll build on positive relationships with our passionate alumni through developing the department chair liaison program, in partnership with the Geneseo Foundation Board, and career-oriented programming to better connect alumni with students. And we’ll seek to enhance employee engagement, satisfaction, and fulfillment with the help of our Campus Culture Committee and by continuing to develop our Leadership Journey program for mid-level professionals and the pilot joint CSEA Labor Management mentoring program for administrative support staff.

The final focus area of our Strategic Plan is Infrastructure and Financial Sustainability, the aim of which is to continue to cultivate a sustainable planning and decision-making system that assures robust campus systems and enhances Geneseo’s financial health. Indeed, what could be more important than our financial health and sustainability, on which all our aspirations depend?

My Cabinet colleagues and I have been open in communicating with the campus community about our structural budget gap, presently estimated at $10 million, as well as our continuing conversations with SUNY System on opportunities to address that gap. Ongoing collaboration is vital, as regaining our financial health relies on contributions from all campus stakeholders.

This summer, my colleagues and I had the opportunity to share our thoughts with SUNY System on our best strategies to achieve that end. Those strategies will be very familiar to those of you who have heard me and/or my Cabinet colleagues speak on this topic previously. They continue to focus on revenue-generation as well as expense reduction. And to that latter point, I want to acknowledge the impacts of our expense reduction efforts. In that most of our financial investment is in our people, our cost containment measures often translate to net reductions in personnel, for example, leaving open positions vacant. We have imposed other expense reduction strategies, such as curtailing travel. My Cabinet colleagues and I understand that such measures, while necessary and in some cases temporary, carry a very real impact. We appreciate our campus community’s understanding and resilience as we strive to align our expenses with our resources. Ultimately, we seek to return our enrollment to 5,000-plus students within the next five years and to financial health, which our projections indicate is feasible, with your assistance.

As I’ve described, the development and implementation of new academic programs have been crucial contributors to enrollment and thus our bottom line. It’s equally important to be responsible stewards of the State’s investment in the College by ensuring that our entire suite of academic and administrative programs is relevant, efficient, and continuously reviewed to ensure the campus can make needed refinements. The recently initiated academic portfolio optimization analysis will provide essential market data to guide our work specific to academic offerings. Those data will include state labor needs, the alignment of our extant programs with those needs, and potential mission-aligned growth areas. I want to thank the many individuals who have actively contributed to our ongoing program development work and encourage your continued engagement.

We have had early success with increasing our Rochester presence through programming at the Finger Lakes Workforce Development Center, such as through the History Teacher’s Day, Regional Accounting Faculty convening, and an AOP Senior student retreat, and plan to expand our efforts there going forward.

I’ve mentioned our achievements in fundraising, and we will continue to work toward the successful completion of our $45 million comprehensive fundraising campaign. We’ll also continue our aggressive pursuit of external funds through grants and governmental awards, such as the $500,000 Congressionally Directed Spending allocation to Geneseo that was secured with the advocacy of Senator Schumer. And we will advance our physical plant improvements and admirable record of on-time, on-budget, and on-scope work, consistent with the recently completed 10-year facilities Campus Master Plan. The ribbon-cutting marking the conclusion of the College Circle project occurred over the summer, and we look forward to the opening of our spectacularly renovated Milne Library this fall and to seeing continued progress on the iconic Sturges Hall.

Another recent innovation consonant with our work to cultivate a sustainable planning and decision-making system is our establishment of a School of Arts and Sciences. The School provides a unifying structure for our 18 academic departments as well as centralized advocacy and leadership through its academic dean. We identified our interim dean of arts and sciences earlier this year – and my sincere thanks to Amy Sheldon for accepting that critical role – but our work to fully realize that new structure through our policies, procedures, and governance structures is ongoing and a priority for the coming year. That timeline is particularly important as we plan to launch this fall a national search for the ongoing dean of arts and sciences. We look forward to working in close partnership with the College Senate and other governance entities as we move ahead in implementing the new structure.

In sum, we have an ambitious agenda for the coming year, as we seek to build on the momentum associated with our recognition as New York’s Public Honors College and advance our equity-centered vision that is integral to that identity. I look forward to that work and thank my campus colleagues for your contributions to it.

Concluding Remarks 

My desire to return today to the theme of my first Opening Convocation Address has personal relevance for me. As I reflect on the past nine-plus years and anticipate those to come, I am struck by how appropriate the principle underlying Sankofa is as a guiding philosophy for the College’s larger community at this time in its history. All of us - faculty, staff, students, and alumni - are part of a continuum, generations of individuals who are touched by and contribute to the Geneseo experience, destined to eventually step back to let others take our places. The constant is the College, the unchanging foundation, the common thread woven throughout all our experiences. Our comprehensive campaign slogan, Geneseo for Generations, has as at its core the recognition that we build on the important work done by those who came before us as we also pave the way for the generations of students, alumni, faculty, and staff to come. 

As I’ve noted, this year marks my tenth serving as this College’s President, a role that I truly cherish and feel honored to hold. Eleven dedicated and talented individuals preceded me in the office, and many will follow. The names - MacVittie, Sturges, and Welles - appear on buildings all over campus, and presidential faces adorn portraits hanging on walls we pass by. Geneseo is a constant but presidents, like the seasons, change, and a new generation of leaders will step forward to guide the College into the future. And so that time has come for me. 

After much reflection and with profoundly mixed emotions, I have decided to conclude my presidential service in summer 2025. I recently advised Chancellor King of my intention and am announcing it publicly today so that the campus will have ample time to conduct a search for my successor. I’ll note that while I plan to exit my presidential role, next summer will not mark the end of my SUNY career. Indeed, the opportunity to pursue a major post-presidency initiative, one that draws on my scholarly interests in women in STEM and will benefit this campus and the System more broadly, was a key factor in my decision. As bittersweet as it is to exit my presidential role, I’m excited about the prospect of applying my scholarly expertise to advance the System’s inclusivity and research goals. 

When I first considered applying for the presidency, I was told time and again that Geneseo is a special place. What I have learned since is that generation after generation of extraordinary people have made this college exceptional. It has been and continues to be gratifying to work with such talented and committed faculty, staff, and alumni who believe fervently in Geneseo’s educational mission. Every day, I feel lucky to be part of such an august group. You are the best of Geneseo, now and into the future. This coming year holds challenges and opportunities that we, the present generation, will address collaboratively as we have done throughout my time here to prepare the way for those to come. Together we will continue to move Geneseo forward, remembering the contributions of those who came before us, as we become the premier equity-centered honors college we envision, one dedicated to providing an affordable, high-quality education for tomorrow’s teachers, innovators, and leaders. We have much to do, you and I, now and in the months to come. It has been and will continue to be a privilege to serve as your president, and I look forward to all we as a community will accomplish in the coming year.