NEW PALTZ – More than 1,800 new undergraduates descended on the campus of SUNY New Paltz Thursday morning. The throng was comprised mostly of incoming freshmen, but also included 700 transfer students.
New Paltz remains the most popular four-year SUNY campus, boasting 17,720 enrollment applications, the highest amount system-wide for the past 26 years.
President Donald Christian, along with faculty, staff and upper class members, ready to assist the new students
As usual, college President Donald Christian was outside Esopus Residence Hall, greeting newcomers and their parents, while coordinating teams of volunteers to help the incoming matriculants get settled in.
“One of the interesting things about working in a university is that the new group of students coming in every year kind of keeps us young,” Christian said. “We at least try to believe that,” he said, sporting a campus T-shirt and graying hair.
Incoming freshman Alvena Ahmet from Jamaica, Queens was one of many students moving into the dorms Thursday. She intends to major in English Literature. Ahmet said she chose New Paltz because she likes the campus.
“The location. People are friendly. I really like the campus and the academics.”
Ahmet is thinking about research in literature.
The institution is currently full-throttle into a 20-year Facilities Master Plan, launched in 2010, which saw the completion of $33 million Ridgeview Hall dormitory this month.
Other construction projects underway include: Sojourner Truth Library renovation ($14 million), to be complete late fall 2015; Wooster program. Building renovation ($37 million), opening January 2016; Mohonk West ($1.3 million), opening in mid-fall 2015; Service Building renovation ($5.4 million), wrapping up in 2016; Science Building ($48 million), opening early 2017; and the Engineering Innovation Hub ($14 million), opening 2019.
New academic programs are also on the table, to keep up with 21st Century technology. This fall, The School of Education is preparing to launch the Center for Innovation in Education at New Paltz, servicing the downstate region, which features TeachLivE Mixed-Reality Classroom Simulation, and a new Multi-Disciplinary Curriculum Development program.
Also 2015 will be the first official year of a new Mechanical Engineering bachelor’s program at New Paltz, plus another program in Digital Humanities, Christian noted, calling it a very exciting initiative which will create a lot of opportunities for students and faculty.
The 3-D Printing Initiative, launched in 2013 through HudsonValleyAdvancedManufacturingCenter, continues to grow, now with 80 private-sector business partners. It brings state-of-the-art 3D printing equipment and a curriculum in DigitalDesignandFabrication (DDF) to the region, giving rise to powerful forces—art and technology, creativity and ingenuity.
