Post Classifieds
President outlines plans for upcoming year
By Michael Canfield
On October 2, 2012
President Aaron Podolefsky delivered the State of the College address last Thursday
to a standing-room only crowd in the Burchfield Penney Art Center, laying out his
plans for the school over the next year.
This was Podolefsky's third State of the College address, the first two delivered
during the spring semester.
Chair of the College Senate Howard Reid introduced Podolefsky, commenting on the
leadership the eighth president of Buffalo State has shown so far.
"He has embraced the campus' traditions and values, yet he has brought an original
can-do perspective," he said.
Reid also praised Podolefsky for keeping the school on track during tough economic
times.
"As Dr. Podolefsky has made clear, it's also a time of great opportunity at Buffalo
State," he said.
Podolefsky opened his address by introducing new members of the school's faculty
and staff. He then went on to talk about the Year of the City initiative, and the
current upgrades and growth the campus is experiencing.
"Every time you walk across campus you see the results of these improvements," he
said.
Podolefsky outlined 10 topics he wanted to speak about, and narrowed it down to
four he would speak about in-depth. The six he chose not to speak about in greater
detail include the establishment of a Campus Beautification Committee, the school's
commitment to sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint, and continued work
on the reputation and the image of Buffalo State.
The four topics he chose to speak about in-depth were student success, parking, the
academic core of Buffalo State and the Transforming Lives fundraising campaign.
In terms of student success, Podolefsky spoke about the need for students to
graduate and stay at the school.
"Over the years, we have taken up a variety of programs to support retention,
persistence and graduation," he said. "It is critical that we identify those efforts that
are effective and assure that we are providing the support they need."
One part of this, Podolesfsky said, is establishing a "culture of caring, a culture in
which helping students to resolve problems is always foremost, a culture in which
the goal is always finding solutions."
In terms of parking, Podolefsky had several ideas on how to alleviate parking issues
at the school. The one issue that always comes up in his meetings with students
when he asks them what the school could do better is parking.
"On every occasion, the first answer, and sometimes the only answer, is parking," he
said.
Podolefsky went on to say that spaces are available in the outer lots at buffalo
state, like Lot M, but that no one knows they are. One idea to address this is hiring a
company which keeps count of how many vehicles have entered and left a particular
lot, and relays how many spaces are available through signs, and website and phone
apps.
"I want to do this for our big distant lots and encourage people to go right there
rather than cruise the campus," he said.
The plan on parking also includes the use of smaller, electrical buses that would
circulate throughout the campus, dropping students off close to where their classes
are from the larger lots farther away from campus.
"We want parking to be as easy and stress-free as possible," Podolefsky said. "And
if technology reduces cruising for parking or waiting in the lot with the engine
running until a space opens, it will considerably reduce the carbon footprint of
the campus. Yes, there are other options and issues, and we will deal with them as
they come up, but the technology is available to get this done and it is time to get
moving."
Podolefsky said he would like to see this done by Fall 2013, but said that it may need
to be "adjusted."
While discussing the core of the school, Podolefsky said that a goal has been set to
have 433 full-time faculty at Buffalo State, something the school hasn't seen since
1997.
He finished the speech by touching on the Transforming Lives campaign, the historic
fundraising drive set to raise $20 million for the school over the next three years.
Michael Canfield can be reached by email at canfield.record@live.com.
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