Morning Read: Is SUNY Canton facing a shake-up or a merger?
The Watertown Daily Times is reporting that SUNY Canton officials are circling the wagons around campus president Joseph Kennedy.
College Council Chairman Ronald M. O’Neill expressed frustration that SUNY Central officials have not been more forthcoming about the possibility that Mr. Kennedy will be forced to leave the college he has led for the past 18 years.
“Rumors have been rampant on and off campus, ranging from the president being fired, to being transferred to work for SUNY Central on a special project to the president of SUNY Potsdam running both campuses and others as well,” Mr. O’Neill said in a prepared statement.
Kennedy has led the St. Lawrence County campus for 18 years. The concerns are sparked in part by a SUNY effort to require campuses to share administrative and other services as part of cost-cutting.
It does seem odd having two 4 year SUNY colleges within 10-15 miles of each other. I understand that SUNY Canton is basically a technical college (Ag and Tech) but several years ago they seemed to have been marketing themselves as something else. Why do we need two 4 year SUNY campuses in the same region teaching the same liberal arts courses? I believe there is some cost-saving to be found in this situation.
Pres. Kennedy has done a wonderful job at Canton transforming the college into what it is now. The enrollment continues to grow year to year.
I don’t know if it’s a good idea to merge the two SUNY schools, but if they do, it would be wiser to keep Kennedy at the helm and jetison the other guy.
Both Potsdam and Canton are good colleges.
He has been too successful is the problem. SUNY Canton is in growth mode they are attracting substantially more students and are succeeding. What they should do is free these colleges up to be more independent.
In many states the flagship universities are the public institutions, NYS is one of the few large states that where this is not the case, with the private schools dominating. The SUNY system should be one of the best in the US, rivaling the University of Texas system or Penn State or the University of Minnesota, Wisconsin or the UC system.
Why not?
To PNElba: The majors offered at the two colleges are very different. I think state system makes sure they do not share many overlap courses because it is not in their best interest to have them competing against one another. This merge would not consolidate the two schools but would sort of shake up their administrations. I read in the WDT article that a SUNY representative said: any final decisions regarding shared services will not include closing campuses and would only increase access and opportunity for our students. There is a difference between shared services and completed merged campuses.
President Kennedy has done alot for SUNY Canton and the people I know who work for him tell me they enjoy working with him and is a man they trust. Look at what hes done for that school! Remember 20 years ago when it almost closed? He was the one who brought it back and look where it is now! I don’t get the sense from my SUNY Potsdam friends that they admire their president in the same ways President Kennedy is admired over in Canton.
SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam are vastly different colleges with vastly different programs. Joe Kennedy was hired in 1995 for what many thought would be the closing of SUNY Canton. Instead, he changed the mission of the college from an AG-Tech school to a full technical school with offerings in many different trades, engineering, criminal justice/investigation. MAny of our local students have used SUNY Canton math, science, engineering, economics, mathematics, veterinary science as a low cost lower division springboard to 4 year engineering colleges. SUNY Canton has also advanced it’s offerings in nursing, dental hygiene etc. as well as several 4-yr.degree programs. Little of what is taught at SUNY CAnton is taught at SUNY Potsdam. Enrollment at SUNY Canton is bursting at the seams. This all happened because of Joe Kennedy and the teams of people he put together. It’s a complete slap in the face to the college and Dr. Kennedy to be trivialized and marginalized like this. MAybe they should consider putting Dr. Kennedy in the driver’s seat at Potsdam to see if he can revive that tired horse.
Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with whether or not a good job is being done. It is about budgets and politics. There are two SUNY colleges within 10 miles of one another. Politically, it is much easier to talk about merger or closure and leaving one SUNY college in place in a county with two state colleges than closing or drastically cutting a college in a county that has only one college. I am not saying I necessarily agree, but that is the reality.
As for SUNY Canton it plays a special role in our community. It has given people a chance who might not otherwise get one, and given other people a second chance. A lot of north country folks have come out of there and made decent livings.
As a graduate of a SUNY Ag and Tech college, I completely understand their “old mission”. I find it hard to believe that SUNY Canton teaches no liberal arts courses in common with SUNY Potsdam (of which I am also a graduate). SUNY is in dire ecomonic straights. Consolidation of liberal arts courses on a single campus along with shared administration seems to be a reasonable compromise rather than getting rid of one of the campuses.
Why not compare the relative fiscal situation on each campus, let them each stand or fall on their own merits and let them each set their tuition (within limits), that works for each campus.
Each campus is unique, each SUNY is unique why not let them fully differentiate themselves and stand more on their own with less regulation from Albany and probably less money from Albany also.
I mean SUNY canton is doing what I thought we needed in this economy, providing real technical education for a variety of career paths, it is one of the reasons they have grown I think by close to 35% just in the past five or 10 years. They are larger than both Clarkson and St. Lawrence at around 3500 students.
So they succeed by offering great value and skills and they get punished?
I don’t want either campus to “fall”. As John says above, they are vastly different colleges with vastly different campuses. But surely, with two SUNY campuses so close together, there are some savings to be found by sharing administration and liberal arts faculty.
The rallies for Mr. Kennedy seem loud and clear to me! I just saw that a supporter created a websitefor Mr. Kennedy http://supportpresidentkennedy.com/
If a dissolution or merger or reorganization is inevitable, THAN Let’s put it to a vote and see what teh communities say about all this. Oh yeah, this isn’t about public office, it’s about public higher education. Maybe more of SUNY should be determined by public vote, it seems verymuch as though the people in charge of all of the colleges already think they are already politicians and not educators. Just what New York Needs, more politicians!!!
I think Dr.Zimpher made the right call about Dr.Kennedy, instead of firing him outright or force to retire, she gave her a position where he can be useful to the SUNY system and himself, so he does not retaliate.Dr.Kennedy has used that same tactic against many great professors who understand the changing dynamics of SUNY Canton’s student population, so don’t feel too pity for him.There are great administrators within SUNY who can propelled forward.The mindset has to change, it’s not just about savings jobs while that region is taking in state money. I am not against Dr.Kennedy , has he proven himself to be against certain segments of his student population under the guise of academic failure while he forced good professors to leave Canton Tech. Many students are happy about attending SUNY Canton, a lot of effort in the last few years have been made to change the image of that college, but Canton and St.Lawrence County has a whole needs to be change from acceptance and respect for geographical Caucasian outsiders and ethnic minorities. I don’t think it’s a great idea to merge these two colleges, they can share procurement services, courses, and collaborate with the two private universities in the county, but a merger will result in net job loss for people in St.Lawrence County who need these jobs now more than ever….
I think Dr.Zimpher made the right call about Dr.Kennedy, instead of firing him outright or force him to retire, she gave him a position where he can be useful to the SUNY system and to himself, so he does not retaliate.Dr.Kennedy has used that same tactic against many great professors who understand the changing dynamics of SUNY Canton’s student population, so don’t feel too pity for him.There are great administrators within SUNY who can propelled forward.The mindset has to change, it’s not just about savings jobs while that region is taking in state money. I am not against Dr.Kennedy , has he proven himself to be against certain segments of his student population under the guise of academic failure while he forced good professors to leave Canton Tech. Many students are happy about attending SUNY Canton, a lot of effort in the last few years have been made to change the image of that college, but Canton and St.Lawrence County has a whole needs to be change from acceptance and respect for geographical Caucasian outsiders and ethnic minorities. I don’t think it’s a great idea to merge these two colleges, they can share procurement services, courses, and collaborate with the two private universities in the county, but a merger will result in net job loss for people in St.Lawrence County who need these jobs now more than ever…
I don’t feel pity for him there is no reason; he is at retirement age and has done a remarkable job of changing, growing and distinguishing SUNY Canton, that is why he is being pushed out.
The SUNY system is not about excellence it is one of the historical reasons that the New York State system does not come close to the academic reputation of other public colleges in other large states. Where is the UCLA, the UC Berkly, the UTexas in the SUNY system? If a particular SUNY college begins to stick its head up a little or distinguish itself, it will be put back down to fit where it belongs in a very average system.