SUNY President Updates Common Council
By MONICA CALZOLARI
ONEONTA
SUNY Oneonta President Alberto Cardelle addressed the Oneonta Common Council on Tuesday, September 3 with an update on enrollments as well as economic and community developments.
Cardelle reminded the audience that he is starting his third year as the university’s president. He announced that the school was founded 135 years ago on September 4, 1889 as Oneonta State Normal School, with the goal of training teachers.
“The theme of the year-long anniversary is ‘Thrive to 135,’” Cardelle said.
The goal is to identify 135 new internships for SUNY Oneonta’s student body.
Parents Weekend is scheduled for the end of September. Cardelle shared unofficial enrollment numbers, announcing that 5,329 students are enrolled for the fall semester. There are 4,689 undergraduate students and 640 graduate students. Graduate students either study online or are part of the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies.
Len Carson asked, “How many SUNY Oneonta students live off campus?”
Cardelle said, “Roughly 50 percent of our students live off campus. Students are required to live on campus for the first two years.”
The president reported that “there has been a 50 percent decrease in disciplinary action for off-campus students.” There is a staff member in Student Affairs who is a liaison with off-campus students.
The university police and the Oneonta police have a Memorandum of Understanding as to how they work together and support each other.
Total occupancy in the residence halls on campus currently stands at 93 percent. The university has two residence halls currently offline. The renovation of Hobart Hall is complete. Improvements to Ford Hall have begun.
Cardelle also reported that 1,220 freshmen and 293 transfer students make up the 1,513 new students who started this fall.
“We are happy with this number and met our projected enrollments,” he said.
He said the 1,513 new students this year represent 100 fewer new students than in fall 2023; however, he said, “last year was a large class.”
Cardelle mentioned that “the class that just graduated was the smallest class in our history.” Those students started in fall 2020 during COVID-19.
SUNY Oneonta graduated 973 students in May 2024.
Cardelle then introduced Caroline Williams, the university’s newly-hired director of community and government relations.
He gave an update on the new ExCL Center on Dietz Street “designed to strengthen the region by offering training for pressing job vacancies within Otsego County,” according to the university’s website.
“One hundred people went through a free program to prepare for entry-level jobs in the healthcare industry,” Cardelle said.
The ExCL Center is also managing a large grant to train people who want to be direct support professionals for those with developmental disabilities.