ONEONTA _ SUCO President Nancy Kleniewski painted a bright picture of the college's future during a Friday afternoon forum.
There were more than 75 people at the session held in the Waterfront Cafe of the Hunt College Union to hear Kleniewski, who took over from Alan Donovan after he retired in July.
"We are extremely well-poised as we go into the academic year," she said.
The long effort of the State University College at Oneonta to become "a college of choice" is paying off, she said.
The college had more than 12,500 applicants for the 1,000 seats in the freshman class, which she said was the most of all SUNY comprehensive colleges.
This has allowed for a stronger academic class, with an average SAT score of 1,137 and a high school average of 90.4.
With numbers like these, she said, the college should be able withstand the effects of any demographic decline in the number of college-age students.
The college's endowment is the largest among SUNY comprehensive colleges, at $30 million, she said. A new campaign, focused on science and technology, has already raised more than $1 million, including several new scholarships for science studies.
She discussed three master's degrees being implemented _ dietetics, educational technology and lakes management. Improvements are being made to the campus facilities as well.
Regarding challenges facing the college, she listed dealing with any cuts to the state and SUNY budgets. With assurance from state officials that the size of any cuts will be manageable, she said, We are confident we can weather this storm.
"I inherited a wonderful institution," she added.
Kleniewski took questions at Friday's session.
In response to one, she said that the campus has recently hired a director for international programs who will not only work to bring international students to Oneonta, but create "a culture for global citizenship."
In discussing Donovan, she said, "If I can do as well as he did, I'll be very happy."
Listening to the presentation was music department Chairman Robert Barstow. He agreed that things were going well at SUCO. "The picture is very accurate," he said.
The best barometer is the enrollment and the quality of the applications, he said, and the numbers have been going up for 10 years.
Dean McGowan, president of the Student Association and a senior majoring in communications, said his first impression of the new president is very positive, as is his view of the state of the college.
He agreed that more should be done in areas like community involvement and that his organization is ready to play a role.
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Mark Boshnack can be reached at 432-1000 or (800) 721-1000, ext. 218, or at mboshnack@thedailystar.com.
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