Donovan hired 20 years ago

May 12, 2008 10:32 am

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Even though Alan B. Donovan may be retiring from the State University College at Oneonta next month, the community won't be seeing much less of the 20-year college president and his wife, Annie.

Around the time Dr. Donovan announced his retirement in September, he said the College at Oneonta had transformed itself from "good to great."

Donovan, the sixth president in the college's history, tied former President Royal F. Netzer for 20 years in office. Only Percy I. Bugbee, the college's second president, served longer, for 35 years, 1898-1933.

Much can be accomplished in 20 years.

In fact, it was 20 years ago this week that The Daily Star reported that Donovan had been appointed, in the Tuesday, May 10 edition. Donovan's first day in office was July 15, 1988.

Donovan knew about Oneonta, having grown up in the Rochester area. He left a position at Northern Michigan University to come here. Upon arrival, he described his first 18 months as a blur, as far as all the people he met on and off the campus, and trying to get settled into the community.

"But certainly I have no complaints about the reception. I think it was very warm and very cordial. It was clear to me at that time that the institution and its leaders had to develop better relations with the community, which we've tried to do over the last 20 years," Donovan said recently.

Even before Donovan arrived, the search committee who found and hired him said that Donovan was bringing some new academic ideas to Oneonta.

Few will argue that SUCO had a reputation as a "party school" in the late 1980s. Donovan said it was a big St. Patrick's Day school, "because a couple thousand or so came as guests in the residence halls that day, and then left."

That quickly changed, as Donovan and college staff required visitors to register at the residence halls and made the "party" atmosphere less welcoming. The college's public safety patrols stepped up their efforts to monitor violations.

The academic ideas Donovan had in mind led to the expansion of 12 to 15 new programs since 1988, including some that have recently been successful, such as Music Industry, Computer Graphics and Criminal Justice to name a few.

As early as 1990, SUCO started getting recognition for the changes. Oneonta was ranked number 56 in the top 100 best values among American public colleges by Money Magazine. This was the first of many awards.

A truly noteworthy award came from the Templeton Foundation in 1997-98, which put Oneonta on the foundation's Honor Roll for Character-Building Colleges, a distinction recognizing colleges and universities that emphasize character-building as an integral element of the college experience.

"That had to do with our Center for Social Responsibility, as well as other volunteer endeavors that we were doing over the years," Donovan said. More recent examples include Oneonta's involvement in the "OH Fest" and "Into the Streets" programs.

The successes came after some challenging times on the campus, involving student behavior, shortly after Donovan's arrival. There was downtown violence as well as the September 1992 "Blacklist" event. While not forgotten or eliminated, the overall violence situation has changed.

"I think that has declined to a great extent, but I can't say for certain why, but it may be because our students have become more serious and qualified students. We've become a more selective institution, and that could explain why the behavior is not as extreme as it once was," Donovan said.

"When you have events like OH Fest and Into the Streets," Donovan said, "it's a way of our students demonstrating their care and concern for the community and their ability to be good citizens both on campus and the city of Oneonta."

While there have been the successes, Donovan emphasized it was "not me, it was WE." The legions of faculty, staff and students have made the changes for the better since 1988, he said.

"There's always more to be done, but certainly we've made believers of ourselves, in ourselves," Donovan said.

Donovan and his wife will stay in Oneonta for their retirement years, because they enjoy it here. "Except for March," Donovan quipped, "as it is a trial for all of us waiting for winter to leave and spring to arrive."

This weekend: It was signed, sealed, and delivered "" Oneonta became a city.

City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com.

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