CNSE Transfer & SUNY Poly’s Bright Future
In August, SUNY Poly completed, in cooperation with SUNY Albany and SUNY System Administration, all necessary steps to transfer the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering (CNSE) to SUNY Albany, as directed by the SUNY Board of Trustees on December 13, 2022. The milestone moment for both institutions set the stage for SUNY Poly to act on its vision of becoming the nation’s premier public polytechnic as it builds on a nearly six-decade legacy in the Mohawk Valley and continues to provide a highly affordable, quality hands-on education in areas ranging from engineering, business, and the arts and sciences, to health sciences.
SUNY Poly (in Utica) is doubling down on its mission to foster exciting workforce outcomes for students in the Mohawk Valley and beyond, in addition to continuing to build impactful partnerships and provide programs aligned with industry innovation and student success. These efforts were bolstered by an inclusive campus-wide strategic planning process and an ongoing nationwide search to find the next permanent president in addition to sustained student enrollment, continued excellence from faculty, and fully accredited programs in engineering, nursing, and business, along with plans to add new graduate and doctoral programs.
“As New York’s premier public polytechnic, SUNY Poly remains committed to excellence in scholarship and research, while also providing our students with experiences that blend theory and practice,” said Officer-in-Charge Dr. Andrew Russell. “We have the right programs at the right place and time, given the unprecedented growth of the semiconductor and healthcare industries, among others, in the Mohawk Valley and Central New York. There are many reasons to be excited about SUNY Poly’s future. We are fostering an academic-to-career pipeline; engaging with our extensive industry partners; providing our students and world-class faculty with phenomenal networking, research, and job opportunities; and updating our strategic plan to guide SUNY Poly’s positive path forward.”
To that end, last December, SUNY Poly began the process of creating a robust strategic plan along with local stakeholders, SUNY leaders, and supportive elected officials to further strengthen its future and position itself to provide students and researchers the exciting opportunities that will address the region and New York State’s career and innovation-centered challenges. The Strategic Planning Steering Committee identified five themes that arose from extensive consultation with campus and community stakeholders, including: human capital to nurture community and enable growth; robust external partnerships; enhancements to campus infrastructure; continued excellence in academic programs, research, and scholarship; and the renewal of SUNY Poly’s identity. Newly-appointed SUNY Poly President Dr. Winston Soboyejo will continue to guide this process forward.
The Student Experience
Notably, while many institutions of higher learning have seen sharp student declines, SUNY Poly has seen sustained student enrollment, has grown its graduate programs, and recently added a Doctor of Nursing Practice and Certificate of Advanced Study with specialization in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), in addition to a Master of Science in Health Informatics program in the Fall of 2021. Also, the Institute just launched its Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics program. SUNY Poly plans to add Master of Science programs in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the years ahead.
Wide-Ranging Partnerships
SUNY Poly has and continues to pursue and nurture mutually beneficial collaborations with industry partners such as Wolfspeed, Micron, Griffiss Institute, Air Force Research Laboratory, Masonic Medical Research Institute, Indium Corporation, Innovare Advancement Center, NYSTEC, the NYS Department of Transportation, and more, resulting in student scholarships, internship opportunities, and career options, as well as collaborative research efforts with faculty and students. SUNY Poly continues to be a leading contributor to the workforce in key areas within the Mohawk Valley and outside its borders.
Academic Excellence
Concurrently, the Institute continues to receive favorable rankings, including from U.S. News and World Report, which ranked SUNY Poly ninth in its “Best Regional Universities-North” category in 2022-23, second in the “Top Public Schools” Regional Universities-North category for the fourth year in a row, in addition to being in the top 20 for “Top Performers on Social Mobility” in the same regional category and top 50 for “Best Value Schools.” Moreover, College Consensus recently ranked SUNY Poly 17th in the nation for “Best Value Colleges and Universities,” in addition to three top 25 rankings in the following categories: “Best Online Public Colleges and Universities” (19), “Best Value Online Colleges and Universities” (20), and “Best Online Colleges and Universities in the U.S.” (24).
