Organizational Planning for SUNY-ESF
Neil H. Ringler
April 9th, 2015
Thank you for the excellent effort in a very short interval to create potential templates for
our organizational future. The meeting on April 8th was well attended and provided many
insights from the audience. That most chose not to leave at the end of the hour was encouraging!
Considering the Four Right Questions side-by-side with organizational structure was intriguing.
Of the templates suggested, I believe that “Streamline for Strength” has the most potential and is
likely the most achievable. In many regards, the status quo is not an option. This note expands
on a few of the comments made at the meeting.
First, the current templates are entirely about ESF. One might similarly describe the
future directions for a Department or a School. Our future, and even our past, is closely linked
with collaborations across campuses, not only in the Northeast, but also globally. As pointed out
by Katherina Searing, we already have strong models of collaboration. For example, our newfound linkages with at least 10 other SUNY institutions through the Networks of Excellence
(NoE: total of six) have created collaborations based on $8 M in seed funding from RF SUNY.
The SUNY 4E initiative (Environment, Energy, Education, Economics) alone has been awarded
$ 1.9 M in two years, with ESF benefitting programmatically, collaboratively and financially.
Similarly, our new Institute for Environmental Health and Environmental Medicine is based on a
successful $15 M SUNY Challenge 2020 grant (ESF, Oswego, Upstate Medical University,
Onondaga Community College). This in turn stemmed, at least in part, from a 3-year-old Hill
Collaboration in Environmental Medicine that has utilized $180,000 from our local collaborators
(ESF, Syracuse University, Upstate Medical University, SUNY-RF) to stimulate synergies
among about 70 scientists and engineers. Collaborative successes are also evident in the
Biotechnology Accelerator (ESF/Upstate Medical University) and the ESF Biofuels Pilot facility
just completed in the Syracuse Center of Excellence. The administrative links established during
these endeavors, and the opportunity for creative thinking, are just beginning to show results that
have been sought for decades.
Secondly, formal synergistic linkages among one or more institutions are vital to our
future. Creativity is genuinely needed and timely action is imperative. Perhaps our historic link
with Syracuse University is under duress. What about, for example, a COLLEGE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MEDICINE? Perhaps we could consider NEW YORK
INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, a public/private initiative that brings the
STEM components of ESF, Upstate Medical University, Binghamton University, Syracuse
University and perhaps even Columbia University together under one academic umbrella?
Thirdly, our College has benefitted from a strong synergy between its undergraduate and
graduate programs. Our undergraduates leave with much of the power typically reserved first
year graduate students; such provisioning demands strong graduate programs. The NEED TO
FULLY ADDRESS THE GRADUATE EXPERIENCE is great. It draws strong faculty, builds our
global credentials, and by and large keeps our academic juices flowing. We do have a Graduate
School already, and it could of course play a more prominent role in our future. Designating a
GRADUATE FACULTY would highlight our graduate prowess. The experiment of an Upper
Division/Graduate College (1977-87) was rugged, and not embraced by the faculty, but it did
stimulate enhanced graduate programs that persist today.
Finally, integration of the outcomes of the six facilitated groups will be a delightful
challenge! Accomplishing this integration, simultaneously with establishment of institutional
linkages to secure financial sustainability, is exciting. It probably represents the greatest
challenge yet faced by our College. I am hopeful that experiences from other institutions
(including potential partners) will be a part of the analytical process leading to this integration.