Academic Excellence

“We will meet the 21st century poised as a standard bearer of excellence, the epitome of a college faithfully committed to having our students take their place among the best educated in the world. Why would we undertake less? We have been forging this path all along. Your efforts from across this college have converged to define this destiny.”

—President Deborah F. Stanley, 1996 Better Than We Dared Believe

In 1995, at a time when New York state had fewer high school graduates, the public sentiment was critical of higher education and SUNY campuses were increasing enrollments to help balance their decreasing budgets, Deborah F. Stanley accepted the responsibility to lead SUNY Oswego. She supported the college as it made the strategic decision to accept fewer students, become more selective and build the student profile. “There is an element of risk in the path we have chosen; decreasing bids is certainly not a choice most other institutions are making at this time,” President Stanley said in her August 1995 Fall Opening remarks to faculty and staff. “Clearly, we are at a crossroads for higher education and we have no choice but to shoulder the great responsibility to maintain the quality and vitality of SUNY Oswego: not just in the short run, but for the next generation.” The calculated risk paid off. During her 26-year tenure, the average high school GPA of an incoming SUNY Oswego student rose more than 5 percentage points, the increase in the percentage of freshmen with a high-school GPA of 95 or higher rose 22 points and the percentage of students with a GPA of 90 or higher increased 37 percentage points. (See related information on pages 32-33.) In 1996, President Stanley initiated the Presidential Scholars program, using private funds raised from the Oswego Fall Classic, to help recruit the best and brightest students to enroll at SUNY Oswego by offering a generous scholarship to the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class. She worked with faculty and staff to develop a program to support first-year students to succeed academically and personally in the college environment. She oversaw the development of four strategic plans to guide SUNY Oswego to unprecedented success as a highly regarded academic institution for students from all backgrounds with grand aspirations to change the world. Additionally, President Stanley has overseen substantial growth in the number of full-time faculty over the past decade. As a

1996 Quest cemented as an annual celebration of campus-wide scholarly and creativeactivity. Today, Quest draws more than 350 participants. 2000 Engagement 2000 strategic plan published

2007 School of Communication, Media and the Arts founded

1995

1996 Engagement In Learning strategic plan published 2001

2002 School of Business earns AACSB international accreditation 2007 Engaging Challenge: The Sesquicentennial Plan strategic plan published

former faculty member and provost, she has always valued the role our faculty plays in the academy and igniting the passion for learning in our students. The student-faculty ratio dropped from 20-to-1 in 1995, to 16-to-1 in 2020, and the percentage of small classes (with 20 or fewer students) rose from 35 percent in 1995, to 56 percent in the 2021-22 academic year. That translates to more individualized attention for every student, and more opportunities for students to develop deeper connections to their faculty members as well as the subject they are exploring. SUNY Oswego has been a leader within the SUNY system and among peer schools in developing new and innovative academic programs, such as becoming one of the first to offer some online courses and degrees, including the highly ranked online MBA. In fact, two of the majors with the largest number of graduates today—wellness management and human development—didn’t even exist in 1995, and several of the fastest growing majors, including finance, graphic design, human-computer interaction, software engineering, and electric and computer engineering, graduated their first classes during President Stanley’s tenure.

The college developed these new programs to produce graduates who have the skills employers seek and the tools to address society’s emerging challenges. So, despite the unique challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, 97 percent of 2020 graduates were in graduate school or working full-time, 84 percent in their chosen field of study. The success of our graduates and our academic excellence have led to several national and international accreditations for the college and its programs. The exceptional quality and rigor of our academic programs have propelled SUNY Oswego in numerous college rankings and garnered several distinctions for our students and graduates, including being named a top producer of the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Award winners. While all of these academic accomplishments help to elevate the reputation of the college, President Stanley has always stressed the importance of the college mission to provide access and opportunity for students who are committed to earning a college degree. “I don’t think the institution should ever judge itself by the grade point average or the SAT scores or the achievements of the students who come in,” President Stanley said. “We want to know that we have added value along the way, that we have enhanced our students’ desire to be lifelong learners, to excel, to achieve and to share their knowledge for the betterment of society.” “It’s amazing the accomplishments she brought to the students, the campus, the

SUNY system and all of the impact she’s had. As a result of her work, she has elevated the rankings of the school and achieved so many specific commendations, recognitions and accolades. Her focus on performance and taking things to the next level came across.”

— Bob Moritz ’85, global chair of PwC and Oswego College

Foundation board member

2014 Tomorrow: Greater Impact and Success strategic plan published

2019 SUNY Oswego named a top producer of Fulbright U.S. Student Award winners 2019 Electrical and computer engineering, software engineering programs earn global ABET accreditation

2015

2018 First Grand Challenges Project: Fresh Water for All launched, a multidisciplinary investigation to solve complex problems 2021

2021 Second Grand Challenges Project: Race, Racism and Social Justice launched