College at Oneonta News

ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY College at Oneonta will begin its 120^th anniversary celebration and induct its seventh President, Dr. Nancy Kleniewski, on Friday, September 12, at 11 a.m. in the Dewar Arena of the Alumni Field House.

Patrick Brown, Chair of the SUNY Oneonta College Council, will preside at the ceremonies. Interim SUNY Chancellor John B. Clark and Chair of the SUNY Board of Trustees Carl T. Hayden will be on campus to participate, as will many presidents and delegates from colleges throughout the Northeast.

The program will begin with greetings by Chairman Hayden and Interim Chancellor Clark, as well as Student association President Dean McGowan, College Senate Chair Adam Ryburn, President of the College Foundation Board Sheila Striffler, and Alumni Association Board Member John Jermyn.

Dr. David Brenner will offer a presentation on the history of SUNY Oneonta. Dr. Brenner is a member and former chair of the SUNY Oneonta College Council, a retired administrator and faculty member of the College, and the author of State University College at Oneonta in the College History Series published by Acadia Publishing.

Following a musical performance by the College's Concert Choir under the direction of Dr. Robert Barstow, Chancellor Clark and Chairman Hayden will introduce President Kleniewski and conduct the ceremonial induction. Dr. Kleniewski began her tenure as President of SUNY Oneonta in July.

President Kleniewski will address the gathering, and the Concert Choir will lead the audience in the alma mater before the recessional.

Before joining the College, Dr. Kleniewski served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts; Dean of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts--Lowell; and Executive Assistant to the President, Chair of the Sociology Department, Associate Dean of the College, Coordinator of Urban Studies, and Professor at SUNY Geneseo, where she received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

President Kleniewski has demonstrated a strong commitment to the College's goals of providing top-quality academic programs, engaging students through academic and co-curricular experiences, supporting equity and inclusion, serving the community, and enhancing the quality of campus life.

SUNY Oneonta was founded in 1889 as the Oneonta Normal School with the sole mission of preparing teachers for the public schools of New York State. A founding member of the SUNY system, the College has grown into a liberal arts college with a pre-professional focus, enrolling more than 5,900 students in 69 undergraduate majors, nine graduate programs, and several specialized certificate programs.
 

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