 
Assembly Resolution No. 612
 
BY: M. of A. Fahy
 
        COMMEMORATING   the   175th   Anniversary  of  the
        University at Albany
 
  WHEREAS, It is the sense of this  Legislative  Body  to  acknowledge
significant  milestones  and celebrate events of historical significance
which have a lasting impact within and beyond  the  communities  of  the
Empire State; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Attendant  to  such  concern, and fully in accord with its
long-standing traditions, it is the intent of this Legislative  Body  to
commemorate  the  175th  Anniversary  of  the University at Albany to be
celebrated on  May  7,  2019,  recognizing  its  commitment  to  helping
generations  of  students  in  their  pursuit of academic excellence and
empowering them through their education to make a  difference  in  their
communities; and
 
  WHEREAS,  UAlbany began as the New York State Normal School in 1844;
on December 18, 1844, 29  young  men  and  women  reported  for  opening
classes  at a former railway building located at 115-121 State Street in
Albany; and
 
  WHEREAS, The Normal School moved to a  new  building  at  Lodge  and
Howard Streets in 1849 where it resided until 1885 and enrollment soared
to 300 students by 1881; and
 
  WHEREAS,  During  the 19th Century, the New York State Normal School
educated thousands, provided teachers and  administrators  for  schools,
fostered  new  personae  and  life  styles  among students, and provided
opportunities for social and economic mobility for people  from  limited
circumstances; and
 
  WHEREAS,   Between   1890   and   1906,   the   school  underwent  a
transformation from a two-year teacher training school  to  a  four-year
liberal  arts college for teachers, granting its first bachelor's degree
in 1893; and
 
  WHEREAS, The new curriculum required  students  to  pursue  academic
subjects  deemed  essential  to  becoming a virtuous, knowledgeable, and
articulate person; during this era, students emulated the best practices
at other colleges, which had student newspapers,  Greek  societies,  and
athletic  teams;  in  1890,  the school changed its name to the New York
Normal College; and
 
  WHEREAS, After 1906, the school rapidly grew in stature; the burning
of the Willett Street Building on  January  8,  1906,  necessitated  the
college to temporarily locate in a number of nearby buildings, including
Trinity  Methodist  Church,  as  the  State  constructed a new campus on
Western Avenue, which it occupied in 1909; and
 
  WHEREAS, The new Campus, now referred to as Downtown Campus, boasted
greatly  improved  facilities  --   three   buildings   named   Science,
Administration,  and  Auditorium  (renamed Husted, Draper, and Hawley in
1927); and
 
 
  WHEREAS,  For  the first time, academic departments were created; in
1914, the  school  became  the  New  York  State  College  for  Teachers
featuring an advanced curriculum consisting of 80% academic work and 20%
professional teaching studies; and
 
  WHEREAS,  From  the  1920s  through  the  1950s,  the New York State
College for Teachers provided the feel of a small liberal  arts  college
that also provided the opportunity to become certified to teach.; and
 
  WHEREAS,  During  the  1950s, College President Evan R. Collins laid
the groundwork for the transition to a University when  he  successfully
guided through the plans for a Ph.D. program in education; and
 
  WHEREAS,  In  the  early  1960s,  the  University at Albany began to
transform into a university, and the  school  moved  away  from  teacher
education as its sole organizing purpose; and
 
  WHEREAS,  In  1962, as part of SUNY's expansion plan, the school was
designated  a  doctoral-degree  granting  "University  Center"  and   in
September  of  that  year,  the  University at Albany enrolled its first
class of undergraduate students in liberal arts programs  that  did  not
include any required study in teacher education; and
 
  WHEREAS,  The  new  university  adopted  the  model of a broad-based
public research institution,  charged  with  providing  a  liberal  arts
education for large numbers of undergraduates; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Student  enrollment  increased  from 3,800 in 1963 to more
than 13,000 in 1970; a new campus, the modern complex designed by Edward
Durrell Stone that is now the Uptown  Campus,  was  built  and  formally
dedicated in 1969; and
 
  WHEREAS,  In the mid-1970s, leaders sought to focus the University's
strategic mission by emphasizing the institution's comparative advantage
in public policy; this approach built on the  University's  location  in
New  York's capital city and strong faculty and academic programs in the
professions and public affairs, particularly in those areas of  critical
state need; and
 
  WHEREAS,  By  1989, external research and training support increased
to more than three times what it was at the beginning of the decade;  it
had  become  a  critical  and  integral element of the campus' financial
plan; and
 
  WHEREAS, The University at Albany's evolution into a major  research
university continued during the 1990s, initially under the leadership of
H.  Patrick  Swygert,  15th president, and then, under the leadership of
Karen R. Hitchcock, 16th president; and
 
  WHEREAS, In 1996, a third campus, the East Campus, renamed  in  2016
the  Health  Sciences  Campus,  was  added  12  miles east of the Uptown
Campus, in  Rensselaer  County,  when  the  university  acquired  former
Sterling-Winthrop laboratories and converted them into labs, classrooms,
and  a business incubator concentrating on advances in biotechnology and
other health-related disciplines; and
 
  WHEREAS, In the spring of 2005, the university created a College  of
Computing  and Information, with faculty on both the Uptown and Downtown
campuses; and
 
  WHEREAS,  In  the  fall  of  2015,  the college was replaced and its
programs incorporated  into  a  totally  new  college,  the  College  of
Engineering   and  Applied  Sciences  (CEAS);  at  the  same  time,  the
university unveiled  another  new  college,  the  College  of  Emergency
Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity; and
 
  WHEREAS,  On  June 21, 2017, Dr. Havidan Rodriguez, founding provost
of the  University  of  Texas  Rio  Grande  Valley  and  former  interim
president  of  the  University of Texas-Pan American, was named the 20th
president of the university, a position he assumed in September of 2017;
Dr. Rodriguez became the first Hispanic/Latino president of any  of  the
four-year SUNY campuses; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Today, the University at Albany is a major public research
university  where  students   and   faculty   collaborate   to   conduct
life-enhancing  research and scholarship in a wide range of disciplines;
and
 
  WHEREAS, With nationally respected programs, top-ranked  professors,
and  a  strategic  location,  UAlbany  offers a world-class education to
nearly 18,000 students at the graduate  and  undergraduate  levels,  and
prepares them for a world of opportunities; and
 
  WHEREAS,  In  addition to its highly regarded academic programs, The
University at Albany is also proud of its thriving  athletics  programs,
competing at the NCAA Division I level; and
 
  WHEREAS,  The  University at Albany will continue to grow and evolve
and carry on its mission to educate and transform lives for another  175
years  and  beyond, and continue to equip students to become individuals
of influence and agents of change in their communities; now,  therefore,
be it
 
  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 175th Anniversary of The University at Albany; and be it
further
 
  RESOLVED, That copies of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted to Dr. Havidan Rodriguez, President, University at Albany.
Commemorating the 175th Anniversary of the University at Albany

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