(SARATOGA SPRINGS N.Y. – Feb. 28, 2018)  Highlighting progress the college has made “through the work and vision of many” over the last five years, outgoing SUNY Empire State College President Merodie A. Hancock, today shared a final column with the college community. Hancock will take over as president of Thomas Edison State University in New Jersey on March 5.

Mitchell S. Nesler, the college's current vice president for decision support, will serve as officer-in-charge of SUNY Empire, effective March 3, 2018.

The president’s column in its entirety can be read online, here.

Excerpts include:

• “Nearly 50 years ago, New York State Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller and SUNY Chancellor Ernest L. Boyer conceived a new vision for public higher education in the state of New York, one that would enable adult New Yorkers to advance their careers through the pursuit of a college degree, while also contributing to the economy by answering a growing need for skilled, college-educated workers."
  
  
• “Look no further than our more than 81,000 alumni for the heroes of today: nurses and medical professionals, veteran and active members of the military, emergency responders, social workers, professional athletes, teachers, entrepreneurs, single parents, and many more. SUNY Empire students and graduates – and the faculty and staff who support them – are leaders in their fields as well as their communities."
  
  
• “Thank you to our elected officials and SUNY leadership for their consistent support of SUNY Empire, to our college council and foundation members for dedicating their time and resources to our critical mission, to the brilliant faculty and staff who are the true core of the college and to our students and alumni who embody not only what we do, but how and why we do it.”

Read the column here.