Nov. 13, 2025
SUNY Oneonta Campus, OnNY Community Media Lab
108 Ravine Parkway, Oneonta, NY
Present
Mr. Gary Herzig, Dr. Diane Georgeson, Mr.Joseph Bernier, Ms. Deb Parisian, Ret. Maj. Gen. Anthony German, Mr. Will Rivera
Presiding
Mr. Gary Herzig
University Administrators
- Mr. Paul Adamo, Vice President for University Advancement
- Mr. Dirk Budd, University Police Chief Dr. Alberto Cardelle, University President
- Ms. Karen Brown, Assistant Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Initiatives
- Dr. Tracy Johnson, Vice President for Student Affairs
- Mr. Steven Maniscalco, Chief Information Officer
- Dr. Enrique Morales-Diaz, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
- Ms. Rebecca Porter-O'Donnell, Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration
- Ms. Julie Piscitello, Vice President for Finance and Administration
- Mr. Lachlan Squair, Associate Vice President for Facilities Management
- Ms. Karyn Wendrow, Chief of Staff
- Ms. J. Caroline Williams, Director of Community and Government Relations
Presenters, Invitees, Observers
- Dr. Andrew Bottomley, Associate Professor of Communication & Media
- Mr. Mark Farrell, Instructional Support Technician
- Ms. Pamela Hilton, Director of Admissions
- Ms. Anna Legname, ACE Program Director
- Dr. Gina Solano, Alternate Presiding Officer of University Senate
Call to Order
Mr. Herzig called the meeting to order at 3:33 p.m.
Approval of Minutes
Mr. Herzig reviewed the minutes from the September 24, 2025 meeting. Ms. Parisian motioned to approve the minutes, Ret. Maj. Gen. German seconded. The minutes were approved by unanimous vote.
Chair’s Report
Mr. Herzig congratulations to council member Will Rivera on being elected to be the next supervisor for the town of Oneonta.
President’s Report
Dr. Cardelle’s report included a reminder of our institutional value of service & thanking ll of the Council members for their service.
He also announced that Mr. Herzig will be the featured speaker for the December 2025 Commencement ceremony.
He went on to provide the following updates:
- SUNY had a presence at the SOMOS conference in Puerto Rico last week.
- New SUNY initiatives/goals recently announced by Chancellor King:
- 100 % of EOP students will participate in a high impact practice prior to graduation.
- Scholarship for veterans and current military service members that will bring the cost of tuition down to equal the federal Military Tuition Assistance Rate. Eligible students will be able to effectively cover the cost of their tuition using their Military benefits.
- New general education requirements for classes that cover topics in civic discourse and emerging technologies (AI).
- Title II digital content accessibility compliance.
- SUNY Academic Momentum Campaign
- A new comprehensive effort to increase student success across the System by establishing retention and completion goals for each campus. Progress to the goals will be measured by targets for increasing graduation rates, on-year retention, credit accumulation, timely completion of gateway English and Math courses, and FAFSA completion rates
- Oneonta’s targets (and context on establishing the targets).
- A campus-specific action plan is being developed and will be submitted to SUNY in February 2026.
- SUNY Seamless Transfer
- This initiative aims to improve credit acceptance, reduce time to degree, and improve graduation rates for transfer students within the SUNY System.
- This began in Fall 2024, and we are partnering with several community colleges to help us improve our transfer practices and numbers – in support of the SUNY goals.
- AI
- Steve Maniscalco is leading a campus-wide AI Taskforce that is developing a campus AI action plan. It will include guidelines, procedures, training, resources, and best practices for the use of AI by students, faculty and staff. The plan will also incorporate information on ethics, governance, and sustainability. A first draft is expected in January 2026.
- SUNY has announced an AI and Society program that provides an opportunity for campuses to partner on an AI initiative. The program requires a University Center, Comprehensive College, Technology College, and Community College to work together. We are in discussion with other campuses and plan to submit a proposal this fall.
- Community & Government Relations
- The University has received questions regarding a Memorandum of Understanding between the University and a developer that has proposed building an AI center locally. The MOU is a non-binding agreement to explore whether there might be any internship, research, and other experiential learning opportunities for students. The MOU does not include any financial commitment or establish any formal affiliation. There are local concerns regarding the location and operations of the AI center. The University is not involved in any of those aspects, nor the company’s site selection, property development, zoning, or related aspects. There have been some questions on whether the MOU means that the University has entered an official partnership with the developer. It does not.
- Conference Travel
- President Cardelle traveled to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities conference in October. He presented about the SUNY Hispanic Leadership Institute.
- Also last month, Dr. Cardelle attended the Strategic Alliances for the Internationalization of Higher Education conference where he delivered a keynote address. Students and faculty from Sport and Exercise Science also attended the Strategic Alliances for the Internationalization of Higher Education conference and presented about their research about assessing health and physical activity programs for older adults in rural areas.
- Dr. Cardelle and Rachel Frick Cardelle will be attending the American Association of State Colleges and Universities conference next week.
- Athletics
- Congratulations to the Men’s Soccer team for winning the SUNYAC Championship last week. They will now play in the NCAA DIII tournament.
- SUNY Oneonta Foundation
- The Foundation and Division of University Advancement have announced that the foundation’s endowment is now $95M. A major accomplishment.
OnNY Community Media Lab Report
Dr. Andrew Bottomley presented an overview of the new OnNY Community Media Lab, the space in which this meeting was held. He is the director of Lab and the campus lead for the university’s participation in the SUNY Institute for Local News (ILN).
The SUNY ILN is an initiative to connect SUNY students with local media outlets, especially smaller ones that may be in need of reporters or content creation. The students gain experience in the journalism field and get guidance from the ILN faculty mentors. Oneonta has seven students participating in the ILN. They are working with local outlets like AllOtsego.com and The Daily Star.
The OnNY Media Lab is a former classroom that was renovated to create a newsroom-like environment for students interested in journalism. Classes are offered in the space and students can work on projects. The room is equipped with televisions that can broadcast different news sources and virtual meeting technology. IT Services was instrumental in getting the technology set up.
Enrollment Update
Pamela Hilton presented an update on enrollment for the Fall 2025 semester. She provided a review of enrollment over the past five years.
Currently, there are just over 5,500 students enrolled. We are seeing gains in graduate student admissions and overall student retention. The top majors are Business Administration, Psychology, Education, and Biology. 11% of the incoming class came in with an undeclared major, 39% are PELL recipients, and 42% are first-generation. Top counties in which our students reside include Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Bronx, Dutchess.
Enrollment from community colleges that we partner with is up. We are in conversation with two additional community colleges to establish dual admissions partnerships or jointly registered programs.
SUNY ACE Program Overview
Anna Legname gave a presentation about SUNY Oneonta’s participation in the SUNY ACE program. ACE is a program that offers extra support to students who receive PELL or NYS TAP grants and are not participating in another access/support program (like EOP). Oneonta was one of several campuses that joined the System-wide initiative in Fall 2025. ACE offers support for textbooks, academic advising, personal growth, and more. We have 150 students in this first cohort. Participating students must commit to graduating within four years, take at least 30 credits each semester, and meet with their advisor once per month.
Budget Update
Julie Piscitello provided an update on the University’s budget and financial health.
The 2025-2026 New York State budget was a favorable one for SUNY. There was continued investment - $114M in new direct operating support, EOP received $647,000 in additional support, funding to expand the SUNY ACE/ASAP program, and $550M for base critical maintenance funding. Oneonta received about $3.8M of the base critical maintenance funding.
SUNY Oneonta’s total operating budget (not including captial or fringe benefits) for this year is $133.1M. 24% of our budget is funded through the SUNY Oneonta Foundation, Research Foundation, and Oneonta Auxiliary Services. 15% comes from state operating tax support. 29% comes from tuition and related core revenue. 32% comes from university-wide program support, special enrollment, fees, and residence hall income. More than 78% of the total operating budget is enrollment driven.
We are projecting a small surplus. Spring enrollment numbers will impact final reports. Campus reserves remain strong, with a projection of $21M. The financial planning outlook is for a flat budget for next year.
Dr. Cardelle also congratulated Ms. Piscitello on her upcoming retirement and announced that today would be her last University Council meeting.
ACT Report
Deb Parisian gave a report about the SUNY ACT conference that was held in October. Daniel Sniezek and Karyn Wendrow were also in attendance. SUNY Chancellor John King spoke at the conference, giving updates about many of the things Dr. Cardelle presented about today.
A SUNY Oneonta student, Elizabeth Vogl, received the SUNY ACT scholarship award at the conference as well.
Good of the Order
Joseph Bernier remarked that his family member is working on her dissertation from Columbia and partnering with three SUNY Oneonta students on research that is supporting their project. They are very impressed with the students, and he complimented the university for the quality of education and experiences students have access to.
Adjournment
Mr. Herzig adjourned the meeting at 5:24 p.m.