University at Albany, The State University of New York
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| Motto | Sapientia et sua et docendi causa (Wisdom both for its own sake and for the sake of teaching) |
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| Established | 1844 |
| Type | Public |
| Faculty | 940 |
| Undergraduates | 12,013 |
| Postgraduates | 5,027 |
| Location | Albany, NY, USA |
| Campus | Suburban, 560 acres (2.3 km²) |
| Athletics | 24 |
| Colors | Purple and gold |
| Mascot | Great Dane |
| Website | www.albany.edu |
University at Albany, SUNY, is a public university located in the capital of New York State. The university has two campuses in the City of Albany and one campus in the town of East Greenbush, just east of Albany. The officially designated informal name is "UAlbany," but the university is sometimes referred to by locals, outsiders, oldtimers and alumni as: SUNY Albany, and SUNY A. In 1962 the University at Albany was officially designated by Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller as a University Center and doctoral degree granting research university in the State University of New York public university system. This was the same year Rockefeller broke ground for the current main campus of the University on the former site of the Albany Country Club. From its founding in 1844, the school has had previous official names:
- State Normal School (May 1844 - March 1890)
- New York State Normal College (March 1890 - April 1914)
- New York State College for Teachers (April 1914 - September 1959)
- State University of New York College of Education at Albany (September 1959 - October 1961)
- State University College at Albany, (October 1961 - June 1962)
- State University of New York at Albany, (June 1962 - present) (the University's legal name)
- University at Albany, SUNY, (Fall 1986 - present, common name).
[edit] Colleges and schools
The university comprises 10 colleges and schools:
[edit] College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences, comprising 25 departments and 59 programs, forms the largest academic division at the university.
Departments of the College of Arts and Sciences include Africana Studies, Anthropology, Art, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Classics, Communication, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, East Asian Studies, Economics, English, Geography and Planning, History, Judaic Studies, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies, Mathematics and Statistics, Music, Philosophy, Physics, Psychology, Sociology, Theatre, and Women's Studies.
[edit] College of Computing and Information
The College of Computing and Information at the University at Albany, State University of New York, was created in 2005.
It is composed of three founding faculties:
- The Department of Information Studies (previously known as the School of Information Science and Policy), which offers programs in library and information science, including an American Library Association-accredited Master-level program suitable for later work as a librarian.
- The Department of Computer Science.
- The Department of Informatics (the home of campus-wide inter-disciplinary Ph.D. Program in Information Science and the IT Commons).
The College of Computing and Information commits itself to supporting world-class, discipline-based research and educational programs related to computing and information.
[edit] Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
The Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, named for former U.S. Vice President and Governor of New York Nelson Rockefeller, was created in 1981 and is home to the university's departments of Political Science and Public Administration and Policy.
Rockefeller College offers degree programs that range from bachelor's level study in political science and public policy, to master's programs in political science, public administration and public policy, to doctorates in political science and public administration. Research centers within the college include the Center for Legislative Development, the Center for Policy Research, the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society, and the Institute for Traffic Safety Management & Research. University centers such as the Center for Technology in Government also work collaboratively with Rockefeller College faculty and students on key issues facing governments and nonprofits.
In U.S. News and World Report magazine's America's Best Graduate Schools 2005 Edition, Rockefeller College was ranked 10th overall, 4th in "Information technology & management," and 6th in "Public administration & management" out of 253 schools of public affairs.
[edit] School of Business
The School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
The School of Business has a 3.0 Grade Point Average requirement and numerous prerequisite courses. Undergraduates in the School of Business graduate with a Bachelor of Science in either business administration or accounting. Business administration majors concentrate in one of four fields, finance, marketing, information technology management (ITM, formerly management systems information science, or, MSIS), or management. Students are also permitted to combine concentrations as to further expand their knowledge and education. Recently there has been a new and excellent Financial Analyst program that was created. Both accounting and business administration majors are 60-credit majors, as opposed to the normal 40-credit majors in nearly every other field.
Due to the extremely diverse nature of this school, there are numerous extra-curricular activities that align themselves with the school of business. There are a number of business groups and business fraternities that do many interesting and remarkable events around campus. One such group is the international business fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi. Their Zeta Psi chapter organizes, amongst other events, the annual career fair. Numerous companies and recruiters come to this event every year in order to meet with the students of the school of business.
The School of Business also offers master's and doctoral level courses of study.
The current dean of the School of Business is Paul A. Leonard, Ph.D., who was formerly a professor of finance with a long history in bond and bond analysis, and municipal lendin
Another important figure within the school of business is a Mr. John Levato. His long time commitment and care for his students has led him to become a well known figure amongst his current students as well as alumni. He is generally found to be the go to guy for advice about interviewing tactics, resume improvement, and a good talk about golf.
[edit] School of Criminal Justice
The School of Criminal Justice was formed in 1966, and covers all aspects of criminal justice. The school was ranked #2 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.
[edit] School of Education
The School of Education is home to the departments of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, Educational and Counseling Psychology, Educational Theory and Practice, and Reading.
[edit] College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering
The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (previously the School of Nanosciences and Nanoengineering) is the first college in the world devoted exclusively to nanoscale science and engineering. By being completely independent from traditional disciplines, the college is able to create its curriculum from the ground up instead of calling traditional courses "nano." In addition, CNSE is a worldwide melting pot of industry and academia. Not only are the students from around the world, but major companies in the various nanotechnology industries have offices and labs at the CNSE facilities- IBM, Infineon, AMD, GE, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, SEMATECH, DuPont, Kodak, DARPA, Honeywell, Intel, Lockheed Martin, M&W Zander, Philips, NASA, and Motorola. Dubbed Albany Nanotech, this consortium is unlike anywhere else in the world. It also has the only 300-mm wafer processing line in the academic world. The University at Albany, these industry partners, and the State of New York have invested more than $3 billion in this complex. Besides working alongside researchers from these notable labs, and using state of the industry tools, CNSE students not only get faculty with real world experience (many who have worked at these same labs), but they also enjoy a high placement rate in top-notch research labs.
[edit] School of Public Health
The School of Public Health was created in 1985, and offers programs in biomedical sciences, biometry and statistics, environmental health and toxicology, epidemiology, and health policy, management, and behavior. It is accredited through the Council on Education for Public Health. Through a partnership with the New York State Department of Health, the School offers a research oriented approach for faculty, and valuable professional experiences for students. Degrees offered include MPH, MS, DrPH and PhD in four academic departments.
Research interests of over 200 doctoral-level faculty include AIDS, GIS, maternal and child health, hospital epidemiology, infectious diseases, environmental and occupational health, eldercare, minority health and health disparities.
[edit] School of Social Welfare
The School of Social Welfare was created in 1965, and offers programs in Social Work.
[edit] Campuses
[edit] Uptown Campus
The main (Uptown) campus, located at 1400 Washington Ave., is modernist in style, designed by Edward Durell Stone and based on a symmetrical plan. All of the campus's academic buildings are on the "Podium" in the center of campus. The Uptown Campus is also known for its large fountain centerpiece.
The Uptown Campus is home to six of the university's seven dormitory complexes. Four of these—Indian Quad, Dutch Quad, Colonial Quad, and State Quad—sit at the Podium's corners; each consists of eight three-story low-rise buildings encircling a 22-story tower with a total capacity of 1,200 students each. The four quads serve as a chronological timeline of New York State history, beginning with Indian Quad, moving clockwise to Dutch, then Colonial, and finally, State. The other two, Freedom Quad and Empire Commons, are reserved for juniors, seniors, graduate students, or married couples; these are "apartment-style" and include kitchens, furnished living rooms, and on Empire: washers, dryers, dishwashers, single bedrooms, and air conditioning.
The Uptown Campus is also home to two of the university's three libraries, the University Library and the Science Library.
[edit] Downtown Campus
The Downtown Campus, located at 135 Western Ave., is the site of the original New York State College for Teachers. Construction began in 1909 on the first three buildings: Draper, Husted and Hawley halls, after the previous location on Willett Street burned down. Later additions to the campus were Richardson Hall, Page Hall and The Milne School (all in 1929), along with additions to Draper and Richardson halls (both in the 1960s).
The Downtown Campus is home to the University's Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, School of Criminal Justice, College of Computing and Information, and School of Social Welfare. The Downtown Campus is also home to one of the University's three libraries, the Thomas E. Dewey Graduate Library, located in Hawley Hall.
The Downtown Campus is located just one mile from the State Capitol building and Empire State Plaza.
Alumni Quad, one of the university's seven dormitory complexes, is a short distance away from the Downtown Campus. The quad is usually reserved for transfer students and foreign exchange students (who are placed in Waterbury Hall).
[edit] East Campus
The East Campus, located in East Greenbush, is home to the School of Public Health, and the new Cancer Research Center, dubbed "Gen*NY*sis." Also located in this state-of-the-art facility is the Center for Functional Genomics, which facilitates research in the areas of microarrays, proteomics, molecular biology and transgenics.
[edit] Presidents and Principals
- David Perkins Page (1844-1848)
- George R. Perkins (1848-1852)
- Samuel B. Woolworth, LL.D. (1852-1856)
- David Cochran, A.M., Ph.D. (1856-1864)
- Oliver Avery (1864-1867)
- Samuel B. Woolworth, LL.D.(1867) - Acting Principal
- Joseph Alden, D.D., LL.D. (1867-1882) - First Chief Executive Officer to be called "President"
- Edward P. Waterbury, A.M., Ph.D. (1882-1889)
- Albert N. Husted (1889) - Acting Principal
- William J. Milne, M.S., Ph.D., LL.D. (1889-1914)
- Leonard Blue (1914-1915) - Acting President
- Abram Roy Brubacher, Ph.D. (1915-1939)
- John Sayles, Pd.B. (1939-1947) - Acting President
- Milton Nelson, Ph.D. (1947-1949) - Acting President
- Evan R. Collins (1949-1969)
- Allan A. Kuusisto, Ph.D. (1969-1970) - Acting President
- Louis T. Benezet Ph.D. (1970-1975)
- Emmett B. Fields, Ph.D. (1975-1977)
- Vincent O'Leary (1977-1990)
- Judith Ramaley, Ph.D. (1990) - Acting President
- H. Patrick Swygert, J.D. (1990-1995)
- Karen R. Hitchcock (1996-2003) - VP of Academic Affairs at UAlbany prior to position. Resignation as means of leaving office.
- Carlos Santiago (2004) - Officer-In-Charge
- U.S. Navy Vice Admiral John R. Ryan (2004-2005) - President SUNY Maritime College prior to position. Left since he was serving as interim president.
- Kermit L. Hall, Ph.D. (2005-2006) - President of Utah State prior to position. Office vacated after sudden death while swimming in Hilton Head Beach, South Carolina.
- Susan Herbst (2006-) - Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Officer in Charge
[edit] Noted faculty
- Manuel Alvar (deceased), head of the Spanish Royal Academy, world renowned for his linguistic atlases of Spain and Spanish South America.
- Victor Asal, political science. Expert on terrorism and director of the Certificate Program in Public Security.
- Don Byrd, poet and literary critic. His works include the book- length poem The Great Dimestore Centennial, an analysis of Charles Olson's Maximus, and his masterpiece of criticism, The Poetics of the Common Knowledge.
- Gonzalo Torrente Ballester, Spanish Novelist (1910-1999). Distinguished Professor at the university from 1966 to 1970.
- Gordon G. Gallup, evolutionary psychologist; developed the mirror test.
- Thomas Galvin, (deceased), founding director of the Ph.D. in Information Studies or Informatics. He was a former director of the American Library Association, and an authority on information science.
- Pierre Joris, Department of English, has published more than 20 books and chapbooks of his own poetry. Along with Jerome Rothenberg he edited the acclaimed two-volume set of 20th century poetry, Poems for the Millennium: The University of California Book of Modern & Postmodern Poetry.
- Leonard Kastle director of The Honeymoon Killers and notable American opera composer Of Deseret, The Pariahs and others
- William Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning professor. Kennedy taught creative writing and journalism as an instructor from 1974 to 1982 at the University. In 1983, Kennedy was awarded the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Part of that award went to the institution of Kennedy's choice, which was UAlbany. The University made a commitment to match the funds he donated—$15,000 for five years (each), to create a writers' institute. The following year, Gov. Mario M. Cuomo signed into law the legislation creating the New York State Writers Institute.
- Michael J. Malbin, political science. Expert on campaign finance, and former speech writer to Richard B. Cheney.
- Jon Mandle, philosopher. Author of several books. Chair of philosophy department.
- Ron McClamrock, philosopher. Works at the intersection of phenomenology and psychology.
- Paul Pimsleur (deceased), linguist and educator. Author of Pimsleur Language Series. Pimsleur's research focused on the language acquisition process.
- Vincent Schaefer (deceased), founder and longtime director of the Atmospheric Science Research Center (ASRC).
- Richard E. Stearns (emeritus), Turing award winner for computational complexity theory.
- Bonnie Steinbock, philosopher. Noted expert on reproductive ethics. Former chair of philosophy department.
- Omar J. Vázquez, advanced doctoral erudition; author of Classical Western Canon and several texts.
- Bernard Vonnegut (deceased), atmospheric scientist renowned for his expertise in the physics of lightning. As a colleague of Vincent Schaefer at General Electric in 1946, Vonnegut discovered how to seed clouds with silver iodide shortly after Schaefer discovered the first successful method of cloud seeding, with dry ice. Older brother of author Kurt Vonnegut.
[edit] Noted alumni
- Mike Arcuri (B.A. 1981, history and economics), District Attorney for Oneida County, New York and congressman-elect for New York's 24th congressional district
- Tom Clarke (1973), president of new business ventures for Nike, Inc.
- Randy Cohen (B.A., music 1971), former writer for Late Night with David Letterman, currently writes 'The Ethicist' column for The New York Times Magazine and regularly answers ethical questions from listeners of "All Things Considered"
- Ellen Datlow (1971) Former editor of Omni magazine and currently an award-winning speculative fiction editor and anthologist
- Alan M. Davis, (B.S. 1970) IEEE Fellow for contributions to software engineering, author, entrepreneur
- Jamie Gold 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion
- Harold Gould (1947), actor ("The Sting", "Rhoda", "Golden Girls")
- Lawrence Korb
- John Kourakos (B.S. 1971), president of Tommy Jeans
- Phil Lewis (B.A. 1986), sportcasting great
- Gregory Maguire, author of the books Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Wicked (which became a Broadway musical)
- Harvey Milk (1951), gay rights figure, former San Francisco city supervisor
- Susan Molinari (B.A. 1980, M.A. 1982), former congresswoman
- Joseph Persico (B.A. 1952 English and political science), biographer and historian
- Celal Sengor, (B.S., 1982) Turkish geologist, foreign member of the American Philosophical Society.
- Josh Shaw (B.A. finance and marketing 1997), entrepreneur and participant on "The Apprentice"
- Kate Stoneman, Class of 1866, also a longtime faculty member, the first woman admitted to the New York State Bar in 1886, after she helped lobby for the law that allowed women to be admitted to the Bar. She later opened Albany Law School to women lawyers.
- Norman E. Snyder, co-founder of SoBe
- D.B. Woodside, actor ("Buffy, the Vampire Slayer","24")
[edit] Athletics
The school's sports teams are called the Great Danes and, with one exception, participate in Division I sports in the America East Conference; the one exception, football, participates in the division I-AA Northeast Conference.
On March 11, 2006, the men's basketball team won the America East conference tournament, earning the school (and the SUNY system) its first ever berth to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The Danes were seeded #16 in the Washington, D.C. region and were matched up against top-seeded UConn.
On March 17, 2006, the Danes nearly became the first #16 seed to defeat a #1 seed in the Division I tournament (#16 seed was 0-87 before Albany took the floor). The Danes, down only 1 at the half, went on a 13-0 run early in the second half to take a double-digit lead over the Huskies. With almost the entire nation watching on CBS, the Danes lead 50-38 with just over 11 minutes left in the game. Ultimately, the Huskies' stifling defense stopped the Danes' offense, and the Huskies averted the upset, winning 72-59.
The University has hosted the New York Giants summer training camp since 1996.
The men's lacrosse team has won its conference and has gone to the NCAAs during the 2003, 2004, and 2005 seasons.
Albany also has a men's ice hockey team that competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association
[edit] Fight Song
Purple and Gold,
your colors shining through
Hear as the carillons
are ringing true
The State of New York
sends up its cheers to you
Let’s go Albany!Hail, young and old
We shall prevail,
purple and gold
One true triumphant call
Albany Danes are standing tallPurple and Gold,
our flags are waving high
Singing our victory song
into the sky
All of the world will fear
our mighty cry
Let’s go Albany!Hail, young and old
We shall prevail,
purple and gold
One true triumphant call
Albany Danes are standing tallPurple and gold,
your colors shining through
Hear as the carillons
are ringing true
The State of New York
sends up its cheer to you
Let’s go Albany!
[edit] Libraries
The University at Albany Libraries provide more than two million volumes. Users from around the world can access services and collections through the libraries' online systems and Web site. The university's libraries offer a program of information literacy and user education with instruction that ranges from a focus on traditional bibliographic access to collaborative classes integrated into the curriculum.
[edit] UAlbany Alma Mater
College of the Empire State,
Mother of an army great,
Thou the molder of our fate,
Thee we sing today.
Thine the hand with clasp so strong,
Holding tho' the years be long,
Thou the burden of our song,
Thee we sing today.Ways of pleasantness are thine,
Leading where in wisdom's shrine,
Joy and cheer, and hope divine,
Ever dwell for aye.
Thine the voice whose call we hear,
Thine the hand which holds us near,
Thine the heart, so true, so dear,
Cherished, loved alway.Wisdom's duty heeds thy call,
Ever in Minerva's thrall,
Pass the torch from one to all,
Guide each destiny.
'Neath the Purple and the Gold,
Let thy history unfold,
Sons and daughters, young and old,
Hail to Albany.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- The school's colors are purple and gold.
- Transportation on the uptown campus is faciliated by buses run by the university which run shuttles around the campus. Buses between campus are faciliated jointly by the university and by the Capital District Transportation Authority; the university with links to the East Campus and from Freedom Quad/Empire Commons to area supermarkets, CDTA with most downtown-uptown service plus special service timed to school breaks.
- In academic years ending in 1998 and 2004, the Princeton Review ranked UAlbany as "The #1 Party School in America." This ranking is contested by the University, and many students, who claim that the ranking is based upon a non-scientific survey, and that the reality of the school is more academic. The way that the survey is taken is by going into one freshman sociology class and asking the students how many times they drink in a week. Generally speaking, the survey is taken after the school’s “fountain day” which is described in another section of this article. By only asking the freshman students at SUNY Albany at the strategic time of the year that they take the survey, and only asking the junior students at other Universities the Princeton survey can skew their article to get a better desired result and henceforth sell more copies of their book.
- On the University Seal is Minerva, the Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom. But because Minerva was also identified with the Greek goddess Athena, she also became the goddess of war and victory. This famous statue was purchased in 1888 and rescued by Charles Wurtham (a custodian) from a devastating fire in the college's administrative offices. This seven-foot, white plaster landmark of the University at Albany is on display in the Science Library foyer (Uptown Campus). While there is no official record of where the statue of Minerva came from, it is reported that she was purchased with funds from a $1 student fee collected for make-up exams. [citation needed]
- As UAlbany is located in the capital city of New York State and is one of the four University centers of New York, its unofficial nickname is the "College of the Empire State" (which is in the first line of the University's school song).
- UAlbany is home to one of the oldest independent college newspapers in the nation, the [[Albany Student Press]]. Published continuously since 1916, the newspaper has a circulation of more than 10,000 and serves the students and surrounding area.
- On April 17, 2005 students from the University at Albany set and currently hold the record for the world's largest pillow fight with 3,648 participants, observed by Guinness Records officials.[1]
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- University at Albany
- Downtown Campus
- East Campus
- College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering
- UAlbany Athletics, website of the Great Danes, UAlbany's sports teams
- The New York State Writers Institute, located and housed at UAlbany
- UAlbany Hillel, Jewish group on campus at UAlbany
- WCDB, Campus radio station
- Genomics at UAlbany
- University at Albany architecture at Emporis Buildings
- University at Albany faculty at RateMyProfessors.com
| America East Conference |
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| Albany • Binghamton • Boston Univ • Hartford • Maine • New Hampshire • Stony Brook • UMBC • Vermont Affiliate:Quinnipiac (men's lacrosse) |
