About OHE
Letter to Colleagues
DEPUTY
COMMISSIONER
Office of Higher Education
Office of the Professions
July 2005
Colleagues:
Assistant Commissioner Joseph Frey and I would like to thank the higher education community for taking an active role in the development of the Board of Regents Statewide Plan for Higher Education. As a result of the involvement of leaders across the State at numerous forums, conferences, public hearings, and other meetings held since October 2002, for the first time in decades, we have a Statewide Plan for Higher Education that reflects the goals and objectives of the Board of Regents, the State Education Department, and all four sectors of higher education in New York State - The City University of New York (CUNY), independent colleges and universities, proprietary institutions, and the State University of New York (SUNY). The Plan identifies priorities for higher education in the State and sets an ambitious agenda for driving the future of higher education.
We would like to especially thank the leaders of the four sectors of higher education in the State for coordinating the input of colleges and universities across your sectors to ensure that the Plan is far-reaching and responsive to the needs of all stakeholders. Special thanks to Matthew Goldstein, Chancellor of CUNY; Selma Botman, Executive Vice Chancellor of CUNY; Stephen Jerome, Chair of the Association of Proprietary Colleges (APC); Ellen Hollander, President of APC; Abraham Lackman, President of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (cIcu); Sheila Seery, Vice President of Research and State and Local Relations of cIcu; John Ryan, Acting Chancellor of SUNY; Peter Salins, SUNY Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; and former SUNY Chancellor, Robert King. We would also like to thank our colleagues in the State Education Department, whose names are listed in the back of this publication, who spent countless hours to capture the best thinking of all partners and to integrate it into the Plan.
The Statewide Plan for Higher Education is positioned to influence higher education policy in New York and to shape proposals for regulation, legislation, and State funding for higher education. While some efforts are already under way, our next steps are to put the comprehensive Plan into action. We look forward to working with you to address the Regents priorities to maximize success for all students, ensure a smooth transition from Pre-Kindergarten to higher education, meet New York's needs through graduate programs and research, ensure qualified professionals for every community in the State, and to create a balanced and flexible performance-driven regulatory environment to support excellence. There is much to be done and by working together, we can achieve maximum success for all students in our State's colleges and universities.
Higher education is the driving force behind our global future. Collectively, our power to impact the future is extraordinary. The Statewide Plan for Higher Education sets us on a coordinated path to unprecedented opportunity. Thank you again for your remarkable work on the Plan and for your commitment to making New York a world leader in higher education.
Sincerely,
Johanna Duncan-Poitier