IMPROVING CAMPUS INFRASTRUCTURE
Some of the major improvements to infrastructure completed over the summer are very visible; others are not. Read in this issue about the many major projects completed by Physical Facilities and Information Technology Services, as well as the new programs offered by the University Center for Training and Development.
SCHOOL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES OPENS NEW BUILDING
The opening of the new, $60-million School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University's Health Sciences Campus in Johnson City, N.Y., headlines this quarterly report, but there's also good news about collaborations, external funding and student successes. Read more in this issue.
SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVES SUPPORT STUDENTS
It takes donors at many levels to make Binghamton University successful, and in this issue of the quarterly report, you can read about a number of them. Whether it's AVANGRID offering full-tuition scholarships and capstone project support, or playing golf to benefit the Alumni Legacy Scholarship, the Division of Advancement works with Binghamton supporters.
BINGHAMTON RESEARCH FUNDING SETS RECORD
Binghamton University reported research expenditures totaling $47.5 million in 2017-18, an increase of about 19 percent from the previous fiscal year. The figure tops 2011-12, the campus’ all-time best year for research funding, when just over $40 million was reported. The new record, which follows several years of steady growth, is an important sign of the campus’ creativity and innovation. Healthcare research accounted for nearly a third of expenditures, with electronics packaging and systems engineering following at about 22 percent.
BAXTER THE BEARCAT BOOSTS SCHOOL SPIRIT
The Division of Student Affairs spent the summer hosting students and families for orientation and preparing for the opening of the fall semester. With some new people on board and some others with new duties, it has been a busy time. Not too busy, though, to show Binghamton University pride, as you'll read about the new Baxter the Bearcat Bench in the University Union in this issue.
STUDENT-ATHLETES CONTINUE TO SUCCEED ACADEMICALLY
Student-athletes continue to shine on and off the courts and fields. The Athletics Department sets high academic standards, and student-athletes surpass them across the board. Read about the accomplishments made by student-athletes in their sports and in the classroom – and check out the videos showcasing fall sports and the new women's head basketball coach, Bethann Shapiro Ord, in this issue.
HELPING TO MAKE THE CAMPUS MORE INCLUSIVE
The Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion works to educate and empower everyone on campus in ways that create a welcoming community. From the Udiversity Educational Institute, that holds trainings for students, faculty and staff, to the Multicultural Resource Center and Q Center, the division's offices that work to build bridges and support students though education and events such as Sundaze, part of its Welcome Week programming. Read about the division's recent initiatives in this report.
DONOR SUPPORT ADVANCES BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY
The Binghamton University Foundation had a successful 2017-18 year, bringing in the second highest amount of cash ever in support of the University. Read the numbers in this issue of the quarterly report, and learn one way the Foundation celebrates its donors.
Faculty, students address power of research
Ron Miles summed up the theme of the Binghamton Research Days’ keynote program with a quote from Albert Einstein: “If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be research.”
Miles, associate dean for research in the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, was one of several speakers at the keynote event and poster session on April 25. The program was the central event of Binghamton Research Days.
“What determines whether you’re a researcher or not is how you respond to the realization that you don’t know what you’re doing,” said Jean-Pierre Mileur, then interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “If it panics you and frightens you and it doesn’t draw you on to approach your own ignorance as a problem to be manipulated and solved, then you probably belong in another line of work.
“But all the people who have spoken today share that response, that curiosity in response to the knowledge of their own ignorance,” he said.
The keynote program was bookended by a poster presentation session. Undergraduate and graduate students presented research in subjects ranging from psychology to art history to microbiology.
Robert Dextre, a mechanical engineering major, presented research he conducted during a 2011 internship with NASA. “I gained more knowledge and skills than I could ever have obtained from a textbook,” he said. “My experience was far more rewarding than I could have ever imagined and much more useful than any homework assignment.”
This was the idea behind Binghamton Research Days: making connections between research and what happens in the classroom. Faculty members were encouraged to introduce their own scholarship in classes during those days. The schedule also included seminars, workshops and laboratory tours.
Read more about Binghamton Research Days here