NORWICH – Newly-appointed SUNY Morrisville Interim President Dr. William Murabito met with state and local officials last week to discuss Morrisville’s role in the Norwich community and the potential for boosting college enrollment through collaborative partnerships with local agencies and government officials.
While those present during the discussion admit that some ideas may be years from fruition, the meeting served as a brainstorming session that brought forth ambitions to grow the college through unique course offerings, intramural sports, possible student housing, and an increased number of work study programs. Contrary to a round table discussion held last March that put a damper on the future of the Norwich campus, local and SUNY Morrisville officials this time around were more optimistic that the college has hit a critical turning point.
Current reports show that enrollment is up, albeit slightly according to SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus Dean Marsha Cornelius, to 375 full-time and part-time students this year; up from 360 last spring but still shy of the 460 in 2011, and far from the 600 goal established when the Follett Hall facility opened in 2006. Even so, hopes are high that local leaders in every sector – private, public and not for profit – can work jointly with Morrisville to pull enrollment back up.
“Efforts here today reflect a new beginning,” said Morrisville Provost David Rogers. “We do have challenges, but it’s easier to move ahead when you know the people you are working with are willing to meet those challenges.” Regers also referred to the hands-on training approach offered by Morrisville that is hard to come by. “I think we continue to offer the right niche in higher education,” he added.
But in order to grow, Cornelius said there’s a need to rethink the ways in which the college operates, and to consider a framework where business, education and government overlap. “We have to look at our courses and look at other avenues in how we offer these courses,” she added.
Higher enrollment numbers might be accredited to a partnership between the high school, and Morrisville and Chenango County that began in the fall. Norwich and Otselic Valley high school students are offered SUNY courses through the Norwich campus, giving them a jump start in their college careers before graduating high school. The county foots tuition expense, while the school district pays for books and any additional fees are waived by the college.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity for students,” explained NHS Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan, citing the economic and experiential advantages of high school students that are enrolled in SUNY courses. “All of the literature and the studies I’ve read about getting students in early college courses is positive, there’s no doubt about it. We can’t keep doing high school the way we did 15 or 20 years ago.”
“It’s amazing to see what’s transpired in the last year,” said Jamey Mullen, executive director of the Norwich Family YMCA. This year, the YMCA began offering special membership discounts particularly for students attending Morrisville in an effort to promote health opportunities to students. “There is no recreational or health and wellness opportunity here like a traditional campus, but just two blocks down the road, there’s a ten-year-old state of the art facility,” he said, encouraging the idea of including intramural sports teams to draw in students. Mullen also entertained the notion of offering physical education credits at the college through the use of the YMCA.
Mayor Joseph Maiurano, who spoke on behalf of the city, mentioned how the city’s resources can help the campus bring in students in the future. He brought up the concept of student housing within the city, and the internship opportunities students have with local businesses. “Students want more than to go to a building and take classes. They want a real college life,” he said. “We vision the city as a giant campus ... the community and the county are ready to do what we have to do to grow this resource.”
While the notion of student housing has been bounced around for a while, the concern is attracting developers to invest, Murabito pointed out. “Developers want a long-term commitment, which we have here,” he said, though still optimistic about the idea. “They want stabilization and I think we offer that. We aren’t going anywheres.”
Another concern was brought out by Steve Craig, president of Commerce Chenango, who noted the aging population of Norwich and the challenge in attracting college-age generations. According to him, the Morrisville Norwich campus offers opportunities that are hard to come by, and Norwich itself offers unique career opportunities with companies like Norwich Pharmaceuticals and NBT Bank, which are now doing nationwide job searches because the skill set needed in those industries can’t be found in Chenango County. One of the issues, he said, is that the Norwich campus doesn’t get the necessary state support to promote local opportunities.
Moving forward, Murabito said there will be changes at SUNY Morrisville that draw more focus to the Norwich campus than in previous years. He proposed a new advisory council, and hiring a grant writer for the college – a position that doesn’t currently exist. “To have that stabilization, I think we can start moving forward again,” he said. “I would expect the Norwich community to be knocking down our door with new ideas.”